I Can Write Like You.

Given enough time and an adequate amount of samples, I can. It's one of the skills that I've worked on since I started developing an interest in advertising. I'm not an ace, in that I can't adapt immediately. At least, not yet. But I like to think I'm fairly adept at it. Perhaps because I enjoy it and the challenges it presents, having to write and rewrite until I've completely eradicated my speech patterns and vocabulary and have replaced it with the featured character's or personality's. Listening or reading over and over again to determine word-usage, inflection, pattern, diction, and rhythm and adopt them as my own. I suppose it might be a weird thing to enjoy doing. But I've never claimed to not be a weird guy.

I thought of this most recently as I was considering whether to bring back a campaign I had worked on a few years ago for [insert brand name here] diamonds. In truth, the campaign wasn't the type that was exclusive to one brand or another. Rather, it was the novelty of the message that made the idea worthwhile in my mind. And thinking of it recently, it was of a style somewhat similar to the recently successful Old Spice campaign. Yeah, I'm saying it. I had the idea before they did.

Whether you believe me or not, and whether its true or not, doesn't much matter because I never finished the work and never put it in my portfolio. And there's a good reason for that: The campaign was built around TV and web videos with a range of celebrity and athlete endorsements, ranging from Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia, NFL WR Santonio Holmes, The Simpsons and the lovable duo from Flight of the Conchords, all written in their voices. As such, it would be budgetary nightmare for a student/individual. (Perhaps some celebrity or athlete will read this and decide, out of the goodness of his or her heart, to convince his or her friends to do the campaign for free).

Still, I'm motivated to find a way to put this work into my portfolio for one main reason: The target audience.

Years ago, Helzberg Diamonds put out a campaign directed at men stating that, they bought Helzberg because they weren't "that guy" who took calligraphy classes just so he could hand-write an anniversary day card or take his wife's Yorkie to the doggie salon while she went out with her girlfriends. They were written quite well and rather hilarious.

At the time, I wasn't in the market to buy diamonds for anyone. Still not. But if I had been, I at least would've checked out Helzberg, because I hate conventional diamond advertising (looking at you De Beers, Jared, Kay, etc.), and they're work was so different. I have a feeling this strategy didn't work for them, though, because after three spots, they changed their tone.

I put a twist on this messaging, though, and directed my diamond ads at a whole different audience. If they ever make it up on my portfolio website, or better yet, out into the world as work that got sold, we can chat about it. Until then, my paranoia is keeping the ideas locked up.