Posted by truecreek on February 1, 2011 under The Work | 
At True Creek, we are into big ideas. The Creekbed draws from the brightest, most creative minds in the industry today; people who have shaped brands like Intel, Apple, Nissan, Best Buy, Volkswagen, Cox, Comcast, NASA – and many local and regional names that are big fish in a smaller pond.
We offer our clients a wide variety of services: Media Planning, Placement and Reconciliation, Television and Radio Production, Newspaper, Four-Color Magazine, Collateral Materials, Direct Mail, Promotional Merchandise, Point-of-Purchase, Outdoor and Out-of-Home, Logo Design and Corporate Identity/Graphic Standards.
Our agency is based in Oakton, VA, which is just outside the Capital Beltway in Washington, D.C.
Please take a moment to tour the site. Afterwards, let’s talk about how we might be able to help you. 703-281-2165. Or send a note: joseph@truecreek.com.
Posted by truecreek on January 21, 2012 under The Work |
This young girl was just great during our shoot. What a talent.
Posted by truecreek on January 17, 2012 under The Work |
Lots of color often makes for a wonderful shot. Had a chance to work with one of the brand new Fairfax Connector buses a few weeks ago, during a shoot for the 495 Express Lanes. From what I understand, each bus is about $500,000 and change. Even the tires had Armor All on them.
The 495 Express Lanes will be completed in late 2012, so there will be more on this site as the year progresses. Check out Transurban’s new site here.
Posted by truecreek on under The Work |
Some nice artwork that just didn’t fly with the client. It happens.
Posted by truecreek on January 16, 2012 under The Work |
The final poster in a five-part set. These educational posters will be in lobbies and common areas of buildings around the 495 Express Lane corridor.
For more information on the 495 Express Lanes, click here.
Posted by truecreek on January 11, 2012 under The Work |
Amazing stuff, weather. This particular shoot was interrupted two different times by Mother Nature. The first time, we moved the shoot two weeks, a process begun during Shoot Day One. The first shot was actually taken during the early part of the storm. Gary was comfortably shooting from inside the building, through a pane of glass.
The second was postponed a day, after it became painfully obvious we were going to be rained out. However, we were lucky. Both decisions were right on, allowing us just enough time to get some great images for the campaign. Kudos to the entire crew and Gary for getting it done.
The talent in the first shot is a good buddy of mine, Mike Kinder. A star in the making, I think. Both shots were taken right outside the new Transurban corporate offices and will be used on the new site and in future tactics.
Posted by truecreek on under The Work |
Here are a couple of shots from the photo shoot just completed for Transurban. Gary Landsman, the photographer, spent the better part of three days shooting in a variety of locations. Some very nice, colorful art that will work well for us throughout the year.
Gary is one of the better shooters I’ve worked with. You can check out his work here. All rights reserved.
The 495 Express Lanes will be completed in late 2012, so there will be more on this site as the year progresses. Check out Transurban’s new site here.
Posted by truecreek on under The Work |
New work. Here is the cover and the back panel from the Introductory Brochure we just completed for Transurban. Rebecca, a long-standing member of The Creekbed, has written some amazing and compelling headlines for us. The clean art direction was the handiwork of Glenn and Chris. We’ll be taking this direction even further as we go through the year.
The lanes will be completed in late 2012, so there will be more on this site as the year progresses. Check out Transurban’s new site here
Posted by truecreek on January 10, 2012 under The Work |
Over the past few months, we’ve been working hard for our newest client, Transurban. The company will serve as concessionaire and long-term operator of the 495 Express Lanes.
The public-private partnership with Virginia will deliver the most significant package of improvements to the Capital Beltway in a generation – providing congestion relief and new travel choices to one of our busiest roadways.
Transurban will be operating the road upon completion.
To help the client reach their audience, we’ll be handling media planning, placement and reconciliation. We will also provide creative services for the client, including radio, print, online, out-of-home and more.
Over the next few days, I’ll be posting work that we have completed on their behalf.
The lanes will be completed in late 2012, so there will be much more to come. You can also check out the site here.
Here are two of the introductory posters we just completed:
Posted by truecreek on December 13, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them., The Work |
Another nice piece of work from Chris Elmore, a very talented art director that I’ve worked with for years. He recently won a contest to design a poster for Swedish House Mafia’s sold out show at The Garden in NYC. Good stuff.
Posted by truecreek on December 12, 2011 under More Dam News, Opinions. Everyone has them. |
This really brings home the new online world we live in, doesn’t it? First time in all my years of doing this that a have actually seen this type of list using LIKE from Facebook as the selection data. From CNBC.
Posted by truecreek on December 3, 2011 under The Work |
One of my favorite art directors just completed a project for The Salty Rim Grill in St. Petersburg. Logo and menu, from what I have seen so far. Nice work from Chris Elmore. You think they serve margaritas?
Posted by truecreek on November 17, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. |
The always controversial Benneton has done it again with a series of posters entitled UnHate. The concept is one that I can embrace as a marketer and the truth is, the imagery is just amazing. While some folks may find this to be a bit tawdry, it is some compelling work. See it all here.
Posted by truecreek on September 27, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. |
One of my all-time favorite skits on SNL was Alec Baldwin’s ‘Schweddy Balls.” If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here.
But should Ben & Jerry’s actually crafted an ice cream under the moniker? Don’t know if I’ll be rushing out for that flavor, but I have to admit I did ask my wife to check for it last night at the grocery store….
The whole thing has prompted a group to ask people to boycott Ben & Jerry’s. Fox News has been all over it and of course, NPR just appreciates the recognition.
Even CNN had a poll. Looks like a ‘split.’
Posted by truecreek on September 13, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. |
When you look at some of these, it’s just amazing to see the change in art direction over the years. Back in the day, copy seemed to be what drove everything. Then, as time went on, we started leading with visuals and copy was sent to the background.
I have always felt that copy needs to lead the way, with the headline enticing the reader to want more. Most of these campaigns relied on a spectacular headline.
That being said, the Absolut campaign has just been incredible, with some of the most compelling and imaginative imagery ever used in the business.
Another wonderful slideshow, from Ad Age and CNBC.
Posted by truecreek on under Opinions. Everyone has them. |
When looking through this, I couldn’t believe that the Michelin Man was first introduced in 1898. Bibendum, his real name, is mute. So that’s why the poor guy never says anything. At least Michelin saves on the VO.
Some great ones in this slideshow. From Ad Age and CNBC.
Posted by truecreek on August 2, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. |
I think this could be the biggest hit of the summer. Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The production and CG is incredible. Light years advancement in facial recognition. Amazing.
Following up the record-setting Captain America, this is going to be a whale of a weekend at the box office.
Official site here.
Box office update: ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ thrashes expectations, earns $19.8 million on Friday
Posted by truecreek on June 24, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. |
For years, Don Lapre offered up a too good to be true story about how we would all be mega-millionaires if we only followed his advice. Just send him some money now and he would be more than happy to tell us all of his secrets to making it big.
Now the government says 220,000 people were defrauded by this guy, to the tune of at least $532 million. Lapre used broadcast and cable television to get his fraudulent message across.
My question is: what is the responsibility of the TV networks here? I’m sure he’s screwed them out of some money as well, but do they even bother to do any kind of due diligence before accepting advertising such as his? What about a few weeks in, when everyone had seen the spots? Didn’t any network executive say to themselves “Is this guy for real?” How about when SNL did a sketch about him? Nothing?
I guess one could make an argument that he would not have been able to succeed in his scam without the networks lack of concern, so are they part of the problem?
When I was with CBS Radio, I couldn’t even run a spot for a costume contest on Halloween without having everything delineated in writing by the advertiser. You would think that the networks would have some sort of policy in place to assure that these snake oil salesmen don’t use their spot inventory to commit fraud.
Does it show contempt for one’s audience when the broadcaster doesn’t seem to care that the advertiser is shilling for something that is just too good to be true? Is it more important to get the business and close the deal than to protect the financial interests of your viewers?
My guess is that the networks will probably say ‘we will offer our support in any way we can’ when it comes to finding this guy and putting him in jail for good. But the truth is, had they been a little more skeptical early on in the game, the scam might not have succeeded at all. And 220,000 of their viewers would have a few more bucks in their wallets.
Posted by truecreek on June 8, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. |
I don’t normally comment on architectural design, but Kroon Hall at Yale University is just something special and deserves some thoughts.
A net-zero building, it’s one of the finest pieces of architecture I have seen in the U.S. in a long time. It has solar panels, a geothermal energy system and was manufactured with more recycled materials than I would want to list here. They even use water from a pond to flush toilets. Now that’s design.
Complete article here:
Posted by truecreek on June 7, 2011 under More Dam News |
I’ve always been a fan of the Olympics, to a point where it’s almost always recommended as a tactic for a client. Especially if there can be promotional tie-ins, merchandising and the like. For NBC to lock up the U.S. television rights is a real coup. It’s become their franchise.
One can only imagine how much cash was floating around that table.
NBC now will have exclusive rights to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, as well as the 2018 Winter Games and 2020 Olympics, whose sites have not yet been chosen.
More here.
Posted by truecreek on June 2, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. |
I am so glad to see that the U.S. auto industry has come back. Collectively, the domestic automakers have made some amazing strides in a very short period of time. The culture change alone has been astounding, never mind what they have done on the design and production side of the equation.
The cars being produced by GM, Ford and Chrysler are amongst the very best in the world. As Chrysler says in one of their spots, ‘perhaps we should RAISE our standards and buy American.’ Or something like that. I wholeheartedly agree.
For the entire article, click.
