Florida Power & Light

My partner Jim Houck and I, along with producer Sherri Fritzson created one of Florida's longest running televison ad campaigns through the BS&P agency. It's name was 'Bob From FPL,' and he was born in the 90's to Florida Power & Light, the state's largest electric utility, who wanted to build a better image, consumer trust and, maybe, even affection – although it's monopoly status made that highly unlikely.

But our team proved that even the toughest marketing problem can be overcome with some creative culturesmithing – in this case, the gregarious and wise-cracking Bob, a friend who sort of represented all of FPL and conducted live, man-on-the street interviews featuring safety messages and energy conservation tips. We did some 240 different spots during our time on the campaign and sometimes edited a couple dozen new ones a month (Man, did we hone our editing skills).

The results were immediate and dramatic. Call volume and participation in conservation programs increased steadily for over a decade, and tracking studies showed that consumers developed markedly positive feelings about FPL. And over the years, Bob was invited to weddings, inspired kid's Halloween costumes, fan clubs and even got an Adweek cover acknowledging the 10-year run when the campaign retired. Thus we succeeded in transforming a dreaded corporate behemoth into a helpful and popular member of the community.

Greater Miami Convention & Visitor's Bureau

I was fortunate enough to get to work on TS&P's Greater Miami Convention & Visitor's Bureau 'Fashion' campaign for a little over a year. Originally created by Dan Hardie, the campaign uses the talents of top fashion shooter George Kamper (Ocean Drive, Italian Vogue) and superstar stylist Danny Santiago to make magazine spreads for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Maxim, InStyle and many other fashion publications.

For year two, we again got to choose from South Beach's top modeling talent and shot at various locations throughout the Fontainebleau (used for many famous shoots including Scarface and episodes of The Soprano's) on Miami Beach. In addition to the print campaign, we got to do a tv commercial using the animation/effects talents of the Freestyle Collective/NYC.

Borg

The Jarden Corporation (owner of such great brands as Oster, Sunbeam and Coleman ) approached us at BFW to reintroduce the Borg brand originally started by George W. Borg in 1937. The brand had had some highs and lows over the years– including an award-winning scale design by famous designer Raymond Lowey in the 1950's, but during mid-80's it was sold and pretty much went away until the Jarden Corporation purchased it in 2008. So we started by researching and analyzing their brand equity over their four decades in business, and came to the conclusion that we should retool and modernize something we had found on their nomenclature during many decades – the chevron shape. We then designed sleek packaging to make the brand appear upscale against their competition in stores like Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl's, Kmart and Target. Design director Pete Carrara and I developed dozens of design executions using experimental materials like wood, metal, leather and plastic. Jarden was so pleased with the work and branding, they now plan on putting other household items into the brand offering.

Melia Hotels & Resorts

Melia is one of the largest hotel companies in the world. So, for their first ad campaign in the US market we wanted evoke the company's Spanish origins. A culture very proud and passionate, and that heritage is very inherent in every aspect of their offering. It's what differentiates their brand from the competition. Art Directed by my partner at TS&P, Hugo LaTorre, our print ads featured exquisite B&W portraiture of "hotel staff" (actually using real flamenco dancers as models) striking classic poses as they perform their duties. And then using my simple, minimalist tagline "Passion. It's In Everything We Do."

Logo Lounge 4 annual

Two of my logo identities were selected for Rockport Publishing's 2009 LogoLounge4 annual. PGA Commons (a shopping mall in West Palm Beach, FL) and Hautie Pants (an apparel line based in Florida). A prestigious panel of jurors chose just 2,000 from the 27,000 entrants from around the world. Jurors of the contest included; Haley Johnson, Jeff Knowles, Christopher Campbell, Jason Schulte, Jerry Kuyper, Louis Lygo and Communication Art's Janet A. Martin. LogoLounge4 can be purchased online at Amazon.com, or at any Barnes & Noble or Border's Booksellers.