Now and again we go a while without seeing some of the writers with whom we’ve worked a lot. Maybe they move out of town, get stuck on endless print campaigns or they’re hooked in to clients who eschew radio and TV production. In some instances, writers ditch the ad agency scene in favor of going freelance. When that happens they become sperm donors for the idea banks at ad agencies – their creative seeds get left behind with no commitment and no way to nurture what they’ve parented.
So it was rare indeed this past week to re-connect with John Vipond with whom we used to work a ton when he was writing, recording and producing radio spots for Minneapolis ad giants Bozell (now closed) and Carmichael Lynch. Since going freelance he’s been culling new clients, adopting kids (see photo) and teaching classes at MCAD, the U of M, The University of Saint Thomas and Brainco.
John, displaying the work of his newest art director, Ethan
Futura Marketing of Minnetonka brought John on board to record and produce a couple of voice-overs that could serve as part of a brand imaging campaign for a major Minnesota company with a global presence. The issue at hand with this particular brand is that, while quite successful, they don’t have a unifying look and feel to their line of products and services. The voice-over talents, Dan Culhane and Scott Carpenter of N.U.T.S., were brought into the recording studio to shape potential “personalities” that could be used in a campaign. To quote John, “think of it as creating the look, tone, feel, logo and style for a brand like Microsoft Office”, but in an entirely different category.
Not only was it fun to work with John, he also brought in his adopted son Ethan who made the day fun by entertaining Amelia, sharing with us his coloring book, and by playing peek-a-boo through the lobby window of Recording Studio A here at Babble-On – sure made a cold, gray autumn day in Minneapolis downright sunny.
Hopefully we’ll see more of both John and Ethan in the near future once the big cloak comes off and the brand image comes to fruition.
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