“…ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster…” – Han Solo

May 11th, 2010
Author: Joe McDonough

Well, the quote actually reads “Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.” So, why the Star Wars quote? Because in the battle for market share a brand has no more potent weapon than a BIG idea that grabs an audience’s attention and holds it. And, because I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to use that one for years and lucky for you, that special “inner geek moment” has finally arrived.

On the 5-hour flight back from Phoenix, my wife of 25 years (we’ll call her “Cheryl”) was referring to me as “Obie Won Kenobe.” And why would she do such a thing? Because our creative efforts on behalf of our client, Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, had just won us an OBIE Award, that’s why! (And because she likes to break my stones)

I was very honored to represent the Beau creative team at the 68th Annual OBIE Gala the night before (held at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort – check it out – this place is killer!) and, as I stood on stage about to address a distinguished audience of hundreds of outdoor advertising aficionados, I had a very satisfying moment of pride in the creative power of my team and their ability to deliver on the BIG idea (The BIG idea would be the “good blaster” analogy from the blog title – sorry, I know you didn’t need that explained).

The event was on an epic scale – the venue, the menu (a very artful salad, entrée of filet & salmon followed by an artistic palette of miniature desserts) and the superstar opening speech by singer, actor and yes, graphic designer, Ashanti. Steffan Postaer, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer Euro RSCG Worldwide and OBIE Hall-of-Famer, brought an incredibly well-informed and pretty damn funny attitude to the emcee role for the evening. Reminding the audience of Arizona’s current political shit storm, he deftly brought to mind an epic example of “outdoor” – the Statue of Liberty – and the brilliant copy that adorns her base. (reflect on that for a moment…)

Good company, good food and great entertainment – entertainment in the form of one-minute video clips produced by each of the Gold Obie winners to share their “creative process” in developing their winning entries. With 21 gold awards given out there was no shortage of variety – some serious, some sarcastic, all creative and crowd-pleasing. The mini movies ranged from an interview with one of the Chick-Fil-A cows (with subtitles of course) by The Richards Group, to an actual movie about Minis (Coopers that is) where the writer and art director experience first-hand the sunny joys and mud-splattered complications of life with a new Mini Cooper convertible (Crispin).

And at the risk of sounding immodest (really, an immodest CD?) I feel our very own video about an over-the-top BIG idea for an airport baggage carousel brought the most raucous applause of them all. Check out the video for yourself below and let me know what you think.