"Tricking Out" Traditional Print Advertising

So we've really been rallying around this idea of creating non-traditional executions for our client Pioneer as of late, even if the medium is, well, just plain old print.

Facebook and flash mobs may be the latest frontier of advertising, but for some markets – particularly rural ones – a postcard in a county road mailbox or a full-page ad in a town's main newspaper are still some of the most steadfast ways of getting a substantial number of people the message.

Not to say that you can't get creative with how you engage within a market be it urban, suburban or off the beaten path. We've definitely forged into non-traditional media with Pioneer, too. Their Hook Me Up grassroots phone booth and microsite for teens is a prime example.

But it doesn't matter how reliable the delivery channel or how attractive the offer if nobody reads it. And so often boring newspaper ads and ho-hum direct mail end up flipped past, tossed aside and quickly forgotten.

People should at least ...





smell it first ...



touch it first ...



or just frankly be unable to avoid it. (That's a really big postcard.)



But beyond direct mail with a twist, we've had an especially big success creating print ads that really push the medium by contrasting or working within the classic newspaper backdrop.





Engaging viewer interaction by inviting action in order to get "the whole picture" – having fun with the classic game, of you're getting warm, warmer, warmer...

Once we got started, we just started growing into it and now it's hard for us to stop.





Good for Pioneer because more eyes are spending more time with their message, good for the papers because they can demonstrate a forward-thinking approach, and just good for all of us to remember to entertain and engage our viewers – be it in their mailbox or over their morning coffee – even when they don't expect it.

Invitation Invasion

What's a personal perk of working with or being a designer?  Really neat wedding invitations.

Going To The Chapel

You 'd think it was June at Third Degree.  We've had two eventful weddings this past month. The first was Amanda's.  She's a sophisticated, professional gal, and I think her personal style runs kind of earthy-artsy meets conservative-classy.  She had Kathleen design her wedding invitations for her and her now-husband Andy.  Birds and feathers and leaves and scrolls abound in this design, but it still somehow conveys a simple statement.

Lovely Letter

Kathleen was our late March wedding.  It was an unconventional wedding for an unconventional girl.  Of course, she designed her own invitations.  The copy sort of reads like a Wes Anderson-inspired correspondence, with typewriter lettering, clever little cameo silhouettes and signatures of the couple.

Intersting details are what make this invite so homemade and individualized, like a hang tag RSVP, stamped kraft paper envelopes and a strip of photo booth pics of the couple. 

Surprisingly enough, an affinity for designing wedding invitations has not gone to waste for one of our clients, Delta Community Credit Union.  A year or so back they came to us with an idea to promote their CD product like a special invitation to an exclusive offer.  They had us design a direct mail piece that looked, felt and read like a wedding invitation.

We certainly had the art director for the job.  Kathleen executed the concept with all the scrolls and frills (look familiar?), and even included an RSVP card and return envelope.  The cards were printed on white column metallic stock and the envelopes on silver metallic. It was a very unique way to turn a credit union product promotion into a memorable offering that made the recipients feel like they were getting something above and beyond the usual.

Christmas Card Retrospective

It's here!  Fresh from the printer with that printery smell!  The 2008 Third Degree Christmas card, this year by Brian and Brett.

© 1962 Third Degree Advertising

Maybe we've been watching too much Mad Men, but this 1960's inspired card and coordinating collaterals come straight from a fictional agency of yesteryear: Third Degree Advertising, Communications and Biscuit Company. And if you don't get the Kennedy era "Ich bin ein 'Magenta'-Man" joke once you read it (like me, I admit it) then here's a cheat reference at About.com.

The "Magenta"

The cocktail concept was in response to an internal agency demand for an official Third Degree holiday drink (okay, it was Roy).  We taste tested several recipes and this one, called "The Poinsettia" was voted the winner.  But what good's creative license if you don't use it once in a while? So either an aversion to having to concept a card around a flower, or just a fondness for CMYK prompted Brian to rename the drink "The Magenta."

Let's Look Back, Shall We?

Obviously we like to have a lot of fun with our Christmas card when it rolls around, and we like to give different creatives a stab at each year.  Here's a look back at some of the whimsical, weird and often award-winning greetings of goodwill:

Remember Finchy?

Remember Buckles?

This unlikely pair illicited more head-scratching and "huh's?" than any Third Degree card of previous years.  That's why just had to take the story of the mistletoe matched more-than-friends Finchy and Buckles, created by Kathleen and Liz, to the next level with a Valentines Day card follow-up which showed little Finchy overdosing on chocolates.

El Tercer Grado!

Before Jack Black ever put on his Luchador tights, our wrestler extraordinaire was teamed up with his fresh, hot, friendly and right ring mates.

Trusted Compadres

That was the year Daniel introduced friends of Third Degree to "The Fresh Fish," "The Red Hot Demon," "The Friendly Robot," and "Mr. Right." This theme was probably the most appropriately matched with our salsa packages we gift every year.

Scripted

What happens when you give Brian, who loves to write off-beat scripted humor his first agency Christmas Card assignment? You get a card that literally reads like a kooky radio script and ends with the Roy character brainstorming a Rudolph-hitting-Santa-in-the-crotch-with-a-golf-club scenario.  Favorite line: "What's the buzz in creative, my creative buzzotches?"

Creature Feature

Okay, this was my card.  I think it's sweet.  A grasshopper who wishes he was a reindeer.  A rhino beetle who loves Julie Andrews musicals.  What says Christmas more than that? 

These Are a Few Of My Favorite Things

Exoskeletons, hand drawn doodles, old fashioned names like Bernice. 

Ornamental

Sometimes the details are about the design and not about the twisty-turny back story.  This card by Phillip, was all about the little touches that can make the difference between a typical corporate holiday greeting and a magical, sparkly, wintery hello.

Happy Holidays from Third Degree!