Fast Forward: it’s now 2011. It was a late Monday afternoon when the call from Quiksilver came into our west coast office. They needed help with a last minute project and asked if we could come in the following morning to discuss. We have a long standing relationship with Quik, so we knew it must of been important. We showed up to the office not knowing exactly what was going to be needed. Nothing like last minute, but we were up for whatever curveball tossed our way. Cutting to the chase, apparently Pirate Surf had been shelved in the mid 90’s; the product design and POV had been folded into Quiksilver’s line as a whole. The brand was “shelved” meaning the brand stopped producing product, and ceased distribution, and was basically put away for another day. Well, Quik wanted to bring it back. We were charged with re-animating the brand in preparation for some large meetings the following week. Tic Toc, time’s a ticking, we have one week.

A few additional twists:

1. We needed to make sure the brand could speak year round, a four season offering.
2. We needed to expand beyond just “Surf” – it needed to apply to the culture as a whole, and be accepted in the moto, music, surf, skate, and snow arenas as well.
3. The brand needed to speak to male and female audience
4. At a glance, the brand needed to represent the mainstream general perception of action sport culture and it MUST come across as authentic
5. And finally, it must be a modern day version of Pirate Surf as the days of typical grunge are long gone. So, what does Pirate look like and stand for, both now and for the next 5 plus years?

Before heading back to the office we made a run to the local Trader Joes to pick up some PIRATE’s Booty. We knew that with this time frame, we’d need to maximize our eating efficiencies for the next several days.

We rolled up our sleeves and got right to work. We ran it through our traditional process but modified for speed. We did our homework, both on the history of the brand, its competition, and current market trends given how Quik thought it should be positioned. We developed a very poignant creative brief in one days time, defining target audiences, unique positioning, values, personality, etc.

We launched into full creative mode pulling swipe and inspiration from wherever we could in that short time frame. It was actually quite liberating to work on such a stringent timeline. It was almost like a mini escape and everyone in the office was leaving the team alone for the most part. They were respecting “the code.” The biggest inspiration we had in our arsenal was a book called “Fucked Up and Photocopied” which showcases the “instant art of the punk rock movement.”

We really gravitated to these gems:

We wanted the look and feel to capture the life of this youth culture and energy, with a subtle nod to a Pirate’s life (Pirate to us represented unbridled freedom). We wanted a weathered feel, bold use of color, but a zerox monochromatic look which lent itself to high contrast black and white imagery, almost disheveled but not. Once we honed in on this certain look and had our overarching concept developed, too many sleepless nights began to set in.

Somehow we got a little “Captain” in us. We found ourselves talking like pirates, quoting pirates, discussing the hottest pirate actresses, and best pirate jokes, all the while playing surf videos in the background and skating the hallways late at night. We even earned nicknames along the way, for example, senior designer Justin was known as: “Captain Calico J-Beard”, and senior copywriter Kyle became: “Black Long Dolphin” for which reasons we wont get into (but lets just say it had to do with too much rum and a tattoo parlor).

Ultimately we solved the puzzle and delivered one kick ass brand. We not only delivered a presentation, we took it one step further and fully developed the brand. It was complete with all the trimmings, brand guidelines, packaging, instore, outdoor, gorilla strategies, web templates, and an ad campaign to boot. Quiksilver was set, and Pirate was well Tee’d up for re-launch.

Check out the full case study here and relish in the Pirate life: http://www.160over90.com/
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…and wasn’ really going to post these but what the hell.

A couple of side notes, incase you were wondering:

1. Everybody wants to be a Pirate. Even my 2 year old son. Argh! (he does a great impression, i’m still getting the image)
2. the top pirate quote at least in the office during the time: “… you are without doubt the worst pirate I have ever heard of … Ahhh, but you have heard of me…”
3. the top pirate joke: There was a pirate who wore a steering wheel on his belt buckle. One day, a landlubber asked him why. The pirated replied “I don’t know, but it’s drivin’ me nuts.”
4. hottest pirate actress: Penelope Cruz

Hang Ten is such a jewel, and was such a force in establishing the action sport counter culture. The brand was there in the beginning for surf, skate, snow, bmx and moto; and played a key role in exposing the sports to the mainstream audience by promoting events and competitions and getting them broadcast on network television (and this was back in the 70′s).

The symbol of hope, carrying over 50 years of brand equity, the Hang Ten FEET are widely recognized around the world. These little feet have an incredible recognition and almost everyone has a positive affinity for them. Some can quite put their finger on it, but they recognize it. Symbolic of the most iconic and stylish surf moves of all time, The feet, they represent both performance and the casual lifestyle. We had to bring them back, treat them with the respect they deserve. Give them a strong identity with a marketing message they can rely on.

Most people we spoke to associated Hang Ten with surf and California culture, but a few remember it as a fashion brand rooted in action sports. But really, it’s all three. Throughout the last two decades, the brand had changed hands multiple times, and has become available in many countries around the globe, each country having it own interpretation of the brand. The authenticity and meaning of the brand was being diluted, yet the notion of it stemming from california remained organically. Hang Ten was in need of focus and an injection of energy. Our job was to bring everything back into focus, and help reposition the brand as an all season brand, embracing multiple action sport cultures, appealing to both a male and female audience.

It can be difficult to describe the feeling of bobbing around in the sun in warm salt water, waiting for the next set to come in. The exercise for Hang Ten made me realize something. Its not the bobbing around in the water, its not flying through trees in fresh powder, its not skating the abandoned pool down the street, its the feeling you get by doing it. Its the good vibe, the relaxed and happy mental state. Vitamin D production promoted by the sun. The feeling you get from the first warm day of spring, the first day you can take off your shoes, and go barefoot.

Its kind of like the scene in “Die Hard” when Bruce Willis takes off his shoes and scrunches the carpet with his toes.

carpet crunch

We all know that feeling. All we needed to do was capture it. The work can be seen here: http://www.160over90.com/hangten.html

Have a good one.

It’s been a crazy summer at 160over90. There’s been miles of travel (what’s up Los Angeles, London, South Bend), plenty of fun, and a lot of great work, thinking, and collaboration. But before we leave the dog days of summer behind (it’s been one of the hottest Philadelphia summers on record) we wanted to share some of our most recent client work.

We’ve added 11 new clients to our site and over the next few weeks The Boomerang Table will feature a behind-the-scenes view into the work of each. Get your phones, iPads, and computers ready and let us know what you think.

Mercedes-Benz

University of Notre Dame

Maverik Lacrosse

Michael Ryan Architects

Hang Ten

Yume Ume

Tectron

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Nike Australian Open 2011

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pirate Surf

Shortly after the picture was taken, the Phanatic had to give Mr. Met the heimlich. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop him from choking... again.

I am a Philadelphia Phillies fan.  That means I love the Mets (I mean I love how much in shambles they are), love October, and love having the best 5-man rotation in the baseball.  Yes, that’s right; I said 5-man rotation, not 4.  With all the hoopla and hype surrounding our big 4, I thought I’d take a stand for the best 5^th starter in baseball – the one and only Joe Blanton.

You see, as somewhat of a baseball purist, and one king-hell of a cynic, I’ve always hated these little nicknames given to our pitching staff.  H2O was bad enough, but with the return of the prodigal lefty, Clifford Phifer Lee, it opened to floodgates to a whole new level of cutesy.  And let me tell you, there’s no room for crying or cute in baseball. (Ask the coach of the Rockford Peaches, Jimmy Dugan).

When you miss the cut-off man, you deserved to get yelled at.

But what I hated even more about names like the Phantastic Phour or the Phearsome Phoursome or R2C2 was that it left out the all important 5^th starter, Joe Blanton.  See, Doc and Cliff only take the mound once every 5 days and Ryan Howard only gets to bat 4 or 5 times a game. (And plus, Cliff and Doc never hit a dinger in the World Series). In the meantime, you need not only good players to fill-in those gaps, but quality clubhouse guys who don’t have egos, who don’t complain, and who play ball the right way.

And that’s exactly what Joe Blanton is.  He may not be the most dominant pitcher (except maybe when playing Edward Fortyhands),  but he’s amazingly durable, having started at least 30 games each year from 2005 up until last year, where he missed the mark by a single start.  He has a respectable career ERA in the low 4’s and will give you close to 200 innings pitched every year.  And I imagine he’s what Babe Ruth used to look like when he pitched.  And that’s the kind of guy Philadelphia should be able to get behind.

Back in the day, plump was beautiful in art.

That’s why I don’t support anything having to do with the Phillies staff that doesn’t include Joe Blanton.  It’s also why there is only one name for the Phil’s staff that I find acceptable:  Fat Joe and the Terror Squad.  Not only does the name include our jolly Heavy B, but it’s also a beautifully random hip hop reference.  I choose to stand by Joe because he doesn’t complain about being overlooked, because he was was a vital cog in our ’08 championship run, and because I’m pretty sure I saw him on The Biggest Loser the other week.

So for all the fans of the Phightins who overlook our portly 5^th starter, and especially for Ryan Lawrence (the Phils beat-writer from the Delco Times who asked Cole Hamels what it felt like being the only starter with a World Series ring when Joey B was sitting a couple seats down on the panel,pictured below), this is a reminder that baseball is a team game.  And with Heavy B taking on the back-end starters of most teams, he may end up being the difference maker down the stretch.

I wouldn't be laughing either if I was the Rodney Dangerfield of this staff.

So here’s to Fat Joe and the Terror Squad and another dangerous October riot through the streets of Philadelphia.

The first video below is part of “the creators project”, a docu series done by VBS. It gives some interesting insight into Brain Farm’s camera and technical equipment that allows them to capture their amazing footage. The second one is their general reel which has just more of those action and nature moments like the footage of the avalanche in the beginning.

What do you get when you mix a few Philadelphia creative agencies with a hot summer day, fierce competition, team spirit and soccer?  The inaugural Agency Cup, naturally.

Yesterday, 160over90, TrueAction, Evoke, The Brownstein Group and Tierney Communications gathered at Drexel’s Vidas Athletic Field to indulge in some serious soccer matches. Luckily the threat of thunderstorms didn’t pan out…but the 100 degree temps did.  Nevertheless, everyone pushed through the scorching heat and came to play.

Congratulations to Trueaction, who battled it out in our super sweaty tournament to take home the trophy as the Agency Cup champions!

Thanks so much to the participants and those who came to cheer us all on. Also, a huge thanks to Drexel for providing their fantastic facilities and services.

Are you a creative, media savvy, advertising genius who loves competition? Do you enjoy high socks, shin guards, sweat and soccer balls?

If your answer is “yes”, then 160over90 wants your team to compete in the Agency World Cup!

Advertising, branding, design, media and interactive agencies in the Philadelphia area are invited for a soccer showdown on Thursday, August 5 from 3pm-5pm for the Agency World Cup.

The teams will be co-ed and consist of 5 v 5 plus goal keepers.  Each game will last 20 minutes. There will be a minimum of a three game qualification stage, followed by a knockout/bracket stage. Teams will be scored three points for a win, one point for a draw.

The Agency World Cup will take place in Philadelphia and the exact field location will be determined based on the number of participating teams.

This competition will separate the creatives from the athletes so leave your projects at the office and bring your A-games to the field!

Please RSVP by Thursday, July 22

Michelle Prescott

AgencyCup@160over90.com

I think I would have gone with some more like a Tungsten. I like the way it sits there and silently judges you. Not like that jerk font Fajita, who is constantly goading you to have another margarita or some taquitos.

Yesterday morning when most of the sane world was still sleeping, 30,000 runners, including five of us from 160over90, congregated in North Philly at the top of Broad Street to race ten miles in muggy 80 degree heat. We organized the team as a part of our efforts to  encourage sustainability and health, and to prove that running and beer are a copacetic combination.

The Broad Street Run is deemed the biggest ten mile race in the nation, and it’s a point-to-point run that follows Broad Street from North to South (passing city hall, and the 160over90 office along the way), ending at the Naval Yards.

Race highlights included: mummers jamming on the sidwalk, marching bands, lots of gatorade, fire hydrant sprinklers, and a free soft-pretzel after the race. It was hot.

Huzzah to the finishers!

Ro and Michelle before the race

Below are a few photos from Philly.com. Check out their page for more.