This business still amazes me even after all these years. Getting to meet such random celebrities that I wouldn’t have ever dreamed of meeting is nuts. That's advertising. Also nuts, this made it in to the CBS Super Bowl top 20 greatest commercials of all time ranking and got some love around the industry too. 

Below is the case study of the full package that surrounded this Super Bowl effort. We hid an easter egg in the spot and gave away a car, predicted the future and in the end, sold a bunch of carbon fiber i3's.

(Gigi answer: She was in M2 number 5)

TV FILM :60   ECD/AD: Paul Renner GCD/CW: Marc Hartzman  AD: Ali Eng CW: Rob Hirst-Hermans  CCO: Dan Kelleher / Jonathan Mackler  Director: Dayton Faris

Industry wide love (Bronze Effie, Cannes Short List), as well as, the general public love (CBS ranked it #17 Super Bowl commercial of all time and #31 on the USA Today Ad Meter) made the Renner family very proud.

This was a first for Instagram to let a user pause video in app. It was also the last, as they eliminated this functionality a few weeks after we launched this. Please, by all means, pause and pause and pause again to see your InstaFuture.

DIGITAL CONTENT / SOCIAL  ECD: Paul Renner GCD: Marc Hartzman CD: Aileen Calderon / Rob Collignon  AD: Ali Eng  CW: Rob Hirst-Hermans  CCO: Dan Kelleher / Jonathan Mackler  

And the case study if you are in to this sort of thing.

What started as a Super Bowl idea, ended up being BMW's first-ever digital launch of a vehicle. The first-ever M2 didn't need much help but hiding Gigi Hadid in one of them for the world to find didn't hurt.

First the case study above and the :45 below. 

360 FILM / SOCIAL / Digital   ECD/AD: Paul Renner  AD: Nigel Gross CW: Ben Cascella  CCO: Dan Kelleher / Jonathan Mackler  Director: Marc Forster / Tool of NA

Can you keep your eyes on Gigi? (answer is tucked away below)

What better way to welcome the first-ever ///M4 to the family than to literally have the family waiting for it.

DIGITAL CONTENT / SOCIAL   ECD: Paul Renner GCD: Marc Hartzman CD: Aileen Calderon / Rob Collignon  AD: Katie Wilhelm  CW: Amy Lieberthal  

The new 7 Series was hailed as The Most Innovative Car in its Class. With 12 innovations that no other car had at the time. We couldn't just make that claim without people experiencing it themselves. But that was hard to do before the launch and with limited 7 Series available for test-drives. We created Tour of Tomorrow. This site turned any car into the luxurious and innovative 7 Series right on your phone.

MOBILE / INTERACTIVE / SOCIAL  ECD: Paul Renner CD: Aileen Calderon / Rob Collignon  AD: John Malone  CW: Rob Hirst-Hermans  

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most powerful.

TV FILM :60   ECD: Paul Renner  CW: Mike Abell  AD: Kevin Gentile  CCO: Dan Kelleher / Jonathan Mackler  Director: Rupert Sanders

Launch film for the BMWi 8. Epic words from Futurist Arthur C. Clark, matched with a car from the future. This film launched on the Winter Olympics in Socchi and inspired many digital extensions including HPTO on NYTIMES.COM.

TV FILM / DIGITAL CONTENT :60  ECD: Paul Renner  AD: Grant Simpson  CW: Will Bright  CCO: Izzy DeBellis / Ed Brojerdi  Director: Mr. Stock

This work launched the BMWi brand. Stories that showed off the unique features of the stunning and fast BMWi 8, and the perky and silent BMWi 3.

TV FILM :60  ECD: Paul Renner  AD: John Hagerty CW: Liz King  CCO: Izzy DeBellis / Ed Brojerdi  Director: Dayton Faris

TV FILM :60  ECD: Paul Renner  AD: John Hagerty CW: Liz King  CCO: Izzy DeBellis / Ed Brojerdi  Director: Dayton Faris

One of the most fun we have on BMW is when we get a brief asking for "digital shorts". Which means simple, car focused pre-roll where we can usually tear shit up. Below are a few more.

DIGITAL FILM  ECD: Paul Renner GCD: Marc Hartzman  CD: Aileen Calderon / Rob Collignon  AD: Jae Sung Jung / Nigel Gross / Katie Wilhelm  CW: Ben Cascella / Amy Lieberthal  Director: Max Malkin

DIGITAL PRE-ROLL  ECD: Paul Renner GCD: Marc Hartzman  CD: Aileen Calderon / Rob Collignon  AD: Nigel Gross / Katie Wilhelm  CW: Ben Cascella / Amy Lieberthal  Director: Max Malkin

DIGITAL FILM  ECD: Paul Renner GCD: Marc Hartzman  CD: Aileen Calderon / Rob Collignon  AD: Nigel Gross CW: Ben Cascella Director: Max Malkin

DK BRAND ‘EXCITEMENT CAMPAIGN’

How do we tell the world that watching/betting on/enjoying sports is sooo much more thrilling and exciting on DraftKings? Enlist some of the world’s biggest adrenaline junkies—like pro free climber, Matty Hong, and World Surf League big wave legend, Bianca Valenti—to tell us how “boring” their lives would be without DK.

SOCIAL / Digital / BROADCAST CD/AD: Paul Renner CD/CW: Mark St. Amant CD: Steve Baker AD: Nick Devine CW: Michael Ackerson EP: Mary Hanifin Director: Peter Berg / Film47 Editor: Charlie Harvey / Whitehouse Audio: Duotone

…

DK BRAND ‘The Feels’

That thrill of placing the bet on the NFL. Emotional rollercoaster of sorts right? So many emotions all at once. The Feels in our bettor’s head try to illustrate all those things you feel when having skin in the game... There is Confidence (Kristen Schaal, ‘Flight of the Conchords’, ‘Bob’s Burgers’, ‘The Last Man on Earth’), Chill (Dascha Polanco, ‘Orange is the New Black’, ‘The Heights’), Logic (Timothy Simons, ‘Veep’), Indecision (Christopher Mintz-Plasse aka McLovin from ‘Super Bad’) all controlled by the The Maestro, and the one and only, Martin Lawrence.

Almost as wild as the ride in your head every time you bet, was the actual filming of this. Felt like I was watching a play as these actors improvised and played off each other all while having a blast. (We can talk Kristen Schaal over a beer sometime. Hysterical and sweet. Just as you thought she would be.)

BROADCAST / SOCIAL / Digital CD/AD: Paul Renner CD/CW: Mark St. Amant CD: Steve Baker AD: Dan Winske CW: Todd Buckholt EP: Mary Hanifin Director: Jason Woliner, Caviar Editor: JJ Lask / PS260 Audio: Duotone

Best brief ever

Come in to DraftKings and help evolve the brand side of things…set designs for internal production, a new design system, and strong brand voice. OK, I’m in! To be more precise, CD writer Mark St. Amant, EP Mary Hanifan and I, are in!

•••Time for commercial break, and a more resume building description on what we do at DraftKings•••

We have been providing strategic and creative direction to the in-house team (20+ and counting) of writers, art directors, film crew, animators and designers to optimize multiple campaigns for the brand’s Daily Fantasy Sports, Sportsbook and Casino offerings. On a daily basis, we are focused on building brand awareness, maximizing CR, applying DR best practices, and driving conversion during key events on the sports calendar.

•••Now back to your regularly scheduled reading•••

Life’s More Fun With Skin In the Game™.

(And that “skin” feeling can come in the form of thrills, chills, excitement, juice, action, you name it). Kinda catchy right? You will be seeing more of those eight words on a TV (see above), Billboard (see below), basically everywhere soon.

…

DESIGN A NEW SET FOR IN-HOUSE PRODUCTION

Jessie Coffield, the DK host of all those promo ads you have seen, needed a refresh. A space to call her own. The space needed to be modular, a plug and play model as these promos need to be shot a day after we script them. The space needed to feel more modern and DK branded. Work is still in progress but as you can see, we created a more upscale and modern living space for the very busy host. From NFL Playoffs (“Tis the Playoffs) to The Masters, to the NBA Finals, Jessie is at home in her new pad. Design and construction continues as we speak. Jessie 2.0 begun in January and will be in full force come Summer 2021.

This is the Jessie Coffield set design BEFORE…

Below is the Jessie Coffield set design AFTER…

A few digital shorts all shot, animated and edited in-house at warp speed.

SOCIAL / Digital / Broadcast CD/AD: Paul Renner CD/CW: Mark St. Amant CD: Steve Baker AD: Nick Devine, Sam Johnson, Lyndsay Cooper, Landon Beamer, Kate Fitzgerald CW: Michael Ackerson, Jason Dagres, Hayley Levesque Director: Jay Brennan Animation: Eric Funk. Producer: Mary Hanifan, Jake Williams, Tom Rigia

Below is the OOH design BEFORE…

Below is the OOH design AFTER…

DESIGN / OOH / SOCIAL / Digital CD: Steve Baker CD/AD: Paul Renner CD/CW: Mark St. Amant AD: Nick Devine, Dan Winske, Sam Johnson CW: Michael Ackerson, Todd Buckholt, Hayley Levesque Design Director: Michael Merriam

…

HEARTBEAT DOWNTOWN DENVER WALLSCAPE

OOH / DESIGN / Digital CD: Steve Baker CD/AD: Paul Renner CD/CW: Mark St. Amant AD: Nick Devine CW: Michael Ackerson

Assignment: Create an ESPN new employee handbook. 

Inspired by an umpire from the 1950's who used to draw intricate scenes on baseballs and give them to the players as gifts, this piece ended up getting handed out to every new employee at ESPN. We thought rather than a book about the company that will collect dust on a shelf, let's give new employees something they could hold on to and really be inspired by. The brand is in your hands. Literally.

CD/AD: Paul Renner CD/CW: Kevin Proudfoot CCO: Ty Montague / Todd Waterbury Illustrator: Peter Arkle

When I left W+K, those fine people put together a going away present for me. This is it. Just looking at it again, brings back memories of a great run on this great brand. Below a selection of the full pieces of work. 

LeBron nailed it at a very young age. And yes, he also arrived with a small posse way before Phil Jackson recently stated the same.

CD: Paul Renner Derek Barnes  AD: Stuart Jennings CW: Brant Mau CCO: Kevin Proudfoot / Todd Waterbury  Director: David Shane

Being a die hard Yankees fan, this was one of the toughest pieces of work I had to approve. Curse of the Bambino is gone. It's good for baseball. It's good for baseball. It's good for baseball.

CD: Paul Renner / Kevin Proudfoot AD: Stewart Jennings CW: Bobby Hershfield CCO: Ty Montague / Todd Waterbury

This film made my client cry.

ONLINE FILM

CD: Paul Renner Kevin Proudfoot AD: Jesse Coulter CW: Greg Kalleres ECD: Ty Montague / Todd Waterbury DIRECTOR: The Malloys MUISC: Jack Johnson

A great moment on this shoot. The Manning family had not seen each other in almost a year due to busy schedules. So when they arrived at the SC offices, a family hug of sorts ensued. I tried to get in, but Peyton gave me that look. Eli and Peyton were naturals as the teasing siblings. Go figure.

CD: Paul Renner / Derek Barnes AD: Stuart Jennings CW: Greg Kalleras ECD: Kevin Proudfoot / Todd Waterbury DIRECTOR: David Shane

Hats off to Stephanie and Alicia. This execution took months (when we only had a week) to color correct and write over 160 team clues. Below, Bristol adapted the art to the lobby wall.

CD: Paul Renner / Kevin Proudfoot / Anthony Sperduti AD: Stephanie Sigg CW: Alicia Winokor 

The print ad came to life in a big way in the Bristol lobby.

CD: Paul Renner / Derek Barnes AD: Jesse Coulter CW: Greg Kalleras Director: David Shane

WITHOUT SPORTS, THIS WOULDN'T BE DISGUSTING.

CD: Paul Renner / Kevin Proudfoot AD: Robert Rasmussen CW: Bobby Hershfield CCO: / Todd Waterbury DIRECTOR: Mark Romanek

The Hotel Fig in LA while legendary, the dimensions are a pain in the ass to do creative on. The original idea had Jack Nicholson in the middle. But Jack is Jack and killed that idea.

AMBIENT MEDIA  CD: Paul Renner / Kevin Proudfoot AD: Jesse Coulter CW: Greg Kalleres ECD: Ty Montague / Todd Waterbury 

Launching a new network is hard work: What's the tone? The content? The logo design? The tagline? 

But the one thing we knew with no doubt, was our target. These pieces introduced the new network to the rabid fans who bled their school colors even years after graduation. Never Graduate.

TV :30   CD: Paul Renner / Derek Barnes  AD: Eric Stevens  CW: Scott Hayes / Bobby Hershfield  CCO: Kevin Proudfoot / Todd Waterbury Director: David Horowitz

WITHOUT SPORTS, HOW WOULD WE ESCAPE.

CD/AD: Paul Renner CD/CW: Kevin Proudfoot CCO: Ty Montegue / Todd Waterbury DIRECTOR: Chris Smith

Finally a piece that my family actually got to experience. As did George Bodenheimer the former president of ESPN/ABC sports one Sunday morning. He loved it. We kept our jobs.

Brought my then 10 year old son to this shoot. I'm his hero.

CD: Paul Renner / Derek Barnes AD: Jesse Coulter CW: Greg Kalleras ECD: Kevin Proudfoot / Todd Waterbury DIRECTOR: David Shane

WITHOUT SPORTS, WHAT WOULD WE DO OVER THE HOLIDAYS?

CD/AD: Paul Renner CW: Charles Hall  CCO: Ty Montegue / Todd Waterbury Photographer: Melodie McDaniel

WITHOUT SPORTS, HOW WOULD WE CLOSE THE GAP.

CD/AD: Paul Renner CD/CW: Kevin Proudfoot CCO: Ty Montegue / Todd Waterbury DIRECTOR: Lance Accord

On the day we were to shoot Jorge Posada and Big Papi, Jorge showed up early. We wrote this at lunch in the ESPN cafeteria to keep him occupied.

CD/AD: Paul Renner CW: Andy Ferguson CCO: Kevin Proudfoot / Todd Waterbury Director: David Shane

WITHOUT SPORTS, THIS WOULD BE A WALK IN THE PARK.

CD/AD: Paul Renner CD/CW: Kevin Proudfoot CCO: Ty Montague / Todd Waterbury DIRECTOR: Phillip Engstrom

WITHOUT SPORTS, WE'D STOP BELIEVING.

CD: Paul Renner / Derek Barnes  AD: Eric Stevens  CW: Scott Hayes CCO: Kevin Proudfoot / Todd Waterbury

There was a moment at the Renner dinner table recently when I told my teenage daughter that women don’t make as much as men. Her face distorted and she quickly said “What the heck (maybe not that exact word but keeping this a family friendly site), why?”

It got me thinking, learning that women are paid 29% less than men at Citi should shock you, but grownups heard about the Pay Gap for years. It's not really surprising anymore.

Kids, however, see the world more purely, with a clear understanding of right and wrong. So they are shocked when they hear the news for the first time. To prove this, we commissioned a celebrated female photographer to conduct a social experiment: capture the moment daughters learn about the Pay Gap.

The powerful portraits and film serve as a reminder to never be complacent in the face of inequality

Global ECD: Paul Renner ECD: Jeremy Filgate ACD AD: Sungkwon Ha ACD CW: Patrick Merrit Producer: Tim LeGallo, Dylan Mizner

…..

In remembrance of the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall, New York City was chosen to host World Pride Day 2019. 6 million people came out to celebrate, and so did 6 million different brands.

Rainbow-washing is a growing problem in our society. Brands are attaching themselves to the LGBTQ+ community without earning their respect. However, Citi has been an advocate for gay rights for decades. So to honor this historic moment, we decided to celebrate our pride using something that’s always been a part of us. Our logo.

The iconic Citi “arc” was the perfect place to incorporate a rainbow, the historic symbol of gay pride. 

This reimagined logo was featured at bank branches across New York City. As well as ATM screens, Citi Bikes and Citi Field. But the culmination of the campaign was when we brought our message to the heart of the financial world, the New York Stock Exchange.

Global ECD: Paul Renner ECD: Jeremy Filgate ACD AD: Gary Lim, Sungkwon Ha ACD CW: Patrick Merrit Producer: Tim LeGallo, Dylan Mizner

…..

In 2019, we learned that women made up only 21.7% of the music industry, 12.3% of songwriters and just 2.1% of producers. Citi wanted to use their extensive entertainment platform and the people behind it to change that. So we produced a record that actually visualized the stark inequality in music and put the stats directly in the hands of the people who can change them: Citi’s own connections in the music industry, including record labels, artists, CEOs and CMOs.

The 46-second VO is on a single pink track, custom-screened and hand-cut to cover just 2.1% of the vinyl. The 97.9% of space left blank on the record symbolizes the industry’s greatest inequality (and the people responsible for creating the record): female producers.The reminder is followed by an invitation to join our initiatives to change those statistics by supporting Citi’s movement, #seeherhearher.

Global ECD: Paul Renner ECD: Jim Kotulka AD: Camilla Ciappina CW: Alex Basak, Andrew Hurwitz Producer: Tim LeGallo

…..

AND NOW FOR A COMMERCIAL BREAK

Global ECD: Paul Renner ECD: Jim Kotulka ACD: Spencer Campbell / Liem Nguyen Producer: Tim LeGallo Directors: Hoffman Metoyer

Global ECD: Paul Renner ECD: Jim Kotulka CD: Aaron Blazey / Rit Bottorf Producer: Tim LeGallo Directors: Hoffman Metoyer

Global ECD: Paul Renner ECD: Jim Kotulka CD: Aaron Blazey / Rit Bottorf Producer: Tim LeGallo Directors: Hoffman Metoyer

Global ECD: Paul Renner ECD: Jim Kotulka CD: Aaron Blazey / Rit Bottorf Producer: Tim LeGallo Directors: Hoffman Metoyer

FILM :60  AD: Paul Renner CW: Carl Loeb CCO: Lance Jensen / Al Pafenbach  Director: Dante Ariola

Vanity Fair Music Edition:  ACD: Paul Renner CW: Tim Gillingham  CCO: Lance Jensen / Al Pafenbach  Photographer: Russ Quackenbush

The thing about the VW Passat was it was fancy enough to get you in to the country club, but not snooty enough to pull up to the Burger King drive-thru. No matter who your are (mentally), your secret is safe with us. 

FILM :30  AD: Paul Renner CW: Dave Weist CCO: Lance Jensen / Al Pafenbach  Director: Errol Morris

Inspired and written by my partner, Dave Weist...

Print  ACD: Paul Renner CW: Dave Weist CCO: Lance Jensen / Al Pafenbach  

FILM :60  ACD/AD: Paul Renner ACD/CW: Dave Weist CCO: Lance Jensen / Al Pafenbach  Director: Dayton Faris

A car with a ton of standard features is a given today, but with the redesign of the new Jetta, Cabrio and Golf, VW had big news on it's hands. We developed the 40 Standard Features campaign using everyday life situations to illustrate some of them. It was probably the first time that a car company shot their cars in mid-day sun and not at magic hour. This technique was a big thing in fashion at the time. Also a first, a fashion photographer used to shoot cars. Melodie crushed it. One of my favorite projects.

Print Campaign:  ACD: Paul Renner CW: Carl Loeb CCO: Lance Jensen / Al Pafenbach  Photographer: Melodie McDaniel

In a year when VW introduced a newly designed fleet, we had our challenge to sell the fleet of older cars as Certified Pre-Owned  (the  old ones didn't look as good as the new models). The decision to animate came pretty early on as we felt it sold the idea of CPO brand and that they still were Volkswagens at the core.

FILM :30  AD: Paul Renner CW: Carl Loeb CCO: Lance Jensen / Al Pafenbach  Director: Will Barras / Bermuda Shorts

A simple and visual way to show distance without showing a car going the actual distance. This diesel campaign proved to us that we had a client who was comfortable in their own skin and trusted us.

Diesel Distance told through changing climates.

FILM :30  AD: Paul Renner CW: Dave Weist CCO: Lance Jensen / Al Pafenbach  Director: Dayton Faris

Diesel Distance told through changing accents.

DieselDistance illustrated by local music.

Crack

I was walking through the mall when I looked down and saw this. It inspired a whole campaign that if you kept your eyes open,  the distinctive New Beetle shape can be seen anywhere.

Print Campaign:  ACD: Paul Renner CW: Carl Loeb CCO: Lance Jensen / Al Pafenbach  Photographer: Raul Penner (Me)

Noodle

Boots

Hand

The High Performance Campaign was true run and gun production. From Carl sitting on the side of Highway 2, and Route 1 modeling for Hand and Foot to Russ taking our Hair model (agency producer) to CVS and shooting film while she walked up and down the isle (as I kept the getaway Jetta running out front). Not shot on an iPhone 7 which made even more bad ass.

Print Campaign:  ACD: Paul Renner CW: Carl Loeb CCO: Lance Jensen / Al Pafenbach  Photographer: Russ Quackenbush

This spot launched the Beautyrest Black premium line of mattresses. Bravo to Noam for selling the client on the creepy (in real life too!) hotel manager. And Mr. Brady...he is a good guy. Pains me to say it. But it's true. He was charming and came ready to work.

FILM  ECD: Paul Renner / Jon Goldberg AD: Nigel Gross CW: Ben Cascella  CCO: Dan Kelleher / Jonathan Mackler  Director: Noam Murro Music: J Ralph

To celebrate the return of the Jets to the city of Winnipeg, we gave fans a chance to actually partake in wishing their team well before the first game.

ONLINE FILM  ECD: Paul Renner / Derek Barnes AD: Grant Mason CW: Jess Ghersi CCO: Mike Byrne  Director: Jamie Rafn / Smuggler

We all had the dream: Thousands of screaming fans calling out your name as you head for the goal (end zone, home plate). Just as you are about to make it, you wake up and realize it was just a dream. Well for two beer league hockey teams in Canada, their dream didn't vanish. Budweiser made it come true. This aired on the Super Bowl in Canada.

FILM / TV  ECD: Paul Renner / Derek Barnes AD: Grant Mason CW: Jess Ghersi CCO: Mike Byrne  Director: Family Style, Jon+Tory

Wrote this in Prague. Noticed groups of friends piling in to bars and throwing back some beer. The same as it is here in NYC. It's universal. We are more alike than different. 

TV FILM :60   ECD/AD: Paul Renner ECD/CW: Derek Barnes CCO: Mike Byrne  Director: Jackson and Karinja

CD/CW: Paul Renner / Derek Barnes AD: Jesse Coulter

ECD: Kevin Proudfoot / Todd Waterbury DIRECTOR: Brian Beletic

FILM :30  AD: Paul Renner CW: Roger Baldacci ECD: Pete Favat Director: International Rocketship

FILM :30  AD: Paul Renner CW: Roger Baldacci ECD: Pete Favat Director: Fred Stuhr

PRINT AD: Paul Renner CW: Carl Loeb ECD: Pete Favat Photographer: Steve Belkowitz

PRINT  AD: Paul Renner CW: Roger Baldacci ECD: Pete Favat