Firm features tarot cards in call for Addy entries

Smriti Jacob//January 3, 2003//

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It is a cry to summon creative spirits in Rochester.
Draped in mysticism with a hint of medieval times, Jay Advertising Inc. recently finished work on the call for entries for the Rochester Advertising Federation’s 2003 Addy awards.
The call for entries is the first step toward winning the highest honor in the local advertising industry. Addy awards typically are presented in April at the Geva Theatre Inc.
“Each year the RAF sends out a call for entries. We volunteered to get involved. It is part of a larger project for the Addys,” says Mark Stone, creative director of art at Jay Advertising.
Wrapped in a poster that bears the appearance of parchment, the call for entries poster also includes a set of 12 tarot cards. It is a shift from Saatchi & Saatchi Rowland’s 2002 creative anatomy idea that featured the nature of a creative mind as seen in a biology textbook.
“The tarot-card idea was a great humorous and compelling way to portray agency culture,” says Whit Thompson, creative director of copy on the RAF Addy piece.
Each tarot card carries an image and a clever caption, depicting a snapshot from the life of an ad agency employee with a focus on the creative folks. It uses a medieval theme. The reverse sides of the tarot cards exhibit details of the 67 award categories.
An image of swords in the back of a person lying flat on the ground is titled, “Client Feedback.” A card with maids dressed in flowing clothes raising wine goblets is called “Happy Hour.”
A black background with swords with an image of a person sitting up in bed covering his face speaks to the deadlines in the ad business, aptly titled “Impossible Deadline.”
“We looked at magicians’ posters from the 19th century. We really wanted it to be kept humorous. The captions allowed us to customize each card,” says Frank Edwards, art director at Jay Advertising.
Agency staffers spent some 100 hours working on the account.
“We laughed so hard while working on this. We wanted the cards to tell stories,” says Robin Meier, copywriter on the account.
Edwards and Meier were the main creative contributors to the project.
Stephen Hall, RAF’s president, picked the “Focus Group” card as his hot favorite. It shows a picture of a group of people raising sticks in different directions.
“It shows the random chaos of a focus group,” Hall says.
He calls the tarot-card theme an echo of the mystery and anxiety around the Addy awards.
“This year’s Addy awards call for entries takes a humorous approach to that with thematic references to fortune telling, spiritualism, a crystal ball and tarot cards,” Hall adds.
The Jay Advertising team faced the challenge of whittling down 30 tarot-card op-tions to 12 final ones that made it to agencies and other prospective Addy award participants. It was a pro bono project for Jay Advertising.
“I am extremely proud of how the team offered to do it on their own time. It was an opportunity for young talent to shine,” says Gregory Smith, president of Jay Advertising.
RAF will integrate the tarot-card approach in different Addy features including the winner’s book, invitations, tickets and the award presentation.
“I think it expresses much about the fears and aspirations that surround the creative process and it does it in a wonderfully humorous and playful way,” RAF’s Hall says. “Like many award-winning creative concepts, it combines wit and insight to touch its audience.”
The Jay Advertising team already has received industry feedback. Ad folks are saving the cards-some have asked for a full deck while others have used them as posters.
I pinned the cards above my desk, too.
Not bad for Jay Advertising-other local ad shops have the Linden Oaks agency’s work up on display.
This month’s buzz…
Agency 3 Communications has been assigned to promote Asher Group’s emergency response system, Hyper-Reach. The agency will assist Asher with marketing material, sales collateral, advertising, public relations and trade-show support.
Dunn and Rice Design Inc. has been selected to develop an advertising campaign for Performance Technologies Inc., a network access and switching products provider. In another account win, the design firm will redesign packaging for a Crown Crafts Infant Products Inc. product. Based in California, Crown Crafts manufactures infant bedding, blankets and accessories.
LaBarge Media is completing the production of a video for its client Zweigle’s Inc. The video addresses the issue of inconsistency in the cooking of Zweigle’s products at stadiums and fairs.
To submit suggestions for campaigns to be featured in Inside Advertising or new-account information, contact Smriti Jacob by phone (585-546-8303), fax (585-546-3398) or e-mail ([email protected]).