PBS SPONSORSHIP ADS

Osmo bought advertising for a few PBS Kids shows, which had some unusual constraints. We were not allowed to show our product at all, nor make the product the subject of the ad, and we could only mention our brand at the signoff. This led me to concept ads that focus on the hands-on differentiation of Osmo (which, although a set of iPad games, is played using objects off the screen – the original company’s name is Tangible Play). I’d connect the hands-on play to all of the values that parents concerned about children and screentime are worried about, with joyful stock video of kids playing.

I wrote the heartfelt scripts, gathered stock video clips, and composited them in After Effects. Also, I did the voiceover performance for the “dad” one and helped a co-worker who didn’t have a kid deliver the “mom” one with conviction. I had to have someone who could carry a tune record the whistle.

CODING JAM ANIMATED ADS

Osmo’s Coding Jam game creates procedural music from the game pieces sequence placed in front of the screen. I used the character animations and animated in the piece sequence and a reverberation in the onscreen logo. These ads played on Facebook and Instagram.

VARIOUS WEB/SOCIAL ADS

Working with the growth team, we liked to mix it up with ads, refreshing them regularly when older ones’ performance began to flag and looking closely at what did and didn’t work. Rather than just showing play off of the screen, I liked to bring the characters (and in the case of Monster, faux kids’ drawings) into the photography of children, to help halt scrolling. Of course, there were other occasions where a headline, awards won, or a Black Friday discount needed to take prominence. The tall ones were optimized to the maximum length for Pinterest. For the rightmost one, I designed this series of circles for the game where the iPad and signature red reflector broke the boundary of the screen. This system I then used in packaging, point-of-purchase displays. and other ads.

HOLIDAY BROADCAST AD

I also worked closely with Osmo co-founder Jerome Scholler, and We Are Pi Amsterdam on the agency-produced holiday broadcast ad, sharpening its storyline and comedy. The charming final ad both points to the real gameplay (the magic of watching an animated character react to your drawings) and expands/refines Mo’s character. I was deliberate and specific with the direction of a multi-game close.