Buck The Norm: We're Going To Need A Bigger Boat

Looking for our Buck the Norm parade float case study? Find it on our new site!

Get Out of The Box. Get Square.

I know "get outside the box" is about the most overused and un-outside-the-box statement you can make. But how could I resist? We literally hung a gigantic box above the two-story metro mall courtyard to promote GetSquare.org, the clean air awareness campaign.



Okay, it's a square to be exact. And it has not crushed or killed any shoppers yet.



Suspended Square



Food Court Railing Clings

But it has gotten their attention.



In fact, over the seven-plus years Third Degree has worked with ACOG on the Get Square initiative, public recognition of clean air habits and willingness to change those habits (i.e. carpooling, gassing up at night) are up to 70% awareness. And while Oklahoma's federally mandated air quality regulations have become even more stringent as of late, our state continues to see improvement.



Uh... and hello? It's just a great and noble endeavor, which always gets us inspired to create great work.







Newly redesigned GetSquare.org web site.

We've continued to evolve the look and feel over the years.



And the creative approach isn't the only way we've "mixed up" our delivery. We've always implemented non-traditional and grass roots outreach for Get Square – like the annual summer electric lawnmower giveaway. But most recently, we gave away kites. (That's what's in the bag.)



We were going to give them away July 4 weekend. That's us putting up banners for the outdoor event.





Fly That Kite, Jared! Fly It!

But severe storms and flash flooding meant a no-go for that day. What? Severe storms in Oklahoma? I don't believe it.



But all's well that ends well. We regrouped and planned for a giveaway on tax-free weekend, taking advantage of some major back-to-school crowds, plus a popular yearly Lego event taking place in... you guessed it... the mall!



We handed out reusable shopping bags as well as the kites under the shadow of our awesome square.



So I suppose you could say it all came full "square." You know, like full circle – but square. Heh. heh. Those square jokes never get old.

Thanks ACOG letting us go the extra mile. The extra mile with less fuel emissions. And we carpooled. Better yet, we walked there. Yeah... we walked there together.

Also check out our mall advertising for Planned Parenthood.

Scary Good: Buck The Norm Parade Part II

Well, after Kathleen and I tag-teamed applying makeup to 24 zombies in our agency parking lot (a mix of Third Degree and TFCU staff volunteers)...



...(yes, Will, you have to put on that green lipstick)...



... our corporate zombies for the Buck The Norm float entry in the Ghouls Gone Wild Parade turned out fantastic.



We even had enough time (just barely) to do our own makeup.



Everyone really got into character while waiting for the parade to start. (Growing even more popular this year, with 80 float entries and close to 50,000 attendees!).



So much into character that we had to divert them from eating their props...



...eating other parade participants...



...and even stopping them from eating the mimes (we were on the fence about letting Thurman go through with that one).



Kathleen represented for the indebted and undead by giving an interview.



We quickly brushed up on our zombie choreography.



And then we were off.



It wasn't all ugly, though. We had our brightly colored, multilayered, spirited and sassy Buck The Norm revelers as well.



Their task was to march in the wake of the zombie troop, waving huge speech bubble Buck The Norm signs, shouting out "Buck It!" and passing out glow sticks and candy to the crowd...



... and to just generally look fabulous.



We were all completely hypnotized by our media buyer, Jentry's, fake eyelashes. We told her she should wear them to work every day because everyone was crushing on her.



Especially these guys.

Thanks everybody for all the hard work! Can't wait 'til next year. Buck the norm!

Want to see more pictures from the parade? You can see more here of our Buck The Norm pics and here of the Ghouls Gone Wild parade in action (including us) on Flickr!

Creating Corporate Zombies: Buck The Norm Parade Part I

We're devilishly busy producing the second-year evolution of the Buck The Norm float for the Ghouls Gone Wild downtown parade this weekend. This year the float will be led by an undead horde of corporate zombies, who will represent "the norm."



So what does it take to create a ghoulish vision of the indebted and undead?

(My husband designed this year's Ghouls Gone Wild poster, tacked here in our Third Degree diner breakroom. He's lead art director at the Oklahoma Gazette who puts on the event.)



First: the perfect zombie hand. Lynn was quickly yanked out from behind his accounting desk, stuck under some dangerously exposed desk lamp bulbs, and forced to contort his hand into the perfect menacing claw.



We snapped the perfect shot.



And Lynn was a good sport.



And look at his hand (post Photoshop treatment, of course). It looks fake it looks so good!

These lightbox signs will be up on poles above the crowd, leading our zombies. This is Eaton Quade's warehouse, where get-it-done-Doug oversees all our float and large prop production.



Next step: creating costumes for our walking corpses.



These can't be just any old rag-tag, decomposing ghouls. These zombies are "the man." So matching corporate suits and ties for all, stuffed with money and complete with over sized coffee cups (also stuffed with bills.) Fake blood, green ooze, and all manners of clippings are now littering the back room of our agency. Yep, looks pretty much like any other day back there.



Last: the choreography. Teaching zombie steps like 1.) The Shuffle 2.) The Random Claw. How ironic that Kathleen is teaching TFCU volunteers how to walk like corporate zombies in their own boardroom. But, since it's a credit union boardroom, it's not quite so ironic.



Okay, that's not really the last step. There's so much more to do and share.

So wish us "buck!"

More to come after the parade. See last year's winning parade entry, here and here, awarded Beast In Show.

Flight Delays and Free Drink Coupons

So on my recent NYC trip I saw this photocopied flyer posted in the entryway of a greasy spoon breakfast place we were eating at:



It caught my attention because I recognized it as an ad for a new quirky HBO show. And I love the lead actor, Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, Darjeeling Limited, etc...)



I immediately tore off one of the little slips and dialed the number. What I heard on the other end was a voice mail from Jason (I call him Jason), as this fictitious private investigator who spiraled into this really long winded apology to his fictitious ex-girlfriend and how he wasn't drinking as much any more, etc, etc.

I thought, what a clever low tech marketing tactic. I decided on my next business trip (which was only a few days after this one), that I would document some cool advertising on my travels.

Knowing that I would mostly be in airports on this trip I would focus my search for really engaging in-airport advertising.



But then I got distracted by our gate agent's skinny jeans.

Have you ever seen such a casual chic airline employee? P.J. (that's her name, P.J., but I think of her as Uma), had to help us find a new flight out of OKC, because we were seriously delayed.



So we made lemonade out of lemons, and made friends.



I told Roy he was looking sassy, too. It's his new jeans.



Notice the contrast stitching?



I, on the other hand, despite the efforts with the scarf, was not looking so hot. Alarm clock malfunction at 5:30am equals a mad dash to the airport minus shower, makeup and my dignity.



But, thanks to Uma (I mean P.J.), we were rescheduled on a later flight, sent home, and I arrived at the airport later that afternoon somewhat sassy-fied.



But Roy had already made a new friend, another super perky, super friendly ticketing agent who, thanks to his charms, got us.... wait for it...



...free drink coupons for the plane.



I had long since forgotten to be photographing any groundbreaking advertising, so I decided to draw my Bloody Mary.

Inspired by obsessiveconsumption.com.



Because Roy, per usual, was occupied reading his latest marketing guru book (with a highlighter in hand, of course). But forget that nerdy, compulsive behavior... and check out his stylish new reading glasses.



We landed in the Detroit airport, which I now call "The Airport of Tomorrow" because you have to go through this tunnel that is filled with all this moody, magical music and lights as you are transported down a conveyor belt.



It is especially nice after drinking Bloody Marys.



We both agree, the Detroit airport is really cool.

So I guess I realized the neatest brand interaction I had in transit was, A.) with the actual Delta airlines staff, and B.) an airport that has invested in creating an unexpected experience for weary travelers, plus...



...a rental car company (will go unnamed) that gave away our car because we arrived so late. So we just made the most out of what was left over:

Our awesome minivan.

We loaded up, turned up the radio and our adventure continued by road. (And I still have Roy singing Whitney Houston stuck in my head.)