Some things that matter to me

I got meme jacked by folks @deutschinc LA. Watch your office...

Sat, 18 May 2013 20:56:09 -0400

I got meme jacked by folks @deutschinc LA. Watch your office pose.

Standout package design from @kettlechips @deutschinc LA...

Tue, 07 May 2013 13:40:48 -0400

Standout package design from @kettlechips @deutschinc LA @njiverson @jasonelm for 30th anniversary.

popsecretlabs: Pop Secret Popcorñata! To celebrate Cinco de...

Fri, 03 May 2013 13:36:09 -0400

popsecretlabs:

Pop Secret Popcorñata!

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo we created a one-off special edition Popcorñata. Yup, a Pop Secret bag that pops up in the form of a burro piñata. Enjoy the show!

Brave and fun new tech on @virginamerica. It will be interesting...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:53:29 -0400

Brave and fun new tech on @virginamerica. It will be interesting to see how people react to and use it. But love the spirit of it

Two years @deutschinc LA

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:25:00 -0400

Today marks my two year anniversary at Deutsch LA. It’s been an awesome and adventurous journey so far. Our digital business has doubled in size, we hired 70 brilliant digital thinkers and makers, blew up a truck with Sony PlayStation, launched a new invention and digital education service, announced a fun innovative driving utility with Volkswagen and Google, got a bunch of dogs singing “The Imperial March,” hatched some cool digital experiments with Pop Secret, redesigned and built our agency website in 30 days, made the world’s first net worth guessing game and manliness ranking machine based on Facebook likes, and are doing work today that we’re really excited about with some terrific and brave client partners such as Target, Volkswagen, Diamond Foods, Esurance, Anthem, California Cheese, and Zillow.

I joined Deutsch LA because of their strength in human storytelling, business, their commitment to digital, investment in technology, the quality of people, and ambition to be one of the best creative and digital companies in the business. It was a great bet. We’re having a lot of fun and have momentum. I thank my partners and the agency for making the journey so remarkable to date. It’s an exciting time to be in advertising. It’s an exciting time to be at DLA. I feel lucky. Thanks @njiverson for the great design below.

popsecretlabs: Watch: Stay At Home Cinema With Celebuzz By...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:09:04 -0400

popsecretlabs:

Watch: Stay At Home Cinema With Celebuzz

By Scott Bernberg

It’s Friday, y’all – and if you aren’t in the mood for going out, you’ll be on the lookout for the best movies to settle in and watch at home.

For a helping hand, check out this week’s installment of Stay at Home Cinema – our humble picks for the latest in Bluray, DVD and streaming movie releases this weekend.

In today’s installment, hear our thoughts on an action flick with a little brotherly love, a cult-classic in-the-making and an Oscar nominated tribute to one of the greatest Americans who ever lived.

And remember, if you’re on the lookout for a family movie night in, or a romantic stay-at-home for two, look no further than the Find Your Critic tool from Pop Secret.

Find Your Critic matches you up with a critic who shares your likes and dislikes – so you’ll finally have someone to trust when it comes to finding the perfect movie for any occasion.

Originally posted on Celebuzz on 4/5/13

The National’s new single, “Demons,” delivers...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 18:32:09 -0400

The National’s new single, “Demons,” delivers in a big way. I am stuck on it. Eager for the rest of the record.

I flew through Dallas Ft. Worth last week and got to see some of...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:22:47 -0400

I flew through Dallas Ft. Worth last week and got to see some of the newly redesigned American Airlines planes. I’m a fan. Their service still has a lot room for improvement, and most of the planes are still old, but I applaud the bravery of this rebrand. It forced me to re-consider them, And the design is cool in a modern and retro way. Hopefully, the service catches. But job well done. Start with design and experience not ads when trying to fix your business problems.

Audio

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 16:38:20 -0400

I’m an Alice in Chains fan, but this got my attention. A...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:58:25 -0400

I’m an Alice in Chains fan, but this got my attention. A clever and funny way to promote a new record. Kudos to Cantrell and Kinney on this. “I’m the man in hock.”

New @VW @deutschinc LA spot, “Mask”

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:54:13 -0400

New @VW @deutschinc LA spot, “Mask”

I expected more from this video celebrating Twitter’s...

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:16:00 -0400

I expected more from this video celebrating Twitter’s seventh birthday (might be time for an ad agency), but it did make me marvel at the transformative and sheer power of this simple and brilliant idea. Thanks Jack, Biz, Noah, and Evan. It’s hard to now imagine digital life without this tech. The power of single serving interactive at its best.

Extreme sailing is here. The AC72s are true works of art....

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 02:18:00 -0400

Extreme sailing is here. The AC72s are true works of art. Unbelievable machines. Looking forward to the cup.

My SXSW in short

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:45:00 -0400

My SXSW was short but good. Here are some of the things that stuck with me.

1. Watching Elon Musk and Al Gore via stream from my hotel room way out in South Park. They both made me smarter. I’d like to see the conference sell streaming badges in the future. Three streams a day is not enough. And the conference itself is insanely over crowded. Time for digital crowd control, please.

2. Catching up with colleagues and meeting new people at Kat Egan’s annual Hotel San Jose cocktail hour. Kat knows how to throw a party, the hotel and bar is great, and the company is good. This one usually leaves me more enlightened and with a couple of new friends. It always feels a little like digital Switzerland. Not a bad place to be.

3. Target and Fast Company thew a party to announce their new partnership around FastCoLabs.com. Target has long been a great TV and design brand, but they are on the move from an innovation perspective. It was good to chat with some of the minds behind their transformation. Even giant organizations can pivot with the right leadership.

4. Along with VW’s Justin Osborne and Google’s Aman Govil and Ben Malbon, I announced VW and Google’s new digital product, Smileage, the first social driving app made to maximize fun on every drive. It was an over capacity room and the reception was great. Countless hours went into this presentation and the Google, Grow, VW, and DLA teams nailed it. Now to the truly fun and difficult part. Making it under tight timeline pressures.

5. Catching Jane’s Addiction at the Path and Red Bull party. I’m a big fan of all these brands. I grew up with Jane’s, I use Path more and more as my real and private social network, and Red Bull broke YouTube during the Stratos launch due to too many simultaneous views. Enough said. This was an excellent party and a chance to meet with some very interesting people as well as listen to “3 Days” in a living room like setting.

6. Adweek hosted me, Conor Brady, Jamie Woo, and others for a brisket breakfast and photo shoot at the Green Mesquite. In all my years, this was the best and most down home BBQ I’ve had in Austin, and the company was fun. Conor and I talked bikes, documentaries, and ways to get inspired at SXSW and avoid the beaten path.

7. I finished my trip with my first ever stop at Lance Armstrong’s famous bike shop, Mellow Johnny’s. The yellow jerseys are still on the wall, and ironically, there’s a new court building across the street. I ended up buying some stuff. Not out of support for Lance but rather his employees. I imagine the store used to be buzzing. No longer. And if it weren’t for the Juan Pelota (one ball) cafe, the place would have been pretty dead. A bummer for the shop, sport, and city of Austin. They all deserve better.

All in all it was a great trip. Austin is an awesome town, and SXSW is the Super Bowl of digital. If you don’t like crowds, it’s best in short doses, or you just need to get creative with your agenda. Or both. But it’s still very much worth the time and expense.

Please stay tuned for DLA’s annual SXSW emerging trends report. In the meantime, you can check out last year’s version here.

I've got a new blog

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 21:31:41 -0400

Spring (and mist) are in the air here in LA, posterous is dead, and I’m home sick from work. It felt like a good time to join the rest of the population and get my personal musings, ramblings, and favorite bits of random internet content on to Tumblr. Enjoy.

What we look for in digital talent

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 19:53:00 -0400

At SXSW this year, Elon Musk talked about the importance of hiring people with big brains and big hearts. We couldn’t agree more. At Deutsch LA, we look for people who….

Live and breathe creativity, digital, marketing, and innovation
Are problem-solving obsessed
Have passions outside of work (movies, sports, art, music, reading, writing, spelunking, etc.)
Are people we want to hang out with
Fight for the idea and get their hands dirty
Are smarter than us
Like to invent and make things on their own time
Are born leaders, take the initiative, and make shit happen
Are crazily optimistic and driven to take on the seemingly impossible task
Have done remarkable things
Seek a lifestyle not a job
Are good people that you’d be happy to introduce to your parents
Want to change the industry every day

If you think this fits your description, and you design, produce, or create world-class work, please drop me a note. We’re always looking for smart, hard working, good people.

Pop Secret Labs

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 19:23:00 -0400

Here’s an interesting piece from Digiday on Pop Secret and Deutsch LA’s PopSecretLabs.com. Read it here.

AC72s in San Fran Bay. Extreme sailing.

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 19:18:00 -0400

AC72s in San Fran Bay. Extreme sailing.

"education should be as close to a video game as possible…make it interactive and..."

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 19:13:00 -0400

““education should be as close to a video game as possible…make it interactive and engaging…most teaching is like vaudeville””

- @elonmusk

What I learned in 2012

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:38:00 -0400

Last December, the LA Egotist asked me to write a little bit about what I learned in 2012. It was a good year. Read it here.