In 2010, American Express created Small Business Saturday, a huge new shopping day right after Black Friday. But 2011 would be the real test. Would SBS be just a one-off? Or would it cement its place as a part of the holiday shopping season?

After the first year, we had over 1.4 million likes on Facebook. The trick was how to activate these shoppers for year two. So we invited them to not just like the day, but to actually pledge to shop small. This was important because our base had already liked SBS, and they couldn’t relike it. The public pledge mechanism gave another way for their support to be shared out, and was also a deeper commitment than just a ‘like’.

Facebook was the hub for both small business owners and consumers. For business owners, the Facebook page was designed as a toolkit. Owners could find ways to promote their business with prewritten posts, customizable posters, badges and signage. They could create offers and spread them socially. Having consistency among thousands of small businesses amplified the impact and helped rally customers around a cohesive Small Business Saturday message.

For consumers, we invited them to not just like the day, but to actually pledge to shop small. And Facebook was where they could search for nearby businesses, promote their favorite and publicly commit to shop small. 

It's always nice when the leader of the free world gets on board and helps spread your message.

This is the official resolution from the U.S. Senate documenting designating November 26, 2011 as Small Business Saturday. And it passed unanimously. When's the last time that happened? From idea to official day in 13 months.

Lifetime likes to brand each month with a catchy name and promos. A while back, I had the chance to work on Killer Cheerleader Month, featuring such edge-of-your-seat thrillers as Cheer For Your Life, Dying To Be A Cheerleader, and Pom Poms and Payback.

It turns out these cheerleaders were a pretty rough bunch, as Denise Richards among many others found out the hard way. So they deserved a name befitting their cheery ruthlessness.

The best part was developing the umbrella theme. That was the big ask, and I came up with Fear The Cheer.

The talented team at Friends of Mine brought it to life and Lifetime used Fear The Cheer everywhere, including the corner of the screen the whole time the movies were running. Lifetime liked it so much, they wound up using it three years straight.

Would you like to have more friends? Earn more money? Enjoy better relationships? Well, there’s a new secret to success and it only takes five seconds a day.

It’s as simple as tucking in your shirt. And here’s the thing: it’s real.

It wasn’t just a shirt. It was a success system. Like every other success system, it had a mandatory self help book. Of course, the system was so simple, the book was about eight pages long (and that was with larger type and a bunch of visuals).

Tuck your shirt. Change your life.

You’re still here? Well then, check out this video showing how tucking your shirt has affected history.

RANGE ROVER

As the original luxury SUV, Range Rover invented the category in 1970. Decades later, they were overrun by competitors trying to muscle in on their turf. So the work had to strike the right note, matching British luxury with rugged performance.

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY
The Land Rover Discovery was the first family SUV from Land Rover. The tricky balancing act was highlighting the family-friendly aspect, but never losing the authentic off-road credibility of Rover.

LAND ROVER DEFENDER
The descendant of the original 1948 Land Rover, the Defender was the most rugged and “African” of the Rover lineup. I worked on the U.S. launch and did almost every ad until it ended its American run in 1998. (Damn those new federal air bag standards.)

FYI, this is basically an unretouched photo. We got the rhino just mad enough to actually chase the Defender (which it ultimately caught and almost flipped.)

The last step in each recipe is always the same.

Out stunt made the 2015 Cannes short list. Bottoms up.

Fun fact: as bourbon ages in oak barrels for years, a portion evaporates. This is traditionally known as the angel’s share. But lucky us, what’s left behind is even richer and more complex, resulting in Angel’s Envy.

In a visual sea of antique parchment and distressed lettering, Angel’s Envy bottle and type design take a distinctly modern stand. Neil Riddell and the product innovation team at CP+B created this package, and the spirit behind it helped guide all the work.

POSTERS
These posters told the story of Lincoln Henderson, the 73-year-old Bourbon Renegade, and his innovative new bourbon. They were used on premise and in liquor stores to promote both the man and his new spirit.

The King was such a cultural phenomenon that people started dressing up like him for Halloween. But they were doing it all wrong—a home brewed costume was no way to approach the occasion with regal grace. So for Halloween 2007, Burger King introduced the full-size XL King Mask. It was sold as a limited edition in a deluxe case. Wearing this extra-large crown demanded a certain royal dignity and panache. So, I literally wrote the book on how to trick or treat like the King.  It was my first assignment at CP+B and got into the CA Advertising Annual. It was a promising start.

BK TV
I worked on a bunch of new product initiatives, such as a larger BK Snack Wrapper during the great Snack Wrap Wars of 2008. I also got the chance to promote healthier eating for kids and unhealthier eating for adults.

WHOPPER VS. BIG MAC

At the briefing for the Whopper’s 50th Anniversary, CP+B had a tasting of the Whopper and its competition. My partner Dave Clemans and I couldn’t help but notice how small the Big Mac seemed next to the Whopper. It made the very name “Big Mac” seem like false advertising. The visual pretty much created itself on the spot. It was a classic, yet embarrassingly effective, side-by-side comparison.

The spot that "inspired" designer Frank La Rant.

Wherever Frank's plastic pants were seen, so was Fruit of the Loom. 

People were directed to Nextpedition.com where they were invited to take a travel personality quiz. A series of questions analyzed their interests, defined what type of traveler they were, and would become the basis for their mystery destination.

Are you a foodie who also loves architecture? Or a history buff who craves adventure? Just take a simple quiz and your travel personality will be revealed.

Twenty signs, from Fabitarian to Poshaholic to Gastronaut, that reveal your true travel self.

Once a customer books a Nextpedition, they receive a package before departing. It includes their travel console and reveals their initial destination and the adventure they are about to embark on.

Every Nextpedition trip comes with a hand-held guide. This "always on" travel concierge reveals, day by day, where to go next, how to get there, and what is in store when you arrive.

Apparently Nextpedition had hit upon something that was bubbling up in culture called Structured Serendipity. It was so unique, it was the subject of an article in Harvard Business Review (which is pretty much the closest I’ll ever get to Harvard).

In the travel category, when you create something more unique than a new cocktail or floating yogurt machine, people take notice.

A little blast of optimism to launch the campaign and get America's small business owners fired up.

Booming Plays
If necessity is the mother of invention, then the Great Recession of 2007-2009 was quite a mother. Small business owners were forced to develop a series of tricks and plays to wring the most they could out of their business spending. As part of that, they were using American Express OPEN cards in ways even American Express hadn’t imagined.  

Our job was obvious: get these plays into the marketplace and inspire other business owners to use them or invent their own. These are their stories. 

Every week in major business sections around the country, a business owner’s play would appear. This owners were doing MacGyver level stuff with their AmEx accounts. All we had to do was spread the word. 

The website was recast from a place to pitch cards to be the repository of all things Booming, from businesses to categories to regions of the country.

In a mix of old media meets new, businesses were encouraged to tweet how business was Booming for them. A selection of these tweets were then printed every week in the NY Times business section.

The Fifth Avenue Stamp Gallery campaign was Ari Merkin's baby. But he and I created this one together. Which was good for me, because it won two Silver Pencils at the One Show.

My boss Diane Rothschild was on the board of the One Club so my partner Neal Hughlett and I got to do some fun pieces for them, including this poster promoting the One Show.

Neal Hughlett and I designed the after-show gift for people as they were leaving the One Show. We came up with these hats, cleverly designed to adjust to how people might’ve changed during the show.

I worked on the Old Navy Supermodelquins from the pitch through production. I even named a couple of them. But they didn’t always just pitch affordable fashion. Sometimes, they pitched safety. This spot that the team did for July 4th was one of my favorites.