Duane Wheatcroft

FASTER, STRONGER, BIGGER

Role: Creative Director
Responsibilities: Creative direction and project oversight, copywriting

In 2016, Citi sponsored the American Olympic and Paralympic Teams to compete in Brazil. As these amazing athletes shone in the international spotlight, Citi wanted to bring to light their dedication and achievements here at home. 

Working closely with the AoR, we captured these remarkable individuals at their most driven: training for their events. In doing so, the media became a visceral experience showcasing the intensity and ambition of our partner athletes, aligning their drives with those of Citi customers. 

The results set a new standard for Citi branch marketing which is updated a number of times a year. This particular kit included OOH, exterior signage, custom marquees (actual Manhattan installations shown here), in-branch collateral, and ATMs, which was ultimately expanded to additional cities.

MUCH MORE THAN THE BEACH

Role: Associate Creative Director
Responsibilities: Copywriting, concepting

Miami is like no other city - its rich diversity, fed by European and Latin American influences, has created a truly unique culture that begs to be discovered.

"It's So Miami" showcases authentic Miami moments in stunning imagery and video via digital advertising, social media, and online destination. The campaign evoked the city's passions and experiences beyond South Beach, and saw a 15% lift in its brand perception during the first three months.

OPENING THE THROTTLE TO ONLINE SALES

Role: Associate Creative Director
Responsibilities: Copywriting, UX, Oversight

Harley-Davidson is an American legend, and has one of the most iconic brands on the planet. The look, the attitude, the rumble - it’s what people come to H-D for, but a poor ecommerce experience will send even the most rabid fan running.

When we received the assignment to rethink the brand's online shopping portal, we started by redefining the strategy to bring the badass back - an element sorely, and notably, missing from the site. To achieve this, CM oversaw every shot to make sure each photo evoked the brand and promise of the open road.

In the end, we rebuilt the ecommerce experience from the asphalt up, to inspire the brand’s evangelists, welcome the uninitiated, and reveal the passion and craftsmanship that continues to fuel the H-D legend.

We took a no nonsense approach to get us there: Sell the goods. Tell their story. Stay true to the H-D heritage. Invite in new customers. Don’t piss off the regulars. It was a tough order, but we delivered a balance of focused interactions and strong brand look and feel, that included the site's Store, promotions, and emails.

THE NEW AMERICAN PASSPORT

Role: Associate Creative Director
Responsibilities: Copy direction, copywriting

We all travel. It's in our nature to break from our comfort zones and discover beyond what we know - new places, new cultures, new experiences. And with flights more affordable than ever and entire televisions channels dedicated to globetrotting, Americans are inspired to see more of the world, more often. This insight guided the new campaign for the Citi / AAdvantage family of credit cards: The New American Passport - a declaration of the new era in American travel on a new, recently merged American Airlines, redefining the card that can make it happen. 

The campaign focuses not on earning miles, as the competition does, but on the experiences awaiting the modern explorer out in the wide world. Both language and imagery evoke a sense of adventure and exploration, giving Citi a real point of differentiation and position no other travel card has taken. Along with the GCD, I've shepherded this voice and campaign for all below-the-line efforts, including web, online advertising, print, new cardmember acquisition packages, existing  cardmember communications, welcome kits, and more recently for above-the-line efforts out-of-home and radio.

BIG JACKPOTS ARE BIG NEWS

Role: Associate Creative Director
Responsibilities: Creative direction, copy oversight

We all have a number - that magic jackpot amount where we breakdown and buy a lottery ticket. Through analytics and research, the Illinois Lottery discovered that for most people the sweet spot is about $100M. They just need to be reminded. In truth, they needed a swift kick in the hello! Enter Gil Mitchell, lottery anchorman, taco afficionado, and proud son of Illinois. 

When the jackpots hit those crazy, change-your-life numbers, this triggers the media to switch all ad buys to "Gil" mode with his jackpot-focused messaging and offbeat humor. Gil Mitchell was born through a collaboration between Critical Mass and, the Illinois Lottery's offline agency, Downtown Partners. He would embody the new branding: "Anything's Possible" along with an infectious energy which often gets away from him. For our part, we were tasked with bringing Gil to life through page takeovers and silent video vignettes - the latter all the more challenging without the ability to hear Gil's unique turns of phrase.

For a taste of the Gil we helped give birth to, check out a few of the spots. YouTube 

BILLBOARDS ON EVERY BRANCH

Role: Creative Director
Responsibilities: Creative direction, project oversight, copywriting

Highlights: Worked with strategy and GCD to develop a retail strategy for branch creative based on traditional retail best practices that use visual and copy cues to drive from OOH to branch and ultimately conversion. We also developed a perceptual scale approach to customize work for key markets.

Overview: One of Citi’s best (and most cost effective) media channels is the branches themselves. To get the most out of every promotion and fend off consumer fatigue, we worked with Citi to create Drive Period campaigns: promotions for specific offers and products that aligned with Citi’s quarterly marketing goals. That meant new work every three months, replacing the majority of exterior/interior signage and developing collateral material to support each new initiative that included:
- OOH
- Digital media and banners
- Marquee branch “billboards”
- Brochures and flyers

We created 10 unique campaigns over two years, a few examples of which are gathered here (plus see the Citi Olympians creative). During that time, we also worked closely with AoR, Publicis on a number of initiatives, including a major Citi rebranding effort that launched in 2018.

A CHARMED LIFE

Role: Copywriter
Responsibilities: Concepting, copywriting
Awards: Type Directors Club, HOW

By far the most elaborate and beautiful piece I worked on at Veer, A Charmed Life celebrated our hand-picked, rights-managed (rm) photography collection. Conceived over pizza and a lot of laughs with the brilliant Donna Holesworth, the book tells the story of a life, from birth to death, touching on the many joys and happy coincidences that happen to us all. The French folds, handmade patterns, and shock of metallic ink belie the week we had to put it together before it went to the printers.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS

Role: Associate Creative Director
Responsibilities: Concepting, copywriting, oversight

They say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the website. Looking dated, and with the continual frankensteining of the site starting to show, visitlasvegas.com needed an overhaul. We rolled up our sleeves with long-time offline partners, R&R, and created a redesign which emphasized shared planning, crowdsourced content, socialized apps, and new tools to improve the booking experience.

MAKING WEEKEND PLANS

Role: Associate Creative Director
Responsibilities: Design/copy oversight, copy, partnering with content provider to determine final lead stories.

To combat the effects of the economic downturn, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Association (LVCVA) created the Vegas Right Now initiative. It's goal: to promote near-immediate Vegas events to help spur spontaneous travel, particularly in drive markets.

The email program served as the heart of the initiative - a combination of Marquee event, promotion, and other happenings covering a two-week span span. Although built to serve a template, we made sure each email was unique to prevent inbox fatigue. This is just a sample of the dozens and dozens we did.

HEALTHY PLAY

Role: Creative Lead
Responsibilities: Pitch, creative direction, copywriting, client liaison (game)

Highlights: The game was concepted, built, and approved in less than 10 weeks to meet an on-the-shelf deadline for a brand new Ocean Spray kids’ beverage, “Growing Goodness”. 

Overview: To launch their new beverage line for kids, Ocean Spray came to Photon with a last minute request: a game to go with it. Unsatisfied with options provided by other agencies, Photon represented their last, best hope. Knowing the advances made to gaming engines through a few of my own side projects, I knew it was both possible to not only make a game, but one Ocean Spray could be proud of. I worked directly with the VP Creative to concept three different game ideas over a weekend, including the winning option: Growing Goodness Grand Gathering, a series of three mini-games designed to challenge the skills of kids ranging from 3-9 (another challenge!) with additional games to come in subsequent phases.

I also lead the search to source the game dev team, ultimately working with a group of rockstars out of out of Ottawa, Ontario: Snowed In Studios. The team was great, helping iron out a few of the kinks from the original proposal and over-delivering on every deadline.

Ocean Spray already had a set of wonderful characters and a kid-friendly packaging art style that could be used as a base for the design, but it had no story. So we also proposed and developed branding for the characters, working with Ocean Spray’s environmental experts to ensure accuracy and really understand how their bogs and harvests worked. Each member of “The Bog Squad” received a simple backstory and personality that translated into game mechanics and content for the accompanying microsite, which I wrote the copy for.

Thanks to a responsive and supportive client who truly helped to enable our success, the final product went live on March 31st in both Apple’s Appstore and Google Play. It currently has an average rating of 4.8/5.0.

FOCUSED DISTRACTIONS

Role: Copywriter, Typographer (Scripts book)
Responsibilities: Spread concepts, copywriting, typography

In the creative professional's overcrowded mailbox, you need more than a slick catalog to stand out, especially when promoting a new addition to your design elements library. At Veer, that meant engaging our audience beyond the photos and type samples. We created games. We told stories. We engaged our customers far more beyond the typical direct mail piece.

The Very Big Summer Activity Book for Creatives: Summer is notoriously slow for stock: travel, vacations, and the appeal of an outdoor patio keeps designers away from their computers. So we gave them something to take with them: an activity book incorporating Veer imagery and typefaces that challenged them not only with the expected crossword puzzles and word searches, but also puzzles that speak to their craft such as image proofing and name that Photoshop filter.

Veer Scripts: Each type sample is a story unto itself, written to highlight the unique characteristics and idiosyncrasies of individual faces. It also inspired in me a love of typography, for it was our responsibility to both write and set the samples.

Glimpse: Created to welcome Solus Photography to the Veer stable, the direct mail piece gave a literal glimpse into the collection, but it also alluded to the micro stories told by the photos. They were singular snapshots into a life or a moment, the design and type complementing the raw, often gritty, style of the photography.

TAKING A BIG BREAK

Role: Associate Creative Director
Responsibilities: Creative direction for all digital, copywriting, concepting
Awards: 2010 IAC Internet Advertising Awards – Best Travel Integrated Ad Campaign

What happens when you take an entire small town in Texas to Vegas? Vegas Bound, baby! As tourists stopped touristing in the midst of the economic downturn, travel hot spots like Las Vegas needed to remind would-be vacationers that it was ok to take a break. The strategy: find one of the hardest working towns in the country and fly it - yes, practically the entire population, to Las Vegas for the experience of a lifetime. The event didn't stay in Vegas, though. Through episodic webisodes, rich photography, and integrated itineraries, we worked closely with the traditional agency, R&R Partners to introduce the world to the good people of Cranfills Gap and enjoy the incredible adventure with them. Want more? Check out the case study video, prepared by our agency partner.

'TIS THE REASON

Role: Associate Creative Director
Responsibilities: Creative direction, copy (including campaign line)

Illinois Lottery holiday instant games are great to give on their own, but add them to any gift and you can turn a sensible present into something spectacular. That insight lead to fun and crafty holiday campaign.

Digital media built on a whimsical TV spot that showed simple ways to "give more merry." Critical Mass brought the idea to life through banners and further explored the how to give more merry through social media. We created festive decor, holiday recipes, even centerpiece and table settings around the idea that with Illinois Lottery Instant Tickets it's easier than you think to plus up the season.  

RESPECT THE SCENE

Role: Associate Creative Director
Responsibilities: Copywriting, concepting

This campaign evolved out of a very simple request: make standard signage for Ocean Drive telling tourists that during Memorial Day alcohol is not permitted on the streets. In previous years, the holiday is part of Hip-Hop Week, a music celebration which sees Ocean Drive overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of young, ready-to-party tourists. Conflicts with the police and ill-advised decisions have resulted in much negative press around the event. 

Instead of creating signage that would further alienate the crowds, we proposed a transformative campaign which would turn animosity into awareness. "Respect the Scene" was a simple initiative to show support for both the community and attendees, and have the city take some credit for this premier event in the Hip-Hop scene. The program was also endorsed by pro basketball players and musicians playing during the event.

CREATIVE MONTHLY

Role: Senior Copywriter
Responsibilities: Concepting spreads and themes, copywriting, editing

The Veer Catalogs were a monthly showcase of the stock photography and type. What made it so great, and great to work on, was that each installment was essentially created from scratch. Marketing gave us objectives, brands to highlight, after that, everything was up to the creative team to put together. Gathered here are just a few samples. To really get an idea of what went into these monthly editions, request an in-person viewing.

THE LITTLE CABLE COMPANY THAT COULD

Ambush Advertising, a small shop I founded with Jeff Leonard and Grant Farhall in late 2002, was Agency of Record (AOR) for Saskatchewan's only cable co-operative - they were also the province's largest internet provider, and offered wireless plans, as well. We consulted on almost every facet of their business and produced work ranging from integrated campaigns to their annual reports, from the retail experience to even their job postings.

In short, if their brand was going to be seen by the public, it went through us first.

Role: ACD / Copywriter
Responsibilities: Campaign Strategy, Concepting, Copy

THE CLIENTS JUST KEEP COMING

Just like the buffet at India House, not all the tasty goods are going to fit on your plate (no matter how you Jenga them). There are simply too many clients and projects, and their inclusion would certainly overwhelm the appetite. Instead, I've listed here other big brands on which I've worked and included a smattering of the projects that resulted.

Overall, I've been fortunate enough to work on the following:

Industries
- Lottery
- Automotive
- Financial
- Tourism
- CPG
- Retail
- Technology (cable/wireless)
- Apparel

Channels/Tactics
- Web sites (from scratch and redesigns)
- Ecommerce
- Banners (so many)
- Interactive video
- Social media campaigns
- Print Ads
- Catalogs
- TV

Roles over the years:
- Creative direction
- Copywriter
- Problem solver
- Editor
- Content specialist