DAY 1, HOUR 1. Here we go.

So, on a ‘normal’ advertising assignment, writer and art director meet, go out for coffee, and then spend a day or two getting acquainted. That familiarity creates a base to work from. In this case, we had about 20 minutes. 

That’s David (writer) and me (art director) in the back on our speed-work-date.

Lauren Bush Lauren and her group brief us on what FEED does.

Turns out, their bags have provided a ton of meals for a ton of people over the years.

Not bad for someone who could just be hanging with her friends at Soho House every day.

I like their bags—they're stylish and sturdy. It’s good to work on a product and cause I can get behind.

We take a group walk over to FEED’s HQ. This will turn out to be our only outdoor time

(except midnight walks back to the hotel) during the challenge.

With all the production limitations on this assignment—time, budget, models, location, even weather—

we decide to only present concepts that are truly produce-able.

 

In a normal pitch, it’s fun to include some reach-for-the-stars ideas that aren't too feasible but that often attract clients’ attention.

Then, after you’ve won the business, you get more realistic. But here, that doesn't feel like a good use of anyone’s time. 

After a day of brainstorming, we revisit our ideas to see which ones still work, which ones might work better in a different form,

and which ones never deserved the piece of paper they were scribbled on.

 

Usually, a night away from the work is the best way to get perspective, 

but since that's not a luxury we have here, we just drink more coffee and power through.

We’ve narrowed our ideas down to two concepts. This one combines photography with illustration.

Adobe just launched its stock site, so I'm able to pull exactly what I’m looking for.

 

  

We’re liking this #FEEDlove execution.

Layering silhouettes over lifestyle photography speaks to how the giving extends past the holidays—even past the recipient.  

Our main priority is the print ads since FEED has already bought ad space in various magazines.

Once we’ve locked that down, we move over to other ideas that support the print.

Now to execute our other concept. For each of these ads, David is weaving together two stories,

those of the bag recipient and the person across the world who will benefit from its proceeds. 

The copy in each of the print ads features the number of meals provided by that bag, whether it's 35, 50, or 100. This mirrors a big part of FEED's branding: prominently featured the number on each bag, underscoring the giving that extends past the original purchase of the bag.

Day 2 fades into Day 3. Good thing we both wore comfy shoes.

The big reveal: We take turns presenting the work after taking the group through our thinking.

Though the project was pretty crazy, we really like what we accomplished. Now it's in the hands of the judges.

Presentations over, we can relax and take a couple snapshots.

 

 It was really fun to be a part of The Make It Challenge. Not a lot of sleep involved, but a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed working with David, and everyone involved was lovely, too.

Big thanks to the many people who helped get us through those 3 days. And extra thanks for the bottomless coffee.

And, was it hard to readjust to life without cameras and microphones capturing every move? Was remarkably easy.