Author Archives: Paul Steven Stone

Where is the Woodworth Report?

Many of us have been questioning whether the fast-tracking and approval of Mass & Main would destroy more affordable housing than it would create in the surrounding community through its gentrifying impacts. Now, we learn there is a report, The Woodworth Report, that the city refuses to release which might shine some light on just that issue.

This is all so terribly sad—and infuriating. Especially if the report that the Community Development Department insists on keeping from the council and public turns out to validate what everyone has been shouting for years, that THE BUILDING OF LARGE MARKET-RATE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS IN PURSUIT OF INCLUSIONARY HOUSING IS ESSENTIALLY A TOOL FOR THE ECONOMIC CLEANSING OF OUR CITY.

Why our city council would even vote on, much less approve, a single up-zoning petition without knowing the answer to this critical question takes us right back to the destructive impact of big money on councilors’ deliberations—like the almost $21,000 received to date by six of the seven councilors who voted to approve up-zoning for Mass & Main. Some time ago, Steve Kaiser, traffic advisor to the Cambridge Residents Alliance, asked one of the CDD leaders why they hadn’t studied certain traffic bottlenecks (I think) and was told that if they did there would be no new development allowed. My memory of the interaction is sketchy but the point stands out clearly in my memory. One way to force the Woodworth report out of CDD, whose DNA and civic mission is to facilitate new development, would be for the city council to threaten to hold back any approval for zoning changes until they see the report. Something highly impossible with the current city council, given the Unity Slate’s relationship with developers.

How many families will be forced out of Cambridge because of the direct impact of Mass & Main? It’s time we started questioning why certain city councilors would approve a development that, aside from the questionable value of its inclusionary units, is clearly too massive and out of keeping with the human-sized scale and rhythms of Central Square. It’s time we voted in city councilors who will fight to protect our residents instead of sacrificing their welfare to the forces of greed and mindless calls for increased density.

It’s time the Community Development Department started thinking more about preserving what we have rather than chasing after what we don’t need.

And it’s also time they released the Woodworth Report!

A CALL FOR RESIGNATION

The Unity Slate, six members of which are being asked to resign.

WHEREAS there has been undue financial influence brought to bear on the City Council’s deliberations concerning Mass & Main, a  residential development proposed by Normandy/Twining, hereafter called The Developer, and

WHEREAS said financial influence, amounting to $12,000 prior to the council’s vote, and an additional $8,950 paid out by The Developer in the months after the vote, was directed at the political campaigns of six of the seven city councilors who voted to approve Mass & Main, and

WHEREAS none of the six councilors—Councilors Benzan, Cheung, Simmons, Toomey, McGovern or Maher—had the integrity to acknowledge their obvious conflict of interest and thus recuse themselves from voting on zoning changes requested by The Developer, and

WHEREAS said councilors were aware of concerns raised within the Cambridge community about the impacts of Mass & Main as a driver of gentrification, and appeared to seek no review or guidance about those potential impacts before voting on the project, thus possibly endangering the wellbeing of the very constituents they have sworn to protect and serve, and

WHEREAS the six councilors continue to deny even the appearance of wrongdoing, and in so doing continue to bring shame and discredit to the city council and the high office they have sworn to serve, and

WHEREAS a review of campaign finance records shows a concerted effort on the part of The Developer, through his Attorney, to subvert the transparency of the petition process and to circumvent the spirit, if not the letter, of Massachusetts campaign finance laws…

IT IS PROPOSED that all six councilors tender their letters of resignations immediately, and

IT IS PROPOSED that The City of Cambridge renounce zoning changes made and approved in the course of the city council’s deliberations of The Developer’s petition, and

IT IS PROPOSED that The Developer be asked to resubmit their petition if they wish to proceed with their development, and

IT IS PROPOSED that an impartial third party be brought in to investigate the entire Normandy/Twining petition process with an eye towards the pursuit of any lawbreakers.

As a voice for the city and its residents, I affix my signature

Paul Steven Stone

Paul Steven Stone’s Greatest Hits, #8 in a series

The campaign that never was…

For any of you who read my article on the creation of the W.B. Mason brand, “Who But: The Birth of an Iconic New England Brand,” you’re already familiar with the dysfunctional and creatively stifling attitude that prevailed at Arnold Advertising back in the mid-80’s.

This would have been the campaign's introductory ad, I would guess, because of its simplicity and boldness. It was pretty easy to identify the star of the show, preparing you for the others in the series.

This would have been the campaign’s introductory ad. It was pretty easy to identify the star of the show, preparing you for the other ads in the series.

If you recall, the sudden loss of two of its largest accounts, Fayva Shoes and John Hancock Insurance, had tossed Arnold into grave soul-searching and second-guessing of its creative capabilities, so much so that two creative professionals (a copywriter and an art director) were brought in to improve the creative level of the agency’s output.

And so it was that these two creative supervisors would hijack almost all creative presentations before they left the agency; the idea being they could almost always improve the creative product, usually by redoing it entirely. Which eventually resulted in giant bottlenecks in the agency’s creative workflow.

Legal's 5The campaign layouts on this page were part of a new business campaign crafted by myself and art director Rich Kerstein, my Arnold creative partner, to help reel in Legal’s Seafoods (pun definitely intended).  I will not describe the campaign’s rationale or strategic positioning. Suffice it to say I wouldn’t present these layouts if they couldn’t speak for themselves. But be sure to take note of the brand’s elitist attitude.

You’ll notice, once the introductory ad (“Sea Boston”) established the “game”, it was then merely a question of following up with ads whose headlines gracefully and humorously entered into a dance with Legal’s famous heavy-lips logo.

Legal's 3Like all other creative presentations, this one was hijacked and held up inside the agency by our creative supervisors, and held up for months.

This is one of my most favorite headlines EVER. There's a logic loop that never gets completed and leaves one wondering if the headline makes any sense whatsoever. Confidentially, it doesn't.

This is one of my most favorite headlines EVER. There’s a logic loop that never gets completed and leaves one wondering if the headline makes any sense whatsoever. Confidentially, it doesn’t.

Ultimately, in one of his last major executive actions before retiring, agency C.E.O., Arnold Rosoff—a man dearly beloved by all who knew him—ordered the campaign released from its purgatory and presented to Legal Seafoods, which signed up for the campaign and a new agency relationship almost immediately upon viewing the campaign. It was a relationship fated to last a mere few months.

That's supposed to be a Legal's Seafood matchbook.

That’s supposed to be a Legal’s Seafood matchbook at the bottom of the ad. There’s a dotted line around the matchbook, indicating you can cut it out and paste it onto any regular matchbook cover to impress your friends.

It should be noted Legal’s was a notoriously difficult client. One that never truly felt they needed advertising to grow their business. I knew this from having worked on their advertising at another Boston ad agency. Their success grew out of a highly popular, and slightly idiosyncratic, business model whereby meals were served to parties one-at-a-time, food being delivered to the table as soon as it was fully prepared and before it had time to cool down. That piecemeal presentation of individual orders coupled with Legal’s total emphasis on serving only the freshest seafood, made for a unique and unforgettable dining experience.

Legal's 7I had already left Arnold by the time the agency had captured and lost the Legal’s account, so I’m not privy to why the account quickly parted ways with the agency.

As a backdrop to some of the layouts presented here, you need to understand that, back in the 1980’s, Legal’s had not yet grown beyond its Boston footprint, so some of the ad headlines shown  on this page made more sense back then than they would today.

In any case,  peppered throughout this blog entry you’ll find a partial look at the campaign that won the Legal Seafoods business back in 1988, but never made it to the newspapers and billboards for which it was intended.

Legal's 6And now, after all these years, it’s here for you to enjoy!

No thanks necessary.

———————————

On a different matter, if you haven’t received notice of #7 of My Greatest Hits, my HAZMAT ad for the Conservation Law Foundation, click here to see what you missed.

To view my #1 Greatest Hits advertisement, click here. To

Remember, this was a layout done before art director's had access to, and unfettered use of, the internet and online stock photo imagery. That Rolls Royce logo would have looked a lot better in a layout done today, I can assure you.

Remember, this was a layout done before art directors had access to, and unfettered use of, the internet and online stock photos. That Rolls Royce logo would have looked a lot better in a layout done today, I can assure you.

view #2, click here. To view #3, click here. To view #4, click here. To view #5, click here.

To view #6, featuring my favorite billboards, click here. To read my essay about creating the “Who But W.B. Mason!,” brand click here.  Or, if you’re interested in seeing other examples of my mind at work, visit my web site.. To speak with me about building or creating your company’s brand, contact me at 857-389-2158 or at PaulStevenStone@gmail.com.

 

Paul Steven Stone’s Greatest Hits, #7 in a series

Creature From The Black Lagoon, sort of

lake_ad_1_r1_c1

What would a greatest hits list be without my HAZMAT Ad for the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF)? My relationship with CLF, one of the region’s leading environmental advocacy groups, was an adman/environmentalist’s dream, developing ads and campaigns to combat coal-burning plants, environmentally-destructive shopping malls and, as shown above, run-off pollution in once-beautiful and clean Lake Champlain. The campaign was meant to embarrass then-governor Howard Dean into taking action to clean up the lake. Ultimately, the state of Vermont responded to public pressure and appointed a Lakekeeper to monitor the state of the lake.

Paul Steven Stone’s Greatest Hits, #6 in a series

There’s nothing more fun than creating than a billboard!

As someone who loves to conceptualize billboards, to come up with an idea that will stop a million drivers in their mental tracks, I must also admit to an ornery contrarian opinion that billboards should be outlawed, that billboard advertising is a subtle form of environmental pollution that goes mostly unnoticed, probably because of its historical roots. And because most billboards today are excruciatingly dull. More worthy to be called Bill-BOREDS than billboards.

BBFleet billboard

Today, hardly anyone remembers Fleet National Bank, but not too long ago they were an aggressive player on the local bank scene. The billboard above was conceived by Rich Kerstein and myself back when we were a creative team at Arnold & Co.

See Below For More Mind-Massaging Billboards!

Ask yourself, what gives advertisers the right to intrude into the minds of the driving public just because they pay for the privilege? With advertising on TV and radio, and in publications, people understand the rules of the game and willingly endure ads for the sake of the programming. But nobody is given a choice to look at a billboard or close their eyes on a public thoroughfare.

But, hey, as long as they keep allowing billboards, I’ll keep on having my creative fun!

Anyway, the point here today is not to debate or deride billboards, but to share some of my favorite billboard creations. Such as…

BBTaymor's

This is one of my favorite billboards, though also one of my most embarrassing because we originally showed the logo so small it was difficult to read at 55 miles per hour. Once we sent the billboard artists back up to make the correction, everyone could see the sponsor was Taymor’s, a once proud chain of local shoe stores, who were itching to get their hands on your feet.

Next, a billboard that attracted national attention because Michael Dukakis was running for president when we first previewed the billboard on the Southeast Expressway. Back then, the line “Food for A King” sounded like a hackneyed cliche up until the name “Dukakis” reminded people of a different type of king—Ed King, former governor of Massachusetts who was notorious for treating his state trooper escorts to lobster dinners. Dukakis, who not only preceded King as governor, but also followed him in that office, was notoriously tight-fisted and non-royal in his use of the trappings of power.

BBNew Gazelle

 

My next three are W.B. Mason billboards. Over the years I must have created a dozen or more Mason billboards, most of which featured W.B. in some sort of epic or heroic situation. The one exception is the one below with its star attraction being the word/phrase I coined when introducing W.B. Mason’s new same-day delivery service, “gotta-hafta-geddit.” (to see the TV Commercial from the “Gotta-hafta-geddit” campaign, go to:

http://www.wbmason.com/AboutUs/commercials.html. (Look for “gotta hafta gedit”).

Same-Day Delivery

No other options exist when you Gotta-hafta-geddit today!

No other options exists when you Gotta-hafta-geddit today!

 

Using Our Competitor’s Size Against Them

BBHercules billboard

We loved to use extensions to create visual tension and energy. Note that W.B. Hercules stands taller than the billboard, and that his chains are bursting apart, seemingly in mid-air.

 

Staking Claim To Our Turf (as seen on the Expressway leading into Boston)

BBsoldier billboard

Our most controversial billboard, this one had the bad luck to go up on the Southeast Expressway around the same time America sent troops into Kosovo and the Columbine shootings rocked the country. Irate motorists called to complain about the giant bazooka on the W.B. Mason billboard even though it was clearly (to us) a magic marker.

NOTE:  none of the above billboards, or any that I created during my career, ever appeared on those newfound and ubiquitous electronic billboards. In my opinion, those digital billboards with their rapidly changing messages—along with the vertical blinds billboard that changes its message every 20 or 30 seconds—have very little value compared to the original one-board/one-message billboard. With all the billboards shown above, I owned the mental space surrounding the billboard. My message was never interrupted by someone else’s message. My billboards had the time they needed to craft a relationship with each and every driver that rode by. With electronic billboards you never finish absorbing one message before the next is wiping out any residual impression or reaction. When you saw one of my billboards from far away you began to react to it even before you were certain of what it was saying. If you couldn’t quite read it, or see the image, your curiosity was engaged and sustained as you approached. And your initial curiosity was given time to settle into an understanding, which then had time to mushroom into additional thoughts and reactions. Also, by the clever use of billboard extensions and a billboard’s three-dimensionality (see the Fleet board above) we had a tool by which we could enliven the usual billboard experience, having our message grow beyond the ordinary limits and physical restraints of a billboard.

To view my #1 Greatest Hits advertisement, click here. To view #2, click here. To view #3, click here. To view #4, click here. To view #5, click here.To read my story about creating “Who But W.B. Mason!,” click here.  Or, if you’re interested in seeing other examples of my mind at work, visit my web site.. To speak with me about building or creating your company’s brand, contact me at 857-389-2158 or at PaulStevenStone@gmail.com.