Freedom Financial came to us for help exploring the Wild, Wild West, AKA TikTok. We were more than happy to oblige. They handed us the keys to the brand, along with hours of UGC testimonial footage, and told us to “make it not suck.”

After going through dozens of UGC videos, I pieced together a narrative that told the story of how Freedom Financial helps everyday people get rid of debt in ADHD-friendly TikToks. Me and the Art Director also worked closely with strategy to test different TikTok trends, such as Supers placement, ASMR ideas and CTA lengths.

The end result was a TikTok series that doubled Freedom Financial’s video engagements and boosted its sign-ups. Suck, it did not.

Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who still don’t know what Reddit is or what it does. So we wanted to bring a little awareness to the masses, or to the ones who at least visit the Google Store, where they would find these ads, in a fun, “that’s so Reddit” style video that briefly touches on the best parts of everyone’s favorite online forum.

CW: Reed Alliston

AD: Jake King

Twitter has been no stranger to drama ever since Elon Musk took over the Blue Birdie. But when things got extra dramatic at Twitter HQ, like the sudden firing of their employees, Reddit knew it had to act fast by inviting Twitter users to join the conversation over at Reddit.

Me and the Art Director whipped these tweets up in less than an hour, making sure Reddit could be right in the middle of the conversation as the Twitter shit-show kept rolling.

CW: Reed Alliston

AD: Jake King

PrizePicks wanted a quick turnaround on a few spots that promoted their partnerships with major league baseball players and the BIG3 basketball league. Our team moved fast to create two videos despite sparse messaging direction, legal obstacles and a tight deadline. The results were a slam dunk and a home run, plus one more positive sports cliche.

IHG wanted to train their employees on their new Holiday Inn Club Vacation program — without it being boring. Oh, and it had to be animated and under budget.

I came up with the idea of Phil. A lovable hedonist, who would rather chill by the pool with a drink in hand than to explain how the HCV program works. He leaves the dirty work for Mr. VO, who doesn’t bat an eye.

Combining a fun animation style with tactful humor, we were able to turn a mundane training video into an entertaining and educational one that hopefully inspires others to be better than Phil.

Agency: Utoka

CD/Animation: Ken Soons

Writer: Reed Alliston

Flexing my inner Martha Stewart and Joanna Gains muscles, I worked with the content team to help make BEHR paint both parts sexy and dramatic for The Home Depot. Snoop and Chip would be proud.

2020 Gold Telly Winner

Workers Credit Union out of Boston was having a difficult time appealing to a millennial female audience. So they asked us to create four 15 second TV spots that each featured a relatable female cast using specific Workers’ products.

After many, many hours of concepting, the creative team and I had the answer — Karen and Claire.

We created scenarios around two friends, Karen and Claire, that put them in humorous but oh, so real-life situations that our audience would not only relate to but would appreciate and enjoy.

We flew to Boston and filmed each spot in one day.

I had a hand in every phase of production. I wrote each script, help cast talent and VO, sat on set to give creative input, and assisted in audio post-production.

CW: Reed Alliston

CD: Will Agrella

CD: Nick Gebhardt

AD: Ryan Brown

2020 Bronze Telly Award - Comedy

After the success of the “Strength in Numbers” campaign for Workers Credit Union, the client requested that we bring back Claire and Karen and have them star in their own social video series.

This would be an opportunity for audiences to learn more about the quirky Workers girls while also learning a thing or two about smart money habits.

I was tasked to write seven spots and to provide music selection and post-production ideas.

The challenge was writing dialogue for each unique character while making sure their personalities aligned with the previous spots we filmed them in.

After flying to Boston to film in one day and a few weeks of post production, we created some pretty hilarious spots that assure members that banking isn’t always a snore.

CD: Nick Gebhardt

MOTION: Rae Cook

CW: Reed Alliston

2021 - Bronze Addy for Website-Based App

Workers Credit Union needed an innovative way to educate members on financial planning with the challenge of making it fun.

The Worker’s PlanIt App was born. The first of its kind for a financial institution, The App features a gamified approach to building financial dreams with the goal of getting a custom financial plan for achieving them.

Working closely with a team of strategists, developers and motion designers, we were able to create a unique experience for audiences that want to learn about financial planning while having fun doing it.

We also launched a landing page promoting Workers PlannIt, which I also provided copy.

CW: Reed Alliston

CD: Will Agrella

Motion Designer: Rae Cook

Designer: Xavier Vinas

Awards: W3 - Silver for Integrated Campaign

When you want to tell the world that your most realistic laminate floor is now waterproof, you need to really make a big splash. And that’s exactly what we did for Pergo.

We built a campaign around “wild guests” and their “wild habits” to showcase the waterproof durability of Pergo TimberCraft.

I concepted with an art director and wrote each TV spot, landing page and social posts.

CD: Carol Montoto

ACD: Christian Durrett

CW: Reed Alliston

It’s not every day you get to write social copy for the world’s most recognized laminate flooring brand. But I did, literally, every single day. To help strengthen Pergo’s online presence, we made flooring fun and engaging with a tone and voice that people could relate to.

CW: Reed Alliston

Designer: Jay Littman

Getting floor samples in a plain brown box is boring. So the client asked us to create something much more engaging for Pergo customers. Each sample package resembles the look of Pergo flooring complete with fun instructional copy on how to open the box.

We even included a personal letter written by Pergo the floor, thanking the customer for purchasing floor samples.

CD: Carol Montoto

Designer: Jay Littman

CW: Reed Alliston

How to properly open this box:

STEP 1: Get excited! (It’s fine if you do a dance. Pergo won’t judge.) 

Top of left flap

STEP 2: Imagine coming home to gorgeous new Pergo floors.

Top of right flap

STEP 3: Now imagine those Pergo floors withstanding your kids and pets.

Bottom of top right flap

STEP 4: Finally, prepare yourself by taking a deep breath. 

Under bottom panel

STEP 5: Behold! The start of something beautiful with Pergo. 

(Fallen in love already? Visit Pergo.com to find a Pergo retailer near you.) 

Awards: AIMA - Best in Show Cross-Channel Marketing

Younger Millennials don’t think credit unions are that cool. That changed after we launched a campaign centered around “Adulting” for Oregon Community Credit Union.

From a dedicated microsite that quizzed millennials on how “savage” their adulting skills are to “lit” swag they could actually use, we appealed to millennials, on their terms.

Ultimately, this led to more members, more opened checking accounts, and a credit union becoming cool to kids.

CD: Carol Montoto

ACD: Christian Durrett

CW: Reed Alliston

We created a series of in-branch posters to promote Charles Schwab’s retirement planning and satisfaction guarantee.

I worked with a team of designers to help bring these simple ideas to life.

Designer: Xavier Vinas

Motion: Rae Cook, Dayne Swerdling.

CW: Reed Alliston

UMe Credit Union, out of Burbank, CA, needed some rules on communicating their brand both visually and verbally. Working closely with a designer, we meticulosely mapped out each section while making sure we injected cheeky humor and educational elements that would provide a memorable read for UMe employees and vendors.

And when your mascot is a talking, purple, bow-tie-wearing emu, some things just write themselves.

SCW: Reed Alliston

Sr. Designer: Dallas Ford

American Bank Center wanted a bolder approach for their next ad campaign. And with a brand voice that was already a little brash, we took it a step further and launched “Banking Without the Noise.”

Featuring brutally honest copy in scribbled type and a clear message, the campaign was a success throughout North Dakota.

I wrote scripts and headlines.

CD: Will Agrella

Designer/Motion: Rae Cook

CW: Reed Alliston

As a beer lover, I’ve always wanted to work on a beer account. So I created these ads (along with the help of a designer) based on a short lived Kroger brand beer: Port Republic.

This spec work even helped me get promoted when I was an intern. And that’s why it will always hold a special place in my liver, err, heart.