Gary Topolewski

    Jeep is the original four-wheel-drive vehicle.  It can take us to places we couldn't get to in a normal vehicle.  If you decide to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro this afternoon, you know you could do it in a Jeep.  
    It's this mindset that makes this product bigger than simply a machine built with glass, steel, and rubber.  It rises above the physical product.  A sign of any really great brand.
    Jeep represents freedom and adventure, both in the real sense and the spiritual sense.  So every message is an invitation to look around, enjoy nature, and explore this beautiful planet we live on.  Jeep is the original "think different" brand.
    It's a feeling so strong that when one Jeep passes another on the road, a wave, a honk of the horn, or salute is common practice.  Jeep Jamborees celebrate this strong bond at off-roading rallies around the world.
    This "Jeep Mystique" was captured in a film called "Snowcovered" that won the Grand Prix at Cannes for the best commercial in the world.  It was also named one of the ten best "automobile" commercials of the past 25 years by the One Show.  These are just a few of the many awards Jeep has won for effective communication. 
    The Jeep language is genuine, smart, simple, and exclusive.
    To those who just don't get it, Jeep owners pridefully acknowledge,  
"That's okay, it's a Jeep thing."            
   
   

    Contemporary art was beginning to be quite a mystery to people in Los Angeles.  That might be little hard to believe, but it's true.
    The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) was losing guests to the Disney Theatre and more established museums in downtown LA.
    Citizens needed to see that contemporary art can be fun.  It can be thought provoking, and it can be anywhere.
    So all over town people began to see everyday places and things being described in terms of art.  They began to look at something they've seen a million times like it was the first time.  They began to understand contemporary art and how it can be very unexpected.
    Admissions to MOCA increased, and the city gained a new appreciation of contemporary art.  Along the way, the campaign won a Silver Lion at Cannes.

    Hush Puppies were the darling shoes of the '50s and '60s, but as the athletic shoe craze gained momentum, Hush Puppies began to lose out to the likes of Nike, Adidas, and Reebok.  And after being off the radar for a what seemed like ages, there seemed to be no catching up.
    The Basset Hound Brand needed an new approach.  But the brand rightfully didn't was to lose their "casual" and "comfortable" heritage.
    There was no way Hush Puppies could compete with the powers of Nike and the others on the athletic shoe playing field.  After all, Nike had Michael Jordan. Hush Puppies just had a cute dog.
    But they could compete in the comfortable, casual category by moving into the fashion world.
    And while you could say that athletic shoes are certainly fashionable, they weren't carried by true fashion boutiques.  So that was the target.
    The plan worked!  Hush Puppies were just quirky enough to make them hip.  They were being stocked in fashion boutiques across the U.S. as well as in Europe!
    But as with all good stories, sometimes the ending isn't happy.
    Hush Puppies management hungered for even more success.  And against recommendations to keep the brand exclusive, they went into bigger outlets and department stores.  As a result, the brand didn't seem special anymore, and unfortunately, seemed to lose some of it's charm. 
    They've comeback once, maybe Hush Puppies can do it again.

    There once was a classic American icon know as Cadillac.  It was the symbol of success and the American Dream.  The automobile of choice for presidents, doctors, Elvis, and Marilyn.
    So what happened?
    That's a longer story for another time, but by the end of the millennium, Cadillac was known as the car of choice by "blue hairs" in Florida.
    After General Motors put millions of dollars into upgrading the product, the new message had to make people believe that something had really changed and Cadillac was back.  It had to be as bold as the famous tail fins on the Cadillacs of the 60's.
    The new Cadillacs were striking, and looked like nothing else on the road, which was worth more than a thousand words right there.
    In keeping with Cadillac's rebellious heritage, the campaign had to stay miles away from the typical "Detroit Luxury Car Commercial Formula" of a driver and the passenger in stiff formal wear arriving at a red carpet event to wide-eyed reactions.
    How about showing these new Cadillacs going "balls out!"?  A term not familiar in luxury car circles.
    The idea was to present an invitation to "breakthrough" the boring stuffiness of traditional luxury.  An attitude that made Cadillac famous in the first place.
    Such an iconic car needs an iconic soundtrack. Led Zeppelin and their classic lyrics "it's been a long time since I rock and rolled" would send the perfect message.
    Led Zeppelin manager Bill Curbishley was sold on the concept, but lead singer Robert Plant had to be convinced.  After reviewing the concept and seeing the cars, Robert loved the idea.  (Jimmy Page was holed up in a London castle re-mixing Led Zeppelin IV and sent his blessings.)
    After all that work, General Motors began getting cold feet when "Car Czar" Bob Lutz said he envisioned using classical music for the new campaign.
    "But Led Zeppelin is classic, Mr. Lutz...sir."
    After dodging that bullet, the campaign was a go.  The pairing of Cadillac and Led Zeppelin had the shock and awe value of a bright pink, tail-finned 1960 convertible Caddy.
    Sales hit record numbers, passing Lincoln and Mercedes, and finally catching the luxury leader, Lexus.
    Cadillac was back!
    Then General Motors decided to switch ad agencies after executive changes and began to lose their way again.  But there was hope to get it back on track which is the topic of another interesting story you'll find titled "Cadillac Redux" on this site.  
    

    A strong affection for the Cadillac brand and an invitation to get Cadillac back to its "Breakthrough" campaign success was accepted.
   But literally recreating the former campaign, highlighted on this site, was not an option.  It was created by the former Cadillac ad agency, so that would be politically incorrect.
    Cadillac's swagger would have to be captured another way.       
    At the heart of any successful Cadillac campaign is the classic Cadillac manifesto "The Penalty of Leadership" that was written in 1915 and ran in the Saturday Evening Post.  In fact, Elvis had a framed print of it hanging in Graceland.
    The former "Breakthrough" campaign was essentially a more modern way of articulating that manifesto.  A new campaign would again have to have this at its heart.  
    As a result, a new approach was designed to demonstrate the Cadillac brand truth: Nothing captures the spirit of the American Dream like Cadillac.  It's a truth that is recognized around the world.  A new manifesto was written without sacrificing the vision of the original. 
    The return to the original tag line of "Standard of the World" was suggested.  The return to the Cadillac "script" typeface was recommended, and a bold, confident, and smart approach was created.
    The campaign re-captured the Cadillac attitude..
    It was a powerful attempt to re-ignite the Cadillac spirit.  The verb "attempt," is used because more changes occurred at GM and the process was unfortunately rebooted yet again.
    It seems the current Cadillac campaign is using the "script" typeface so not all was lost.

    After General Motors went through major restructuring, it seemed like they were changing marketing managers and advertising agencies every week or so.  But while GM was figuring it all out, the Cadillac dealers needed some help to keep selling cars. 
    A campaign was created using existing assets that not only promoted great deals on a Cadillac, but still maintained its brand confidence and swagger.  

    How does a local credit union compete with global banks?
    Just ask their customer a simple question:  
    "What's your money up to?"
    People care about their money.  And if it isn't being looked after properly or not being put to good use, these customers might want to consider a new home for their cash.
    USA Credit Union treats money better than big banks because credit unions are non-profit, so they can offer better rates and fewer fees.  
    This simple message resulted in a 300% increase in awareness for USA Credit Union and attracted new customers from the big banks as well as competing credit unions.
    As luck would have it, USA became an attractive acquisition for Genisys Credit Union who ran a more traditional campaign. The Genisys tagline is "Where you come first" and is generic enough to be used by just about any business.  A suggested modification was "Where your money comes first" along with the logic that while customers want to be treated well, they may care about the proper care and feeding of their money as well.  
    Unfortunately, that logic was kindly rejected. 
   
   

    Ahee Jewelers is a family business in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.  They are not a chain.  They have only one store.  And they wanted a campaign that was consistent with their family values. 
    Ahee is known worldwide for their custom designs and diamond expertise.  They have designed jewelry for Hollywood celebrities as well as The Pope. But the family rightfully believed that a traditional campaign highlighting those facts would diminish their exclusivity and would be out of character for them.  Quite a refreshing change from the norm of advertisers wanting to boast about any little thing they believe will give them a competitive advantage.  A practice that makes most people dismiss advertising claims.    
    This humility was a trait passed down from their founder and grandfather, Edmund Ahee, who started selling jewelry in the lobby of a bowling alley around 1947.  After many one-on-one conversations with the Ahee family members, it became very evident that they weren't in the jewelry business after all.  Ahee is in the business of celebrating special moments.  They genuinely care for their customers and feel privileged to be part of life's most important and memorable events.  This quality is also consistent with their dedication to giving back to their community. 
    True to their family values, a simple, elegant, and humble, tone of voice was created to highlight special moments. 
    The Ahee's were eventually convinced to tell some their stories of success and philanthropy online.  Those were special moments as well.  The family agreed, but only if the stories were carefully crafted to reflect the family's humility.  Simple videos were created and can be viewed at Ahee.com.
    Despite only one store, Ahee continues to grow in stature, both in their community as well as around the world.  

    Over the course of many years, the Buick brand began to become known as the brand for old people.  That was just fine for General Motors since they were making lots of money selling to that market.
    Buick was a brand that found itself sitting quietly between the higher-end Cadillac and the the lower-priced Chevrolet in the GM portfolio.        
    But soon, exclusive brands like Mercedes began creating models that became more attainable, and mass-market brands like Toyota began equipping their vehicles better to attract a more affluent market.  Not only were Cadillac and Chevrolet facing more heat, but Buick was being squeezed out completely.  GM even had discussions of discontinuing the brand.
    Buick had to re-invent itself.
    As the marketing chief at Buick asked, "What do I have to do to make this brand cool, shoot old people?"  Or as another Buick executive stated, "I want my cars to be quiet, but not the advertising."  And yet another executive exclaimed, "We better do something with Buick or we're all fired."
    Buick needed a jolt, and the products like the Enclave and the LaCrosse were a great start.  They were the evidence that Buick was waking up.  In fact, Buick was beginning to be considered a prestigious brand in China.
    Buick desperately needed to continue the make over.
    In addition to being thought of as a car for old people, Buick was considered a "poor man's" Cadillac.  It was seen as a step down from the top.  So the plan was to position Buick as a step up.  Not a huge revelation, but Buick wasn't leveraging that opportunity.  The long term goal was to position Buick as a celebration of bettering oneself.  Like getting a raise, having a newborn child, or any of the many accomplishments that happen in life on the way to the top.  It gave Buick a clear place to live.
    Care was taken to not alienate Buick's loyal, old, and some may say boring, customers. The thought was to show them in unexpected ways to help shatter the stereotype and make them cool.  It was another jolt that would prompt the response, "Wow! That's Buick?"
    A strategic association with the TNT Drama Series "Trust Me" was part of the plan.  The series, starring Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh, was about an advertising agency in Chicago.  The series used the Buick campaign as a part of its storyline.  The fictitious ad agency was pitching the Buick business and the campaign seen in the show was the actual campaign created in real life.  It was a tactic that was never used before and gave the campaign more exposure and social media traffic.
    The campaign was getting great reactions, and according to the General Motors research department, it was changing perceptions about Buick.  
    However, and this is becoming an old story, the management changed yet again at General Motors.  And along with it came another change: back to a less controversial path for Buick.  
    Some good news is that recently Buick seems to have found its way back to some of the elements of the original campaign.  Like addressing the stereotype of Buick as an old person's car.  And some of the graphics are similar.  
    More importantly, Buick escaped elimination and hopefully will live on.
  

    Quiznos is the submarine sandwich shop that introduced the "toasted" sub.  A toasted sub seems to taste better than one that is simply heated up.
    Subway, the sub shop leader, noticed the rising success of Quiznos and began promoting its own subs as "toasted."  Only the weren't toasted...they were "semi-toasted" in a microwave oven.  Quiznos needed to set the record straight.
    The idea was to compare Quiznos to a fictitious competitor called "Wrongway" (any similarity to "Subway" was purely intentional).  The campaign highlighted the fact that only Quiznos really toasts its subs and also uses better ingredients.  That's why a Quiznos sub tastes much better. 
     Also, in-store and digital materials were created not only highlighting mouth-watering photography of the sandwiches, but using graphic expressions of superior taste.
    The message was well received and Quiznos began to regain its rightful place as the leader in "toasted subs".
    Mmmm...sweet success!  

    Pontiac had lost some of its luster as a performance machine.  It was beginning to be known as the car you get when you rent from Avis. Pontiac needed some of its attitude back.  And the launch of a new Grand Prix and GTO was the perfect opportunity. 
    The new marketing was focused on extreme high performance which is at the heart of the Pontiac brand.  The messages began to re-ignite the long lost Pontiac swagger. 
    But, as the old adage goes, nothing kills a bad product quicker than good advertising.  The new Grand Prix was a marginal product.  And to die hard GTO aficionados, who were counted on to spread the word about the renaissance of Pontiac, the new GTO was a fraud.  It was essentially a re-skinned Holden from Australia.  While the Holden may have had some power credentials, the styling didn't recapture any of Pontiac's sexy heritage.  It just wasn't a GTO.  Unfortunately, it was one of many mistakes that Pontiac would never recovered from.
    Even creating a full-length movie about the GTO starring Dennis Hopper and produced by Rob Cohen of "The Fast and the Furious" fame couldn't save Pontiac.
    The made-for-tv movie was ironically titled "The Last Ride."  

    While it's always fun to meet new and interesting people, sometimes those people are literally "famous".  That's kind of fun too. 
    They can add a interesting dimension to a story. 
    Like pairing rapper Snoop Dogg with former Chrysler chief Lee Iacocca for a sales event.
    Or finding an up-and-coming actor named Greg Kinnear as a spokesman.  Greg was constantly obsessed about whether he was ruining his career by being the front man for an ad campaign.  In the end, the work was good enough to get the attention of movie director Sydney Pollack and land Greg a leading role in the remake of "Sabrina" opposite Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond.  Greg went on to make many movies and was even nominated for an Academy Award for "As Good As It Gets."
    Stephen Colbert helped create a nationwide search for the mechanic Mr. Goodwrench, sometimes with the help of NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick.  Stephen went on to take over for David Letterman as host of the CBS "Late Show," and Kevin became a NASCAR Cup Series Champion.
    David Bowie was a perfect gentleman in helping launch XM Satellite Radio.  As was B. B. King who was full of funny stories about the places he performed.  They will both be deeply missed.
    And who could compete with the stories Robert Plant told about Led Zeppelin. Unbelievable!  Thankfully, Robert is a big fan of Cadillac and allowed the use of his band's music to help re-ignite the love affair with the iconic American luxury automobile. 

    Homestore.com was a real estate start-up that recognized that everyone has their own idea of what a dream home is.  Homestore promised to provide everything needed to realize that vision.  To promote this unique quality, traditional methods were abandoned: no actors playing happy customers with smiling agents selling stereotypical colonial homes with white picket fences.  
    The Homestore message would be genuine, highlighting very unusual homes and their proud owners, making the simple point that Homestore can bring anyone's dream to life. 
    A documentary was created based on this idea and called "Home Movie" directed by Chris Smith.  The film was entered in film festivals across the U.S. and Canada.  It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.  Quite a social media buzz about Homestore was generated with this unorthodox approach, and Homestore built up quiet a clientele from these events alone.
    TV spots, web films, and magazine ads were also created.   
    But like most successful small companies, Homestore was eventually swallowed up by one of the big real estate conglomerates.  
    However, you can still buy "Home Movie" from Amazon.  
 

    Mike's brand of lemonade started a unique niche in the alcoholic beverages category.  At first glance, a spiked lemonade product ironically sounded kind of soft.  Was it like the punch at social clubs and other tame gatherings?  
    Absolutely not.  Mike's wanted to be an alternative to beer.   
    In order to compete in the bottled alcoholic beverage category, Mike's needed an attitude.  Maybe this lemonade was a bit naughty.  And not made from the kind of lemons that hang off the edge of "umbrella" drinks.
    This attitude successfully continues today and has expanded into Mike's other "hard" drink flavors and concoctions.     
 

    The Detroit Red Wings wanted an outdoor board to commemorate the hockey team's 70th anniversary as a member of the National Hockey League. 
    But instead of just a congratulations, a bigger story was told. 
    The outdoor board was designed as a dynamic logo that proudly stated "WELCOME TO HOCKEYTOWN (est. 1926).".
    This simple, yet powerful, statement not only unified fans of the professional Red Wings team, but everyone else who loves the sport of hockey.  From the "mini-mite" four-year-olds (who always seem to have ice time before the sun comes up), to the local college and university teams and their fans, to the recreational "beer leagues."  This spirit spread throughout Michigan, neighboring states, and even into nearby Canada.     
    The Hockeytown logo developed for the original board was put into center ice at the legendary Joe Louis Arena, and now at Little Caesars Arena, the new home of the Red Wings.  Even the EA Sports NHL video game has the logo at center ice.  
    The movement went viral.  When an airliner lands in Detroit, don't be surprised if a flight attendant announces, "Welcome to Hockeytown."  Fans have painted the logo on everything from their garage door to their own face. 
    Game tickets highlight the "Citizens of Hockeytown."  The rally song "Hey Hey Hockeytown" is played at games and during broadcasts.
    The "Hockeytown Cafe" and an official gear outlet called "Hockeytown Authentics" were developed.  Both are incredibly successful.
    A magazine and radio show, both titled "Inside Hockeytown" have a huge following.  
    And when the Red Wings play in other towns throughout the United States and Canada, it's not unusual to have the "I'm from Hockeytown" signs and gear come out in full force.  Red Wing fans travel very well.          The campaign is truly a cultural movement that continues to grow and attract new fans to the sport.
    As Ken Kal, the voice of the Detroit Red Wings, exclaims at the beginning of each broadcast..."Welcome to Hockeytown!"     

    This is a collection of short stories about various things. 
    Like a Cadillac film created for China using the actual voice of Einstein as sound design.  
    A celebration of the Berlin Renaissance called the "Luft" sponsored by Smart Cars. 
    A film for Chrysler's Jeep and Eagle brands suggesting to just be yourself.  The Chrysler client praised the film, exclaiming it was "the most creative commercial I've ever seen".  Unfortunately, he also said he wasn't going to release it.  Although he approved making the film, he was concerned that his conservative management wouldn't understand it.  At least he was honest.
    And there's the film that become so popular in Canada, that a postage stamp featured a scene from it.  Crazy.