I have to take it back for a moment

Let's talk about missed opportunities, shall we. Let's take it back to Feb. 2007 when the Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith and Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy faced off in Super Bowl XLI. This was the first time in history two Black coaches led their teams to the big dance. Needless to say, our spot (I was the copywriter on this joint) didn't run during the Super Bowl that year, trust me, I was looking for it. I still think this was a big culturally relevant moment missed by a brand.

Much love to J. Ivy for such powerful words and a beautiful performance.

Rebranding America (Featured in Paper Magazine online 2009)

After the election of the first Black President, Paper Magazine (online) issued out the call for creative folks to Rebrand America . I simply wrote what was in my heart and it made the online edition.

Copy Reads: Choice is the great American allure. Since the birth of our nation it has captured the imaginations of those seeking to know what it means no only to live, but to be and to do so freely. Choice binds us to the American ethos that committing oneself to whatever we see fit for our lives is our right, not a privilege. With each decision we make we conjure the magic of what being American truly stands for as we grab choice by the neck, stare it squarely in the eyes and do the imaginable, choose. Every single day we are bursting with a multitude of possibilities for our lives and our country. Weaving one choice into the other. At times contradicting a previous choice. Melding choices together and other times allowing a choice to simply fade into the nothingness of a choice deferred. We place our hand over our heart, canvas our pessimistic notions with hope while simultaneously painting our aspirations Red, White and Blue. In the name of choice we hand-select our country’s destiny not that much differently from how we choose our personal paths, for we are all connected, each of us a cause leading to a much larger effect on the world surrounding us. As we act upon our free will, let us choose to remind each other that…America will also be what we choose it to be.

Somethin' Else...Portland Jazz Festival 2008

Jazz Festival Animated Spot from Mike Weihs on Vimeo.

Jazz Festival Animated Spot 2 from Mike Weihs on Vimeo.

My experience in W+K12 was an amazing one. I didn't sleep much. Flexed my voiceover skills several times over. Conducted a research project that had me couch surfing in four different markets across the nation. Created some great work and drank way too much some nights.

Here are the two spots we (Me, Mike Weihs and Sam Liu) produced for The Portland Jazz Festival that year with little to no budget. This assignment was exciting because the jazz festival was celebrating 70-years of Blue Note Records music. So, not only did we get free tickets to see some legends we got to work on something culturally meaningful.

The greatest compliment received on our spots is when Bill Davenport was impressed when he saw them on T.V. and became even more impressed when he found out it was a product of 12.

It's been a long time...

Hmmmm…what do I say to the blog I’ve neglected for so long? My bad? I'm sorry? I have no clue. The only truth I have is that I fell off the radar because I dived headfirst into work. This is not an original thing. It happens to almost everybody but my return to this space has a back story I don't mind sharing. As a matter of fact, it's imperative I share the reason for my absence and my return because, 1. I want to. 2. It just may help someone else. 3. I need a place to showcase my work.

And it goes a little somethin' like this...

The year was 2011. The month was March and I remember sitting at my desk pseudo paralyzed by the thought that life was passing me by. So I did what one might do when they have some time to think and reassess some things, I hopped on a plane to Los Angeles, went to a good friend’s apartment who's neutral about most things and got still. During my stay in LA I hit up a Prince concert, cried when he sang "Purple Rain," took public transportation (yes, I road the bus and train in LA) to all my destinations except the concert and found an album (vinyl) that I'd been looking for for about 11-years. A couple days later I flew back to Portland, typed up my resignation letter, walked into the office, sat at my desk, waited for the clock to strike 10a.m. headed upstairs to the 5^th floor and handed in said resignation letter to the head of my department.

Now, I was fortunate enough to function in two roles at my old gig, role one as a copywriter, role two, as a strategic planner/brand strategist. During my tenure as a planner I had an epiphany of sorts while sitting at my desk bored one Tuesday afternoon while reading through the Wall Street Journal, the online edition. For some reason I kept thinking about how dry my eyes were and the artificial, preservative free, 99% close to real tears eye drops my eye doctored prescribed, and wondering if that one percent of not real tears was some sort of chemical additive that would make my eyes even worse. Then I started to think about how staring at my computer for hours on end was contributing to my dry eyes. Sight is one of my favorite senses so I’m rightfully bothered by anything that would threaten it. But the “wait a minute” moment came from the fact that I had enough time on my hands to contemplate artificial, preservative free, 99% close to real tears eye drops and that one percent that stopped it from being 100% like real tears with such depth and concern that it was evident that what I was being paid to do wasn’t doing it for me anymore.

As a planner my day-to-day required that I know culture so well that I would be able to assess and distill that knowledge, extract a key or multiple insights to create a foundation for creatives to make great advertising. I approached/approach my work as a copywriter the same way.Yet, I started to question how connected I was to a wider culture when I looked at the fact that I spent the majority of my time behind a desk clicking around on the Internet and reading published things. I knew there was more to life outside the safe walls of Wieden+Kennedy and it was evident that something had to change.

While I miss that place, life from out behind a desk is a beautiful thing. I hold random conversations with random people about not so random things. I'm writing poetry, again and will even be performing in New York this coming October. I'm soaking in new things, shedding the old and entertaining new challenges.

Now my blog hasn't been updated since 2008 and it's 2011. That's almost three years. And yes, those three years were full. The coming post will be a retrospective of sorts to give you all an idea of what I've been doing with myself over the last few years, sprinkled with some of my thoughts on the ad world and the world in general, the occasional poem and new work.

Thank you for visiting and visit often.

And if you're wondering, yes, I'm for hire.

Peace & Love

From the vault 1.1

March 2006, I was assigned to write an erotic short story that could be viewed on the web for a liquor brand that wanted to target females that like to read. I had a filled time writing this joint. Enjoy. *Note: Women over-index on book purchases and book clubs.

Red Moments

She patiently waited for him to arrive. The lights were dimmed and music softly played setting the mood for the evening. This will let him know what I want as soon as he gets in the door, she said to herself. As the thought of his fingertips gently rubbing across her lower back danced in her head she reminisced over that moment in the elevator. Everything between them happened so spontaneously. One glance was all it took. No matter where they were. Never did a thought go into who might be stealing a peek. In fact the thought of them entertaining others was more of a turn-on. Given her drawn curtains that would normally hide the view of her home from the world. There was no doubt in her mind that the residents in the building across from her enjoyed every moment of them they could catch. The scent of the passion fruit candle she burned in anticipation intoxicated her imagination. Her body trembled at the thought of his lips gently placed against her ear whispering her name. The thought of his smooth baritone voice formed beads of sweat between the creases of her breast. Closing her eyes slowly, she drifted off into a memory of heat being shared between them. She could feel the sheets wrapped around them, as they escaped deeper and deeper into each other's darkness. Hands clasped tighter and tighter as moans were exchanged. As the thought of legs, arms and bodies intertwined trapped her in a moment of ecstasy, the doorbell rang.

Katrina happened 3 years ago. Word?

I created this campaign out of frustration. New Orleans and the Gulf still looks like a damn bomb hit it and it seems as though most folks have forgotten about it until the "anniversary" comes up. I was once told by a good friend to watch how often I create from a space of pain, but on this issue right here, I don't mind having it as a notch on my anger belt.

*The tag line reads: Ignorance hinders progress. Renew Orleans.

**Sidebar: Why do we say the word "anniversary" on the annual remembrance of sad happening? The word gives off such a happy vibe and in the context of natural disasters and ill shit the word "anniversary" should have no place. That's just me, though.

my home girls daddy was clean for 17 years
now he's back on that shit
after the storm hit
and we're worried about another celebrities meltdown
and we're worried about Georgia gettin' bombed
and we're worried about temporary relief at the gas pump
and some how we forgot about those on the gulf coast
who are still attempting to put their lives back together
while havin' nightmares every time they close their eyes

See what had happened was

Dorthy ended up in a twister, was knocked upside the head by a window shutter and ended up in OZ. Me, well, I was assisting Pete Jones at Studio 612 back home in St. Louis and landed on a page in the PDN advertising this place called Miami Ad School.

I arrived at the doors of Miami Ad, September 2002, no more than a poet turned photographer who got this bright idea to be an Art Director who later turned to Copywriting, for obvious reasons. After touring with HBO, bouncing around the globe literally with Miami Ad here I was on graduation day, March 2005, free styling about how I didn't get into this game of advertising to sell folks a car with a song.

See I'm an 80's baby that grew up in the 90's. I remember the power of PSA's, Nike ads, good jingles and progressive hip-hop. I seek to inject all the goodness I remember from those day into the current, well, because someone needs to do it. Issues still need to be addressed. Movements can still be initiated by a strong point of view. Everybody deserves to have a good jingle stored in their subconscious to give them something to sing while stuck in traffic. As for hip-hop, that's a whole other story all together.

Welcome to the world of a poet in advertising.

my grandmomma has no idea what i do
no matter how many times i try to explain it to her
she just keeps tellin' me, no matter what it is you do
be responsible

*the copy on the card in the print is the same as the copy in the tv spot.