http://www.desmondswork.com desmondswork Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:29:33 +0000 http://www.desmondswork.com en http://desmondswork.com/Odds-Ends http://desmondswork.com/following/desmondswork.com/Odds-Ends Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:29:33 +0000 desmondswork 1941697 This is where I keep those things I thought were worth sharing but didn't fit in any of the other expanding boxes. Other names I considered for this category: Snips & Snails, Grab Bag, Etcetera, Me-Pourri and The Island of Misfit Stuff. the3six5 is a crowdsourced lifestreaming project curated by Len Kendall and Daniel Honigman out of Chicago. The idea is simple: 365 days, 365 authors, 365 words. The endeavor is on its second year and has been getting a healthy amount of buzz as of late, due mostly in part the awards they've won and their panel discussion at SXSW (follow them @the3six5). I had the honor of being this year’s Mr. March 23rd. <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1941697/march-23-2011-desmond-lavelle_640.jpeg" border="0" width="640" height="458" width_o="1000" height_o="717" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1941697/march-23-2011-desmond-lavelle_o.jpeg" align="left" /> In May, the Nebraska Center for the Book invited me to read excerpts from my memoir, Thirteen Cats LaVelle, at the Nebraska Book Festival. Speaking in front of groups is part of what I do, but this was my first book reading. A dozen or so white-haired, cat-loving ladies were much more intimidating than a room full of marketing managers and global chief so-and-sos. Thirteen Cats LaVelle is a nominee for NCB's nonfiction book of the year. Fingers crossed. If it wins, I anticipate it will make Amazon's top ten Pet and Animal Humor list right behind Five Little Monkeys Jumping on a Bed and The Hot Guys with Puppies 2012 Calendar. <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1941697/img_2232_640.jpeg" border="0" width="640" height="857" width_o="1935" height_o="2592" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1941697/img_2232_o.jpeg" align="left" /> http://desmondswork.com/My-resume http://desmondswork.com/following/desmondswork.com/My-resume Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:06:12 +0000 desmondswork 1293611 For your files. Drag it to your desktop and print it or save some pulp and send it. <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1293611/lavelle_resume_640.jpg" border="0" width="640" height="828" width_o="1700" height_o="2200" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1293611/lavelle_resume_o.jpg" align="left" /> http://desmondswork.com/Dockers-2011 http://desmondswork.com/following/desmondswork.com/Dockers-2011 Tue, 15 Mar 2011 02:12:14 +0000 desmondswork 1171821 Every man has a dream. Not like a Martin Luther King dream, but just something they’ve always wanted to do. Sadly, very few of these dreams are ever realized. Want to know why? Because it’s tough to achieve your dreams when you spend all day working a job you hate. Guys are underachieving and they know it. As part of our global call to manhood, we set out to help men everywhere make a plan and get it done using their hard-wired “man-skills." The Wear the Pants Project inspires and enables men to put those skills to work and finally do something great. After all, there’s more to being a man than just being a man. We launched the campaign by seeding films featuring influential guys with inspiring stories. One of the ways we enabled men to reach their goals as to pay one grand prize winner a year's salary, or $100K, to pursue his dream. The big announcement happened during the Super Bowl pre game show. Biting reminders of the life's cruel game followed our guy to work in a series of transit posters. <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1171821/2011Dockers_getbusy.jpg" border="0" width="600" height="896" width_o="600" height_o="896" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1171821/2011Dockers_getbusy_o.jpg" align="left" /> <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1171821/2011DockersPotential.jpg" border="0" width="600" height="863" width_o="600" height_o="863" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1171821/2011DockersPotential_o.jpg" align="left" /> <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1171821/2011DOckersSpeak.jpg" border="0" width="600" height="863" width_o="600" height_o="863" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1171821/2011DOckersSpeak_o.jpg" align="left" /> <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1171821/2011DockersObit.jpg" border="0" width="600" height="863" width_o="600" height_o="863" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1171821/2011DockersObit_o.jpg" align="left" /> The message lit a fire under our audience. The Dockers Facebook fanbase quintupled in two months' time. The Wear the Pants Project app served as a forum for thousands of participants to share dreams and vote for one another's plans. The top vote getters will make up a group of five finalists who will be asked to expand on their plans. We also launched a smaller program called Man Grants. Awarded weekly, Man Grants funded the best ideas of the week with $2,000 worth of resources, from mentorship to airline tickets. <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1171821/100k.jpg" border="0" width="600" height="600" width_o="600" height_o="600" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1171821/100k_o.jpg" align="left" /> My plan to start a Mall Santa University wasn't quite as greathearted as Ryland King's man plan. He ended up winning the $100K to fund his organization EENG, Environmental Education for the Next Generation. The money will go to fund efforts to teach 1st and 2nd grade students on relevant environmental issues. This was one of those rare instances in our business when feel like you actually did a little good. Ryland was a man determined to make his mark. <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1171821/Screen Shot 2011-09-01 at 10.35.43 AM.png" border="0" width="517" height="267" width_o="517" height_o="267" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/1171821/Screen Shot 2011-09-01 at 10.35.43 AM_o.png" align="left" /> http://desmondswork.com/My-first-commercial http://desmondswork.com/following/desmondswork.com/My-first-commercial Fri, 19 Nov 2010 07:04:07 +0000 desmondswork 793355 I was 23 and had stumbled into a golden opportunity that most junior creatives never see. My then partner and I were just a few months into the business when we sold a spot in a big brand campaign for Hallmark. We crafted good story and were in the right place at the right time, earning us our first L.A. production with a director from the top of the A-list, not to mention a shortlist in Cannes. “I’m glad I didn’t stick with pre-law,” I said to myself, sitting poolside in a Four Seasons robe. “Did you say something, sir?” the pool waitress asked. “I said I’d like to make an appointment at the spa.” Life was pretty good for this juvenile copywriter. http://desmondswork.com/True-Card-Stories http://desmondswork.com/following/desmondswork.com/True-Card-Stories Fri, 19 Nov 2010 07:01:24 +0000 desmondswork 793352 The hallways of Leo Burnett were filled with creative teams concepting stories of how greeting cards bring people together – many of which were pretty good. But at times, some of the stories were a little outrageous. I remember one board in which a heart transplant recipient receives a card from the wife of the man whose heart she’s been given while on the helipad of the hospital. Those ideas usually didn’t leave the building. Occasionally Hallmark would share a letter or an email they received from someone who had their own incredible card story - a real card story. We decided to put a story submission tab on their website and see what we got back. The results were incredible. It turns out these little $3 pieces of paper really were making a difference in real people’s lives. We sifted through hundreds of stories and located the best of the best. We shot a handful of these “True Card Stories” but this one is my favorite. Shot by David Gordon Green, the director of Pineapple Express and Your Highness (if you can believe it), it tells the earnest story of a mother and daughter in Greenville, S.C. coping with loss. http://desmondswork.com/Samsung http://desmondswork.com/following/desmondswork.com/Samsung Fri, 19 Nov 2010 06:36:45 +0000 desmondswork 793345 We looked to demonstrate the features of this Samsung phone in a way the features weren't intended to be used. In other words, how could our hero guy use his phone, and a little creativity, to score the waitress's number without his friends knowing? Just a note: this was an amazing production. The backdrop of Berlin gives the film an "I'm too cool to care" sheen. The song, "Music to Watch Girls By" by Andy Williams was perfect track given both the mood and story line. If you're ever in Berlin, you must have dinner and drinks at a place called White Trash Fast Food. Get the cheeseburger and cucumber cocktail. And don't make any plans for the following day. http://desmondswork.com/Hallmark-Father-s-Day http://desmondswork.com/following/desmondswork.com/Hallmark-Father-s-Day Fri, 19 Nov 2010 06:33:16 +0000 desmondswork 746188 http://desmondswork.com/Find-me http://desmondswork.com/following/desmondswork.com/Find-me Wed, 10 Nov 2010 05:10:01 +0000 desmondswork 769894 Track me down in the manner of your choosing: electronic mail: desmondlavelle@mac.com pocket phone: (773) 220-0466 twitter: @desmondlavelle or visit A Current History of Desmond at desmondlavelle.com <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/769894/hunterfalling.jpg" border="0" width="600" height="171" width_o="600" height_o="171" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/769894/hunterfalling_o.jpg" align="left" /> http://desmondswork.com/Desmond http://desmondswork.com/following/desmondswork.com/Desmond Wed, 10 Nov 2010 04:57:06 +0000 desmondswork 769856 Copywriter, author, creative director and pants enthusiast, Desmond LaVelle is a man of few and many words. He was born with a Jimmy Olsen curiosity; his Lex Luthor haircut developed over time. Desmond started his career with brief decade at the Leo Burnett Company in Chicago. In exchange for cigarettes and Fanta, he wrote ads for Hallmark, Nintendo, Polaroid, Altoids, The Beef Council and a number of Kellogg brands. Finally, in November of 2007, Desmond decided it was time to venture outside the Shire (and quit smoking). element79 invited Desmond to work on Gatorade, Propel Fitness Water, Quaker and Tropicana. When PepsiCo yanked these brands from the agency, e79 invited Desmond to explore other opportunities. As a freelancer, Desmond visited faraway lands, like California, and conceived ads there. While working on Dockers in San Francisco, he realized his unusual aptitude for pants copy. After all, pants had been Desmond's preferred below-the-waist attire for most his life. So he loaded up the truck and moved to Californy for a full time job with DraftFCB working on Dockers. After two amazing years in the Bay Area, Desmond moved back to Chicago where he currently lives with his fiancée, Jennifer. Again. <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/769856/IMG_3007_640.JPG" border="0" width="640" height="853" width_o="1536" height_o="2048" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/769856/IMG_3007_o.JPG" align="left" /> Desmond, 2010. Sunglass Hut, Corte Madera, CA. http://desmondswork.com/Nintendo-Sanity-s-Requiem http://desmondswork.com/following/desmondswork.com/Nintendo-Sanity-s-Requiem Mon, 01 Nov 2010 05:25:24 +0000 desmondswork 746202 In movies like Fight Club and Black Swan, reality is quickly compromised by delusion. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem is a Nintendo title based on this premise. There's a sanity meter that, when running low, will cause the player to see things that aren’t really there – giving you that cold, creepy feeling that makes you question your own good sense. Are You Insane? dramatizes those little bits of insanity that infect everyday life. <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/746202/nintendo_chair1_640.jpg" border="0" width="640" height="787" width_o="900" height_o="1108" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/746202/nintendo_chair1_o.jpg" align="left" /> <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/746202/nintendo_jacket1_640.jpg" border="0" width="640" height="783" width_o="900" height_o="1102" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60932/746202/nintendo_jacket1_o.jpg" align="left" />