In this biz you’re always looking for the story to tell. And how to tell it so people remember it. Sometimes you have to dig deep for a brand’s plotline and other times it comes flowing out like liquid, hot, magma. Now watch this segue...and speaking of magma and stories, we just won a new piece of business. Reyka Vodka. And Reyka has quite a story to tell... and of course it involves magma. Well, it involves lava rocks, which is what liquid hot magma is when it isn’t liquid and hot anymore.

To find out about Reyka we took a little field trip to Iceland.

Reyka was born there and is exclusively distilled in a small town about an hour’s drive from Reykjavik. On our trip we found glaciers. Volcanoes. Lots of sheep and goats. Really nice people. Lots of woolen hats with ear flappy things. Northern Lights. Stunning, treeless, windblown landscapes. And Bjork. (actually we didn’t find Bjork, but she’s a famous Icelander and her name is funny to say in a sentence. Bjork. Bjork. Bjork.) And all of those things we found, play strongly into the story of Reyka Vodka.

We discovered that you develop a unique perspective on the world when you’re surrounded by a landscape that could kill you or thrill you at any given moment.

For that reason, people from Iceland are a creative and resourceful bunch. And lucky for the world and fine spirit lovers everywhere, our new friends applied those characteristics to the job of vodka making. They use lava rocks as a filtration system (we weren’t lying about the magma thing) and they built a special still called a Carter-Head Still that actually looks like a giant piece of drug paraphernalia (the reason we know this is we once watched a movie called Pineapple Express, which had many depictions of such paraphernalia) but it has nothing to do with smoking and everything to do with transmogrifying glacier water and grain into really tasty vodka.

There was a lot more to our journey, like a night drive to see the Northern Lights that felt like something out of Jurassic Park. And a cocktail that came in vacuum-packed plastic pouches with a straw attached (sort of like an adult Capri Sun juice pack). And we met our new partners from the UK, Colombia, Sweden, US and Iceland. They were all excited and very nice. We saw hipster haunts and charming, cozy hangouts. We listened to great music. And there were Puffins…sort of adorable miniature penguins. Then we saw the sun rise over the completely frozen ocean from the plane as we flew home. You can see, there’s really quite a story there for the telling. And we’re going to begin doing that straight away…starting this April. Oh, we’ll also be drinking some Reyka now and again. And again and now.

Steve N Steve by Red + O'Connell

SR: 2012. Go.

SO: How the hell is it 2013 already? In a meeting yesterday we talked about 2015. But anyway, I digress. It was a crazy year. But we can't just go listing all the things we did. That'd be boring. So let's start with the highlights. With regards to the work, what's your single favorite moment of the year? Could be on a set. Could be in a meeting. Could be seeing something go live. You get the idea.

SR: One moment? Hmmmm, that's tough. But I think it'd be this little random surprise. Coming out of our What's Beautiful competition for Under Amour Women, we were in Baltimore to shoot the four winning women. We'd flown them in and were taking them back to their hotel for the night. When we walked into the lobby with them, we were suddenly surrounded by about 20 excited, screaming, jumping women. We had no idea who they were. But we soon found out that they had never met in person…only on the What's Beautiful site. They'd flown from places around the country on their own dime to meet in person for the very first time. I was blown away that this thing we'd created had connected people so strongly that they were compelled to meet each other in person. Crazy. You?

SO: I think I'll go with puppeteering burgers for the Burger 21 shoot. Big productions are great, obviously, but there's always something so fun about the low-budget ones where we're really getting in there and making stuff happen with our own hands. And being able to eat the stand-in "actors" didn't hurt either. Oh, great. Now I'm hungry. Anyway, speaking of flying 'cross country, how's LA? Seems like you'll be there a lot over the next 6 weeks.

SR: So far we've seen…John Malkovich; David Spade; the girl from the Vampire movies; Florence, of Florence And The Machine; Selena Gomez (who I didn't believe was really Selena Gomez, but Lomas got her autograph "for his daughters"); and here's the big one...the PA who drove us to location every day was actually in the original Bad News Bears…he played Miguel. He's a super nice guy named George Gonzales and Walter Matthau stayed friends with him all his life and took him to Dodgers games. Oh, and our Planet Fitness production was fun, too. Spots are great. Excited to launch them this week.

SO: Matthau's character had the greatest last name in that movie: Buttermaker. Awesome. Hmm, it seems we've strayed off topic here. OK, back on track. So any regrets about this past year?

SR: Maybe that last Bourbon the first night of our Retreat.

SO: Bourbon? C'mon. You're making TuB jealous. Perhaps to make up for it, I'll start drinking one right now. Annnnnnnnnnd… it's poured.

SR: Ok, so we're drinking now and there's so much to do. Some of us are off to St. Petersburg, FLA for the Under Armour All America Game, some of us are off to LA to shoot Super Bowl, and a bunch of us are headed to Iceland for a brand new piece of biz. Any last words?

SO: I look forward to sharing an office with you. *hiccup*

A Tale of One Thompson

So far, we've used this area of our website to talk about agency happenings. Whether that be new campaigns launched or new clients won. But we also want to use it showcase life inside our agency. And the exploits of our cowboys. After all, legends have to start somewhere. Our first ride into this new territory is best kicked off with a short conversation that went like this:

"So how did you get that little tiny ship into that little tiny TuB Gin bottle?" we asked.

"I built the ship so it was completely collapsible, so I could slide it through the tiny opening in top of the bottle. I used these little tweezers and these other little needles to maneuver it. And then once I had it placed in the bottle I slowly pulled the collapsible ship upright and then fixed it in there with a touch of adhesive," answered Thompson.

Steve Thompson that is, but we mostly all just call him Thompson. Partly because we have like 5 or 6 Steve’s in the office, but mostly because it just fits him. Sort of like MacGuyver. And like everyone's favorite juryrigger from the 80's, Thompson can pretty much build anything. In the last year alone, in addition to the tiny ship in the tiny bottle thing, he’s built a bocce court and a tennis court in our lobby, a shoe with a secret compartment for a USB drive, a tennis shrine in our war room worthy of the Vatican, and a 3-D window display for TuB with a running train.

But far and away, the thing that melted our faces off in amazement was when Thompson carved a set of Star Wars characters into the tips of crayons. We don’t know what kind of itsy-bitsy carving tools he used, but we do know that the end result belongs in the Smithsonian or MOMA or Comic-Con or something big like that. Because they’re nothing short of amazing.

We thank the advertising heavens every day that we get to harness his powers for good.

Oh, and he’s also a pretty damn good ACD/art director.

Steve N Steve by Red + O'Connell

SO: So what are you most excited about for this year?

SR: Well, we're starting the year off with our first Super Bowl spot, so that's kind of amazing. But too obvious. I guess what I'm most stoked about for the upcoming year is seeing how far we can turn it up. Last year was definitely incredible, but I kinda think we just began to tap the RT+P accelerator. Some of the stuff we did at the end of 2011 - Camp Dirt; Finding Undeniable; the work we started with Renuzit and even the new vitamin injected water, 989 - really gave me goosebumps, not just because they were awesome, but because they started to show the potential of what we can do. How bout you?

SO: This is going to sound corny, but I think it's about growing the place -- growing the family. I know. Schmaltzy. But a big part of what I love about this place is the people we work with. So the more people we have here, the more fun it will be. Is all this sounding fake? I hope not. Oh, I'm also excited about Uri/Will. But that will have to remain an inside joke for a few more months.

SR: Ha. Schmaltz ball. But yeah, more people make things more fun. I love that just last year we brought folks in from Goodby, Facebook, BBH, McCann and Doner. Keep stirring the pot. And I thought you weren’t gonna mention the inside joke secret thing.

SO: If you could choose any company to hire someone from, assuming this person is senior and skilled and smart and all that stuff, which would it be? I have to think I'd look outside of the agency-specific world. Maybe Google.  Or Activision -- you know how I like my games.

SR: Hmmm, maybe Tony Robbins.

SO: Speaking of tall drinks of water, Jared just sent me an email yelling at me to get this story updated soon. Anything else we need to cover?

SR: Yeah, but it’ll wait. Jared scares me.

Finding Undeniable

There are high schools across the country filled with school spirit. But which school brings their absolute A-Game to every game? Which school doesn’t just come to compete, they come to dominate - on the field, on the court and in the classroom? Which school goes beyond pep rallies to actually will themselves to the front? Many high schools demonstrate greatness but only one can be totally and without a doubt – UNDENIABLE.

That’s what we set out to help Under Armour find by building a juggernaut of a social platform. Finding UNDENIABLE invites high schools across America to prove they’re worthy of the title, UNDENIABLE. By competing in a series of challenges from creating an original cheer to getting a shout-out from a pro and mobilizing their communities to vote, one high school will defeat all comers. The prize? $140,000 worth of the most innovative athletic apparel on the planet to outfit their teams for two years.

Check out more work from Under Armour.

Last week we paid a visit to Palisade, Colorado,
home of our good friends, partners and clients at
Peach Street Distillers.

If you haven't heard of them yet, you will. Peach Street makes the finest small batch spirits in the land. They also help us whip up a tasty little concoction called TuB Gin. As impressive as the libations they create, is the place where they live - the tiny town of Palisade, CO (or as we like to call it – sweet, sweet paradise). Located exactly 37 and 1/4 miles from the Utah border, the distillery sits smack dab in the middle of Colorado wine country. What’s that? Colorado wine country? Yep. And as you can see, it’s a place to behold.

You see there’s a certain magic in this beautiful slice of land. The hot, dry days and cool nights common in the high desert make grapes, pears and the famous Palisade peaches grow into orbs of juicy deliciousness perfect for eating and…distilling. And in the hands of the craftsmen at Peach Street, the spirits that come from this fruit are better described as “holy crap, this is beyond amazing”, or some sort of exclamation like that.

So…while we were in town to capture images and info for their website redesign, we spent a few days learning about distilling and sampling top shelf gins, brandies, vodkas, grappas and bourbons. You know, research and discovery - always an important part of the brand-building process. We also took in the spectacular views, the fresh air, and pondered if we should return to Philadelphia or saddle up and ride it out in the high desert of western Colorado. Hmmmmm.

A Pret-ty Pret-ty Pret-ty Good Stunt.

HBO asked us to help announce the 8th season of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. They said, “To sell an idea you have to make Mr. David laugh.” When we suggested that bands of musicians pop up all over NYC and LA and spontaneously start playing the “Curb” theme song, apparently we got LD to at least crack a smile. So the weekend before the season premiere we literally had people dancing in the streets and tapping their toes to Larry David-garbed musical troupes.

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People videoed and pixed away and those videos and pics ended up in social places all over the interweb. And even curmudgeons like Larry couldn’t help but smile and hum along.

Oh, and the premiere was the highest rated “Curb” ever. Coincidence? Hmmm.

Welcome To Boomtown: A Look At Our Year So Far

It all started 12 months ago when we walked into Dial for Men and pitched the idea that since guys love to get dirty, we should wrap our brand campaign around a celebration of filth. We wanted to treat dirt like a badge of honor. Because, let's be honest, getting clean isn't the fun part of the equation. Getting dirty is. So let's embrace it. Our client loved the notion, and after a few more months of planning and creating, we launched our "Get your dirt on. We'll get it off." campaign in March. But the big tamale is about to happen.

In just a few days, we'll be introducing the world to Camp Dirt, presented by Dial for Men, of course. What better way to prove that we're all about celebrating the filthifcation of men, than to build the ultimate place for that to happen? And so Camp Dirt is a three-day filth fest of dirty awesomeness. With events like "Bulldozer Drag Racing." And "Mudslide Speedway." And "Paintball ‘Pocalypse." And "Digging with Dynamite."

Over one hundred thousand entered and now 20 lucky muck maestros are about to head for a magnificently muddy rendezvous.

Some body washes have a big manifesto. Others have good-looking dudes with velvety smooth voices. Some have professional athletes. Well, we have a camp.

It's gonna be one muddy, unforgettable time. See ya on the other side.

Welcome To Boomtown: A Look At Our Year So Far

In the first six months of this year we've been rather busy.
We developed quite a few sweet new relationships and
did some exciting and influential work with current clients.
And we're just getting this baby revved up.

A few highlights:

We became Agency of Record for - Dial For Men, Century 21, FOX Networks Social Media, Front Burner Brands (which includes The Melting Pot Restaurant), the California Association of REALTORS® and Susquehanna Brewing Company. We also started working with Under Armour as part of their innovations team. We shot new spots for Dial in South Africa, launched Century 21's new campaign to a room full of cheering agents in Vegas, made some big noise on Facebook for Under Armour and are ready to launch efforts for FOX and California Realtors in the next few weeks. We created one of the most successful Foursquare programs ever for Pennsylvania Tourism. We launched the next wave of our beloved With Love brand in the name of Philadelphia Tourism, which includes creating exclusive With Love Ale in partnership with Victory Brewing Company that will now be distributed in 30 states. And we drank quite a few cocktails as we all celebrated the repeal of prohibition on behalf of TuB Gin. So that was fun.

Sometimes it's nice to just take a step back, catch our breath and reflect a little bit.

OK. Reflection done. The only other thing we have to say is...let's ride.

FEBRUARY 2ND. FOURSQUARE. AND THE POWER OF A GROUNDHOG.

We always like using new media channels to help our clients connect with people. And we also like breaking records. Well, those two missions coincided a few months ago when we launched the Foursquare Groundhog Day Badge on behalf of our client, Pennsylvania Tourism.

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To unlock this little guy was simple, you just needed to check-in anywhere in the world on Groundhog Day and shout something about "Groundhog Day." Naturally, we seeded the story heavily to the press and the blog world leading up to the big day. And on February 2nd, the day the famous prognosticator made his prediction, the badge was unlocked nearly 30,000 times. It broke all previous records for single-day badge download. Plus, the Groundhog didn't see his shadow, which means an early spring. So, all in all, it was a great day.

We'll be honest though; a week later the Super Bowl came along with a badge and broke our record. So we were only the record holder for 7 days. But c'mon. It was the Super Bowl. Considering that's what it took to knock our furry friend off the top spot, we're feeling pretty okay about it all.