To Miller 64!

I recently had my first experience of creating work for a big brand. It might not have been the most orthodox way in the ad world, but it is an experience that opened new doors and has me itching for more.

It came by way of an open assignment for Miller 64, the low-calorie beer from Miller-Coors. Their creative agency, Saatchi&Saatchi, turned to Poptent for a :30 spot promoting Miller 64 with a New Year's Resolution theme. 

Poptent is a crowdsource community that connects big brands with a network of indie film/commercial makers. The brands range in size and shape. Recent clients include Lays, 5 Hour Energy, Allstate, Trident and American express, to name a few.

The brand provides a brief and a creative toolkit (style guides, logos etc.) to the Poptent network. We were equipped with the Miller creative brief, toolkit and just enough time to brainstorm a concept, shoot, edit and submit it to the brand.

For a week straight we sat around the writers table, crafting the concept which led to rewriting the original song used by Miller, given to us for inspiration. We went into pre-production (casting, location scouting, etc.) which came down to the eleventh hour; a trend which seemed to continue throughout the entirety of the project.

On-set at St. Nicks Tree Farm (Oregon City, Or)

Finally it was time to shoot, for the sake of brevity let's say it was fun albeit stressful. We got it done and headed right into editing the following day. 48 hours and a couple of stiff backs later, we had it edited and ready to submit. Click the link below to view (can't be uploaded to a sharing site).

Miller 64: Resolutions

We had finally created our first work for a big brand — work we were proud of. It was on par with strategy, included the mandatory elements and was original yet reminiscent of previous campaign work. 309 creators accepted the brand, 21 actually submitted a spot and 1 was to be purchased for $7,500 — a pretty damn good deal for the brand considering average production costs for a national spot.

Assignment Details

Out of the 21 submissions, ours was selected as 1 of 5 finalists by the brand. While we didn't end up winning the big purchase, we were granted an Editor's Choice and invited to work on a private assignment for Black and Decker (complete) and Allstate (in post-production).

Finalist and Editor's Choice!

It wasn't about the possibility of money and awards. It was the experience of it all that I value second to none. I was able to live the dream for a few days and create work for both a national brand and an excellent advertising agency, all before graduating this March.

I guess the moral of the story is to create opportunities for yourself, you don't have to wait for a degree to gain valuable experience. And drink Miller 64!



Director: Jourdain May
Producer: Dan Drullinger
Writers: Reed Nelson, Dan Drullinger and Jourdain May

Work to Be Proud Of: Combating Child Hunger

I have a strong belief that being a student doesn't mean you just should just make student work. When any of our team sits down to do a project (be it a print ad, television spot or digital campaign) we go into with the mindset of making work that transcends the classroom - and when it does it feels great.

In a multimedia class we were presented with a list of topics to produce a multimedia public service announcement about. We initially chose amateur athletics on campus but ended jumping ship to a more compelling piece about child hunger in Oregon. What started as a class project quickly evolved into something more.

Our research led us to realizations that none of us could comprehend at the time: 29.2% of children in Oregon are faced with food insecurity. Many students here at the University of Oregon have younger siblings but it was a safe bet that very few knew of this staggering number.

We produced a 1-minute spot that highlighted a young twenty-something and his difficulties with hunger as a child, and expanded it to his fear for his brother having to endure the same issues. It remained a simplistic, straight-forward piece that utilized a strong monologue and spotlighting. Our goal was to generate awareness about the issue at hand and call for people to donate time and resources - and it worked.

Our story reached a local member of the community who just couldn't believe the numbers either - and she decided to do something about it. She is currently in the midst of organizing a coalition against child hunger here in Lane County, and is actively working to execute it soon. We couldn't be happier that what started as a classroom project struck a chord with members outside of it and look forward to assisting in future campaign executions.

I can't thank our team members enough, Lindsey Tucker and Jane O'Neil - you rocked it. It couldn't have been possible without the expertise that Jourdain May from Eugenius Media brought to the table. I really believe we have something here and thanks to you guys we are seeing it unfold.