For some reason this particular ad in my Greatest Hits series disappeared within weeks after it was first posted. Oh well, here we go again…
Author Archives: Paul Steven Stone
Paul Steven Stone’s Greatest Hits, #5 in a series
“That’s a lovely light,” Timothy Leary said, smiling.
Fifth amongst my greatest hits, the Wolfers Lighting “Surreal Context” campaign. A series of ads celebrating the lost years of the sixties, with all its surreal imaging, M.C. Escher perspectives and Kafkaesque mind twists. Offering the elegant thought, “Anything goes when it comes to creating lighting environments.”
The above ad was the vanguard of the campaign, its graffiti backdrop serving as the ideal springboard for both the ad and the campaign that followed. Debra Elliott, the campaign’s art director, created the image of the lamplit graffiti wall and, almost immediately, we were off and running. Deb and I collaborated on all ads in the series.
It’s important to note all the heavy lifting is done by the visuals in each ad. Our headline had to be simple and dry, serving as contrast to the wild whimsy of the visuals. Once you see how the series unfolded you can easily begin imagining any number of illogical environments that could be enlivened by beautiful lighting. Purchased of course at the magical epicenter of all this fabulous advertising whimsy, Wolfers Lighting.
Now, of course, it was time to talk about surreal lighting applications.
To view my #1 Greatest Hits advertisement, click here. To view my #2 Greatest Hits advertisement, click here. To view my #3 Greatest Hits advertisement, click here. To view my #4 Greatest Hits advertisement 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.
Paul Steven Stone’s Greatest Hits, #4 in a series
Do do that Doo Wop that you do so well!
I always say, “What’s the purpose of an ill-spent youth if you can’t exploit it?” Which is exactly what I set out to do with my Doo Wop W.B. Mason commercial.
This commercial is one of my personal favorites. It reflects how the best work is often the most fun. I loved writing and producing “Doo Wop.” It was a nugget of my youth come to life on a commercial stage. I was extremely fortunate, especially in my earliest W.B. years that our basic strategy for developing our brand was to produce TV commercials and print ads that created affection for W.B. out in the marketplace—with potential customers or not, it didn’t matter. Selling merchandise or not, that didn’t matter either. What mattered was winning the public’s affection, which could help to explain how W.B.’s brand seemed to go viral almost as soon as we hit the public airwaves.
To view my #1 Greatest Hits advertisement, click here. To view my #2 Greatest Hits advertisement, click here.To read my story about creating “Who But W.B. Mason!, click here. Or, if you’re interested, you can visit my web site to see many other examples of my work. To speak with me about building or creating your company’s brand, contact me at 857-389-2158 or at PaulStevenStone@gmail.com.
(Yikes I just noticed that #3 in the series appears to be missing from my blog postings)
Paul Steven Stone’s Greatest Hits, #2 in a series
The ad that launched a thousand trucks! (Well, maybe 500)
This is where it all began. Before we transformed W.B. Mason’s trucks into circus trucks. Before W.B. Mason’s Low Price Assurance Detectives (L.P.A.D.) ever flashed a single badge during a cold call. Before an unsuspecting world had time to figure out what the hell we were doing. Before all that—this ad jumped onto the stage, and into the newspapers, virtually transforming a mild-mannered, quiet, almost anonymous office furniture and supplies dealer into a marketing and advertising animal.
If you hear a calliope playing in your mind, it’s because this ad signaled that the circus (in the form of the W.B. Mason sales leviathan) was coming to town. W. B. Mason had a fleet of 3 (count ’em 3!) trucks when we first launched their advertising and branding campaign, today they have around 500. Back then they had only a single location in Brockton, today their trucks travel roads up and down the East and West coasts, and across many of the major markets in-between. “Who But!” says it all!
With all the W.B. Mason half page newspaper ads we had the original artwork created in full color, then transferred into black and white. This Mason ad was the granddaddy of the “Who But W.B. Mason!” campaign. Needless to say, it was a show-stopper, and totally unique in the newspaper environment.
The black and white version above is how the ad actually looked (with some allowance made for my lousy photography) in the newspapers. Needless to say, there was nothing else like it in the entire paper, and probably nothing else that proved so irresistibly engaging to the unwary newspaper reader.
To view my #1 Greatest Hits advertisement, click here. To read my story about creating “Who But W.B. Mason!, click here. To view the tribute paid to me by W.B. Mason for my 26 years of brand-building and advertising prowess, click here. Or, if you’re interested, you can visit my web site to see many other examples of my work. To speak with me about building your company’s brand, selling more of your services, or just moving more traffic into your store, contact me at 857-389-2158 or at PaulStevenStone@gmail.com.
Paul Steven Stone’s Greatest Hits, #1 in a series
GOT GREAT CREATIVE?
And so my wife Amy says to me, “You’re in advertising, why don’t you advertise what you have to sell?” Which struck me as a pretty good idea and led me to this particular endeavor: hauling out some of my favorite ads and branding messages to reach new potential clients who might be in the market for a super-creative writer, copywriter, or creative director. This business loan ad was one in a series of ads that showed Rockland Credit Union obviously spending little on their advertising so they could invest their money in the community. One of my favorite campaigns. If you’re ready to create a unique, memorable brand for your business, or merely need to develop a few high-impact advertisements to get your message across, give me a shout at PaulStevenStone@gmail.com or 857-389-2158. And if you’re interested in seeing more of my creative work, check me out at www.PaulStevenStone.com.
