Sir Williams.

Brian Williams has been one of the most award-winning creatives in the world since 2010. I think he's won 16 Lions, 10 One Show pencils and at least 3 of those cool Yellow Ones from that small London-based show - what's it called again? Anyway, with the office opening in London, we thought it smart to bring some of the RVA DNA to the office to help all our natives understand Martin a bit better. The downside of this move? BW will not be in the office here. The guy is just one of the good ones - smart, talented and a sweet man. He also does the best impression of Wade Alger and that leaves a gapping hole in our day. Good luck, my friend. See you soon.  (Below, Brian's latest for the JFK Library. Just one in a series that is awesome.)

Dropping category convention from 10,000 feet.

BFG tires has been doing breakthrough cool stuff that nobody ever sees for the last few years. Unless you are a gigantic tire nerd, you won't see this one either. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2sMlUSPL9Y. Hopefully, the masses will pick it up because it's really well-done. Congrats, crazy people who jump out of planes.

J. Roddy in the house!

Making stuff happen. We do that by letting our teams create stuff outside their regular workload. But we also do it by providing the capabilities in-house to do great things without the expense of taking it to outside vendors. J. Roddy Walston, a local musician with a huge national following, is a good buddy of one of our young star producers, Heather Tanton. Tants grabbed a few co-workers, friends, strangers and crew and figured out how to make an awesome video for "Same Days Forever," J. Roddy's lead single for his new album. The entire film produced at Martin. Site produced in tandem with our friends New Object. FWA Site of the Day, June 24th, thefwa.com/site/same-days-forever. See the entire video here: http://samedaysforever.com/.

Partners in arms.

We didn't mean to all cross our arms at once. I guess that happens when you've known and worked together for over 20 years - you kinda start looking like one another. Matt Williams, CEO. Beth Rile-Kelley, COO. Grateful to be leading with you. Cheers.

Moore good ideas, #2.

Maybe my favorite idea of the 2014 at the agency. The Ben Moore client had a simple assignment for us: tell the world about their sponsorship of the Boston Red Sox baseball team. The Red Sox just happen to play in one of the most iconic stadiums in all of the sports because of The Green Monster, the famous left field wall that's over 37 feet tall. Guess who paints the Monster green? Yup. Ben Moore. BOOM! The team named the paint, designed the can and now it's for sale for Red Sox fans everywhere. Of course, we had to build a kick ass online experience here monstereverywhere.com and make some films. Maybe the coolest thing? For every can of paint sold, the brand is going to donate to have Little League fields upgraded across Boston. The press has gone gaga and there's more fun coming. Congrats to all.

Moore good ideas, #1.

Benjamin Moore is a very high end quality paint. The choice of the best contractors not because it's cheap but because it just performs like no other paint. Thankfully, their marketing folks and dealers believe that a brand that stands for quality has to convey quality in their brand communication. Hallelujah! We've done some special work the last couple years. Here is a website we created entirely in-house called designbywhatmatters.com, an amazing tool that helps match your paint choices to your personality. FWA Site and Mobile of the Day, August 22nd.

GEICO rolls on.

We're coming up on our 20th anniversary with GEICO. It's been a special relationship since day one. Why? I think mutual respect and trust. Like any great marriage. I know I speak for all of us here in saying how grateful we are for being suck a great client. Words just can't describe. Speaking of words....one of the latest spots.

Why I love my job.

It makes me happy. Happy about the work we do. Happy for the people who make it. Happy for the clients who put their names on it. Happy for the culture and community it supports and inspires. The other day, Ken Marcus, who writes some of our best GEICO spots - Hump Day, for one - stopped in with his two adorable kids. Their idea? Present to me a GEICO script they wrote in my office just like their dad does everyday. I mean, come on. This is why I love my job. The spot was hilarious, by the way. Look out, Dad!

This idea is not Mini.

The business is for doers, not talkers. If you're not making things happen, you're not doing your job. Brig White is exceptionally good at being a MAKER. He's an art director but he's also a director, prop maker, writer, visual artist, illustrator, designer, carpenter, there is simply not enough time in the day for the idea machine called Brig. The attached spot called Mel's Mini Mart for Oreo started when he went into his garage on a weekend and built a Mel's Mini Mart with his own hands. Then, working with writer Danny Robinson and our crew downstairs at RWS and Hue&Cry, made a film the following weekend. Check it. The finished film is close to what we presented to our amazing client, who approved the concept on the spot. Bottom line, if Brig doesn't make Mel's, Mel's doesn't get made.

Bringing us together one light at a time.

Martin Labs is filled with our mad scientists, the square pegs in round holes, the "crazy ones" as Apple so famously put it. Voggy and Mac and John are always tinkering and when they attach their brains to a big idea, surprising stuff happens. Like this. Check it. Finalist at One Show.            

Jingles? No. Brand melodies? Yes.

The Oreo campaign this year proved that music is back in full force. Of course, it's always been around as an important part of advertising, but more and more brands like Oreo are using it as a central pillar of the way a brand behaves and connects with consumers. That was the central theme of our panel at Cannes that included David Muhlenfeld of Martin, the writer and composer of all the Oreo music. And David Leinhardt from Duotone, the producer of the multi-Grand Prix winning Chipolte campaign. We spoke in the 10:00 am slot and had a big crowd considering the Gutter Bar probably closed right before. Thanks for having us, Cannes!

Cannes!

Fun to be back and serving for the first time on the Cyber jury. I look around the room and see so much talent. It reinforces the honor it is to be selected to judge at Cannes. Thank you. After two days, I've seen so much good work, especially in video. Websites are impressive, too. You get a new appreciation for the gauntlet a piece has to go through to get shortlisted, not to mention receive a Lion.

The 2nd Ace Scholarship goes to...Yemi!

Yemi Fadahunsi of Harding High in St. Paul is the 2014 winner of the Ace Scholarship. The Ace goes every year to a graduating minority senior who plans to major in education. The award is named after my father, Ace Alexander, a life-long educator in the St. Paul public school system. Yemi is an incredible young woman who dreams to "use teaching to make a difference in the lives of young people." We wish you the best of luck, Yemi. Go get it.

A Wonderfilled award season.

The Oreo campaign has enjoyed a great run so far and for good reason. Everything about it - the animation, storytelling, craftsmanship and music - all are world-class. It's tough to shortlist, let alone place in the best shows because you are competing against the very best. The campaign has been in CA, in-book in D&AD, shortlisted at AICP, bronze in ADC and 2 silvers pencils at One Club. High hopes for Cannes, especially in design and craft. Congrats Jorge and team.

Mad love.

A series of "For your consideration" ads for AMC and "Mad Men." Just love the art direction and writing, a perfect example of how craft can raise a campaign from good to great. One of my favorite campaigns from the agency so far in 2014. Congrats to the cooks in the Kitchen and Danny and Brig for their leadership.

His last ad may have been his best.

It's been 4 months since Mike Hughes passed away. A few weeks before he died, he had an idea and the video here is based on the email he sent me. We love you and miss you.

Poo.

Earth University is a special place where young people from all of the globe learn sustainable practices that they then bring back to their communities. We just completed a viral campaign starring a graduate named Susanna. The making of video is amazing.

JFK lives on.

The site went live on the anniversary of his death, but the content keeps coming in. Here is a short on the Brooks Brothers Fitzgerald suit. Also, see the beautiful tribute from presidential poet Richard Blanco. The site was just shortlisted at SXSW. anidealiveson.org

The Brooks Brothers piece.

It's just wonderfilled.

The campaign for Oreo is my favorite thing of 2013 at the agency, beating out Hump Day and not counting the Emmy for Clouds. Here's the case study. Kick-ass.