Local advertising had much to promote in 2018, from the rollout of GRTC’s Pulse bus line to oyster- and vacation-themed campaigns for the state tourism office.
Area shops produced work ranging from local campaigns for VCU and Main Street Station to nationally viewed spots starring such celebrities as Dr. Ruth and comedy couple Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman.
Here are our picks for this year’s standout locally produced ads, in no particular order, pulled from The Pitch and other BizSense coverage:
Cream/Barber Martin Agency – Virginia Lottery Jewel 7s Playbook
Motion graphics studio Cream and Barber Martin Agency teamed up to create a spot for Virginia Lottery’s Jewel 7s Playbook. The motion-designed spot shows gemstones, metallics and textures representing different scratch games in each book, with sound by local audio house Overcoast. The 30-second spot received airtime during the Winter Olympics and ran through the spring.
The Martin Agency – ‘We Are Slingers’
Martin turned heads this year with its campaign for new client Sling TV. The series of spots kicked off with “We Are Slingers,” a 30-second clip that ran on TV, digital, mobile, social, out-of-home and new media platforms. Martin kicked the campaign up a notch with the addition of 90-year-old “sexpert” Dr. Ruth Westheimer and comedy couple Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman.
Spang – ‘An Oyster State of Mind’
Video production studio Spang kicked off the year with this video for Virginia Tourism. The two-minute clip features New Yorkers introduced to oysters from Virginia.
Ost Haus – ‘Major in Amazing’
Production firm Ost Haus won a platinum Hermes Creative Award and a CASE Circle of Excellence Award for its “Major in Amazing” reel produced for VCU School of the Arts. The clip was produced by Ost Haus’s Nathan Nunnelly, a 2015 VCU grad.
Elevation – ‘Crush Friday’
Elevation’s marketing campaign for Virginia Tourism launched in conjunction with U.S. Travel’s “Project: Time Off” and National Plan for Vacation Day. Conceptualized by students at the VCU Brandcenter, the campaign included a landing page, video, radio spots, banner ads and direct mail promotion as part of an effort to encourage people to take a Friday off and “crush” it.
BES Studios/Studio Flatland – Priority Auto animation spot
BES and Studio Flatland collaborated on this broadcast spot for Chesapeake-based Priority Auto Group. The frame-by-frame animated ad ran locally during the Super Bowl. Davis Agency of Virginia Beach provided script and concept, BES provided sound design and music, and Flatland designed characters, storyboard and animation.
Elevation/Cream – VACU ‘Wallets’
This brand video by Elevation and Cream Studio features stop-motion animation of different wallets and their contents to illustrate services provided to members of client Virginia Credit Union. The 45-second clip was used online and in social media and internal communications.
Ndp – ‘Be Aware. Be Very Aware’
Ndp’s poster series for Advanced Dental Care of Richmond was created in conjunction with April as Oral Cancer Awareness Month. The posters, which encourage screenings for oral cancer, were displayed in the practice’s office and shared on social media.
Siddall/SIR/Torx/Dreams Factory – Main Street Station website and campaign
The new website and marketing campaign for Main Street Station was developed by Siddall Communications with research by SIR. The site, designed by Siddall and Torx Media, features rotating photos by local photographer Todd Wright and a three-minute video by Dreams Factory. The campaign, with the tagline “This Changes Everything,” included radio, print and online advertising.
GRTC/City of Richmond/Siddall/CBS 6/NBC12 – Pulse and bus routes spots
To promote streamlined bus routes and its much-anticipated Pulse bus rapid transit line, GRTC Transit System released a series of TV spots as part of its “Get Ready to Connect” campaign explaining the streamlined routes, along with additional Pulse-specific spots and a series of “How to” videos produced with CBS 6 Creative and NBC12 Creative. GRTC, the City of Richmond and Siddall Communications won an Outstanding Public Transportation Marketing Award at the Virginia Transit Association’s 2018 Transit Conference for their “Your New GRTC Transit System: It’s Time To Connect!” campaign, aimed at increasing awareness of bus route network changes.
Local advertising had much to promote in 2018, from the rollout of GRTC’s Pulse bus line to oyster- and vacation-themed campaigns for the state tourism office.
Area shops produced work ranging from local campaigns for VCU and Main Street Station to nationally viewed spots starring such celebrities as Dr. Ruth and comedy couple Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman.
Here are our picks for this year’s standout locally produced ads, in no particular order, pulled from The Pitch and other BizSense coverage:
Cream/Barber Martin Agency – Virginia Lottery Jewel 7s Playbook
Motion graphics studio Cream and Barber Martin Agency teamed up to create a spot for Virginia Lottery’s Jewel 7s Playbook. The motion-designed spot shows gemstones, metallics and textures representing different scratch games in each book, with sound by local audio house Overcoast. The 30-second spot received airtime during the Winter Olympics and ran through the spring.
The Martin Agency – ‘We Are Slingers’
Martin turned heads this year with its campaign for new client Sling TV. The series of spots kicked off with “We Are Slingers,” a 30-second clip that ran on TV, digital, mobile, social, out-of-home and new media platforms. Martin kicked the campaign up a notch with the addition of 90-year-old “sexpert” Dr. Ruth Westheimer and comedy couple Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman.
Spang – ‘An Oyster State of Mind’
Video production studio Spang kicked off the year with this video for Virginia Tourism. The two-minute clip features New Yorkers introduced to oysters from Virginia.
Ost Haus – ‘Major in Amazing’
Production firm Ost Haus won a platinum Hermes Creative Award and a CASE Circle of Excellence Award for its “Major in Amazing” reel produced for VCU School of the Arts. The clip was produced by Ost Haus’s Nathan Nunnelly, a 2015 VCU grad.
Elevation – ‘Crush Friday’
Elevation’s marketing campaign for Virginia Tourism launched in conjunction with U.S. Travel’s “Project: Time Off” and National Plan for Vacation Day. Conceptualized by students at the VCU Brandcenter, the campaign included a landing page, video, radio spots, banner ads and direct mail promotion as part of an effort to encourage people to take a Friday off and “crush” it.
BES Studios/Studio Flatland – Priority Auto animation spot
BES and Studio Flatland collaborated on this broadcast spot for Chesapeake-based Priority Auto Group. The frame-by-frame animated ad ran locally during the Super Bowl. Davis Agency of Virginia Beach provided script and concept, BES provided sound design and music, and Flatland designed characters, storyboard and animation.
Elevation/Cream – VACU ‘Wallets’
This brand video by Elevation and Cream Studio features stop-motion animation of different wallets and their contents to illustrate services provided to members of client Virginia Credit Union. The 45-second clip was used online and in social media and internal communications.
Ndp – ‘Be Aware. Be Very Aware’
Ndp’s poster series for Advanced Dental Care of Richmond was created in conjunction with April as Oral Cancer Awareness Month. The posters, which encourage screenings for oral cancer, were displayed in the practice’s office and shared on social media.
Siddall/SIR/Torx/Dreams Factory – Main Street Station website and campaign
The new website and marketing campaign for Main Street Station was developed by Siddall Communications with research by SIR. The site, designed by Siddall and Torx Media, features rotating photos by local photographer Todd Wright and a three-minute video by Dreams Factory. The campaign, with the tagline “This Changes Everything,” included radio, print and online advertising.
GRTC/City of Richmond/Siddall/CBS 6/NBC12 – Pulse and bus routes spots
To promote streamlined bus routes and its much-anticipated Pulse bus rapid transit line, GRTC Transit System released a series of TV spots as part of its “Get Ready to Connect” campaign explaining the streamlined routes, along with additional Pulse-specific spots and a series of “How to” videos produced with CBS 6 Creative and NBC12 Creative. GRTC, the City of Richmond and Siddall Communications won an Outstanding Public Transportation Marketing Award at the Virginia Transit Association’s 2018 Transit Conference for their “Your New GRTC Transit System: It’s Time To Connect!” campaign, aimed at increasing awareness of bus route network changes.
I’m disappointed not to see one of the major ads just done by one of the newer creative agencies in Richmond. Arts and Letters Creative Co. launched just a little over a year ago with a major client, Google. Their recent holiday ad is one of the best that I’ve seen in the US in the past year. Seven of the original members of this new firm are VCU Brandcenter alumni, making me especially proud. Here’s a link to their work, published December 19th of this year. https://youtu.be/xKYABI-dGEA