Depositing myself
First off, Patti tells me that I have neglected to say what brand my commercials were for (and many readers have posed the same question) so let me clarify that. I have been helping to relaunch what is now the nation's largest bank and credit card company called
Chase (of Rockefeller fame) that was recently acquired by Bank One (which is changing its name to the more August 'Chase' over the course of the next six months or so).If you happen to see any of my commercials, please don't judge me too harshly.
I think that they are reasonably well-crafted but in the end, like all advertising, they are both a collaborative effort and made solely in the interest of selling something, in this case free checking and a family of over 900 credit cards.
Nonetheless, I find that there is a little bit of me in each of them. One is the story of a young woman getting her first checking account, something I remember being quite excited about. Back in the day, it was badge of adulthood to have a book full of checks with your name printed on it (though now every ten year old has a cel phone, a credit card, and the lease on a Hummer). I evoked some of that excitement, that the-world-is-my-oyster feeling, when I wrote the script. Another spot, yet to air, is about the undercurrent of power play that goes on in even the most loving families, as a mother uses silence and guilt to manipulate her daughter who is trying to assert her adulthood by refusing to come home from college to celebrate her birthday. There's a third spot that described the phases of life man goes through, from graduating from college through to retirement, a sort of mid-life spot that captures where most people my age dwell. Another spot is about a mother's discovery that her daughter has drawn all over her credit card bill (been there). The one spot in the campaign I didn't conceive is about man whose daughter is about to get married (ironically that spot is the one that has my name on a desk in the middle of the spot); it's more sentimental than the others and uses a song not quite to my taste, but it was fun to work on, to polish and produce and I'm pretty happy with the result.
In short, even though advertising is far from a personal medium, there is an opportunity to inject a bit of oneself.
To shift gears, I have been quite enjoying my new pen It's more of a marker than the pens I've been using or the past year but still very controlled. I used it to lay down the drawings for my friend Elliot's new album cover. The I tweaked them on the computer. You can see my first draft above. I have yet to hear from him as to whether he likes it.
I am quite enjoying my new experiments with manipulating my drawings on my computer. The key is to start on paper, loose and free, and then let the Mac do the repetitive and photographic work. One example are my new crop of BenDay-ed Peanut drawings (see May 16th) which I manipulated in Photoshop. This CD is another, perfecting my line in Illustrator; I think it give my work a polish it can use for certain sorts of assignments.
Last February, I
railed against the computer's impact on my drawing. Now I am mellowing and my mind i opening up.
And finally, thanks to everyone who has written me such nice and encouraging email over the last few day, urging me to keep on blogging. Well, I shall. For now.
A record of my exploration into all aspects of drawing, illustrated journaling, creativity, and the inspiring aspects of art. By the author of "Everyday Matters," "The Creative License", and "An Illustrated Life" and other books.
Comments
As a fellow creative director, it's nice to hear how you approached these concepts. The interesting thing for me is my talent doesn't understand budgets.
I mean that I give just as much to a $10,000 job as i do to a $100,000 job. I just can't let myself do work that doesn't equal my talent.
So, staying inspired isn't a difficult thing for me because i'm always trying to push myself in every medium no matter the budget.
The only thing I really wrestle with is carving out time for me. =)
I haven't seen the spots yet, but i await with much anticipation. I love watching the many talented sides of your life.
Big Harry from VA
Posted by: Big Harry H | May 19, 2005 09:33 AM
intriguing....wonder why I love hearing about all the inner workings of the process.... for some reason I do ...thanks
Posted by: fern | May 19, 2005 09:37 AM
I was watching King of Queens and my husband asks, "What are you watching?" I answered, "Nothing. I'm waiting for the commercials." After explaining to him about your "real job", the commercial played. I remember I saw it already and didn't know it was yours then. What stood out for me before was seeing the couple go from young to "less young"... something I seem to be noticing with me and my man as I look at our photos. Good job, Danny!!
Posted by: Sharon | May 19, 2005 09:39 AM
I saw the Chase commercial just last night and realized it was yours! And how fun to know it was made by someone who loves drawing as much as I do.
Your blog inspires me in so many ways - thanks!
Posted by: cg | May 19, 2005 10:10 AM
I was studying the little pictures because I was sure the Chase commercial about the stages of life was in one of them. I think it's a very well done advertisment.
Posted by: Deb | May 19, 2005 10:19 AM
Danny, it is great to see that your personality shines through the fibers of the spots. I am looking forward to seeing them again and again at the fcs awards next year. : )
It is interesting to see the spots and to compare them to Fellon's Citi work. You really have such a unique and genuine tone in here. Congratulations for pushing it this far in such a good direction.
Posted by: Witold Riedel | May 19, 2005 11:20 AM
yeah, i didn't realize that commercial was your's! i really like it, really graceful.
Posted by: amy | May 19, 2005 12:50 PM
Illustrator is loads of fun. Glad to see you're starting to appreciate it. I find it especially handy, because it doesn't matter what size your work is. Vectors work infinitely (and when you're working at a student newspaper where nothings for sure, and no one knows what amount of space you're going to have that's especially handy).
I do miss your more technical sketchbooking exposes, but I'd rather have anything than nothing.
Posted by: beth maher | May 19, 2005 01:37 PM
I have been seeing your spots and think they really stand out. How did you get a Dave Matthews song? You must have pulled some thick strings....
Posted by: penelope | May 19, 2005 02:16 PM
Since I live in Paris, I went to look for them online. Found a few on the Chase site: Chase ads
Great job!
Posted by: amy in paris | May 19, 2005 10:31 PM
RE: Computer art. At a restaurant having breakfast, eavesdropping on 2 guys next to us talking about their lives. One guy tested computer games for a living. Later he was talking about the rut he was in and wanted an outlet. He talked about getting "back into art." Being an artist myself, I smiled at his revelation knowing how much art can change your outlook. To my dismay, he talked about what art "program he could use on his computer. I wanted to lean over and say "Please, grab a pencil and a blank paper and draw it yourself. Step away from the keyboard!" I didn't, but boy I wanted to say something. Maybe it's because I'm computer illiterate or a pencil snob. So here you are talking up your Mac art. Oh well, mi arte es su arte. Draw On, Whatever medium.
Posted by: Andy | May 20, 2005 07:17 PM
Oh wow! I've heard people talking about the commercial with the Five for Fighting song in it; in fact, a few of my friends were talking about how good it was. It's beautifully made and I'm happy it was made by you.
Posted by: Lyns | May 20, 2005 08:47 PM
That one's YOURS! I remember watching it and thinking, "Hey, that's a pretty cool idea." So good job, man. Good job.
Posted by: Manders | May 21, 2005 11:34 AM
I don't think one blogs, or writes, or creates in general, for themselves. I think you blog for yourself first, as it forces you to quantify your feeling(s) about what ever you are bloging about (even if it’s just a pen). Which in this "The Thing of the thing is" way, what helped bring you to this current point of creative success. For better or worse, your blog, and the fact that you do blog, are part and parcel of what you have become over these past years of transformation. You would become less, by not keeping it up, even intermediately. We would all get by. But the loss would be yours primarily. The long and the short of it is that it is in your best interest to have the blog there for you. Knowing it’s there to “blog to” is what matters.
Posted by: peter hollander | May 23, 2005 01:25 AM
GREAT COMMERCIALS Danny!! I particularly enjoyed the one which shows a person's entire life. Great work!
Glad you are going to keep up with your blog. I know that life sometimes gets in the way..and you're gone for a bit, but we all enjoy reading it when you post!
Thanks for sharing!
Nancy
Posted by: Nancy Patterson | May 25, 2005 11:20 AM
You do wonderful work. I love the commercial that follows the young man through the stages of his life. That was a bit of creative thinking there. I have not seen any commericals for Chase that feature Ethnic groups, they may be out there, but I have not seen any. Anyway Congrats!
Posted by: Kimberly | May 26, 2005 11:12 AM
Beautiful!
Posted by: shelly | May 26, 2005 01:16 PM
Danny:
I've seen the spots several times and like them a lot--especially the soundtracks.
Posted by: Joy | May 31, 2005 01:16 PM