Awkwafina Goes Home

Awkwafina and her dad catch up over a tour of her childhood home in Queens, NY, to help launch the Meta Portal Go.

Real dads, real Awkwafinas, real childhood bedrooms, and no script. Shot live across two continents by Academy Award-nominated director Nanette Burstein.

The world is not ready for Wally Lum.

Creative Director: Me

Group Creative Director: Tanner Rogers-Goode

Associate Creative Director: Joshua Eithun

Art Director: Jessica Iglesias

Copywriter: Hannah Kirkeiner

Relaunched the Mazda brand with a new platform and 360 campaign, including a TV spot featuring WNBA Seattle Storm star rookie Nika Mühl, bioscientist and professional surfer Cliff Kapono and teenaged Mazda race car driver Helio Meza. Shot by director Nicolai Fuglsig and edited by Leo Scott and Fernanda Cardoso. Premiered during Thursday Night Football.

Creative Director: Me

Group Creative Director: Ben Carmean

Associate Creative Director: Brit Ryan

In 2024, Mazda partnered with Tribeca Festival to launch Moving the Spotlight, a first-of-its-kind screening and awards ceremony designed to help elevate emerging, underrepresented voices in film.

Unlike other corporate activations, we didn’t create a brief for filmmakers to execute against. Instead, Mazda gave deserving filmmakers a once-in-a-lifetime shot at showing their art at Tribeca. That’s because like most top-tier competitive festivals, Tribeca only selects a fraction of a percent of the films it receives (from over 8,000 submissions).

So we worked with Tribeca to give directors who submitted to the festival but initially didn’t make the cut a second opportunity.  

In addition to leading creative in execution of event branding, collateral, real-time DOOH activations, social media and influencer support and wider program details, I also worked with Tribeca Artist Programs to curate and nominate our shortlist of 7 independent films for inclusion, with a focus on international and queer narratives.

Creative Director: Me

Co-Creative Director: Ben Carmean

Senior Copywriter: Alyssa Free

Senior Designer: Jiaan Co

Editor: Cody Liesinger

Sunshine in a Glass

Tanqueray was launching Tanqueray Sevilla Orange and needed the right vibes to tell people how to vibe with it. So Joe Jonas became a weatherman, and I learned that there are so many more Jonas brothers than you think (is necessary).

Creative Director: Me

Director of Content and Social Strategy: Ty Stafford

Producer: Catlin Callaway

Director: TK McKamy

#WrapSessions

Meta Portal’s holiday campaign elevates narratives often excluded from “traditional” holiday storytelling.

Shot by acclaimed Academy Award-nominated director Nanette Burstein, the three-episode series celebrates the act of wrapping gifts as a time to connect and catch up with loved ones. Unscripted and cast with real people, each episode follows a different story, all told over Portal devices.

‘Queens of Christmas’ serves RuPaul Drag’s Race winner Violet Chachki and Gottmik, the first trans man to compete on RPDR, discussing the importance of chosen family during the holidays. ‘Holiday Roast’ invites comedians Sean Grant and Carl Johnson to dig into their most cherished holiday pet peeves. ‘Handmade Hanukkah’ features Hebrew school besties Maya and Rachael working toward a more equitable representation of Hanukkah in the crafting world.

Creative Director: Me

Group Creative Director: Tanner Rogers-Goode

Associate Creative Director, Art: Joshua Eithun

Associate Creative Director, Copy: Jared Johnsen

Art Director: Jessica Iglesias

Copywriter: Hannah Kirkeiner

Initial Concept: AJ Rivvers

#EveryoneIsWelcome

Los Angeles is different. When the Trump administration issued the travel ban, the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board told the world that everyone is welcome here. In an ideal world, we wouldn't need to evolve and continue the campaign. But over the next year, the number of countries on the travel ban grew, DACA moved toward deportation, and Los Angeles once again stepped forward to lead the fight for diversity, decency and acceptance. Shot across greater Los Angeles, with over 100 real Angelenos, the new #EveryoneIsWelcome campaign champions what makes our city so different and why different will always be welcome here.

Campaign includes broadcast, print, social, OOH, banners, web.

Associate Creative Director, Copy / Creative Lead: Me

Associate Creative Director, Art / Co-Creative Lead: Brianna Lohr

Art Director: Dan Atwater

Director: Isaac Ravishankara

Everyone Is Welcome

Mikaila Ulmer, social entrepreneur and CEO of Me & the Bees, had the privilege of introducing President Obama at the inaugural White House United State of Women Summit in Washington, DC. I had the honor of writing her speech. At an event with Oprah, Warren Buffet and Vice President Joe Biden, it was Mikaila who was trending, retweeted by politicians and covered by major outlets. 

Creative Lead: Me

So, this obviously didn’t get produced (thanks, COVID!), but Meryl Streep’s face on a monster truck holds a special place in my heart.

Netflix needed big ideas for the release of Ryan Murphy’s The Prom, so we went big. Monster.

Inspired by the film’s theme of worlds colliding (and a little scene that finds the Broadway stars at a monster truck rally), we pitched The Dee Dee Allenator, The Glickmaniac, and The Angie Dickinson of a Gun. Behold, you have Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman on monster trucks. And also James Corden.

The plan was, we’d surprise Monster Jammers with the most over-the-top trucks in history and compete in rallies across the country. But we wouldn’t stop there (except we did, because, again, COVID). The trucks would tear ass through the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and find immortality with their very own Hot Wheels.

Associate Creative Director, Copy: Me

Associate Creative Director, Art : Brianna Lohr

Design GENIUS: David Guzman

Where does chargefeel take you? lululemon needed a TikTok campaign to launch their versatile new cross-trainer, chargefeel.

We developed a concept for influencers that lets them stay true to their content, leverage a custom sound, and show off all the different #sweatlife scenarios for chargefeel.

Co-creative director: Julia Gramaglia

Associate creative director, art: Graham Greene

Associate creative director, copy: Jared Johnsen

Copywriter: Hannah Kirkeiner

The first female recruitment campaign in the USMC's 242-year history

A controversial shift in messaging guaranteed to rattle the nation’s most elite brotherhood, the female recruitment campaign was a delicate balancing act of paradoxes, prejudices, pride, and authenticity. Potential female recruits needed to see real proof sources, but we also needed to communicate that there are no female Marines, just Marines.

Campaign includes social and web.

Copywriter / Creative Lead: Me

Art Director: Andrea Overstreet

Creative Director: Tom Wilson

Director: Riess/Hill

Louder Than Guns

This is not an ad. This is a wake-up call. The youth of Los Angeles demanded a bold, provocative campaign to break through the noise of gun violence. We became Louder Than Guns. 

Every day in the U.S., 100 people are killed by guns. It’s our new normal. It’s a future the young people of L.A. refuse to accept. The first initiative of its kind, Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Youth Council to End Gun Violence is committed to driving action and advocacy on gun violence prevention and intervention. The students that make up the council are our clients, collaborators, and a reminder of what’s at stake. 

Through several workshops, we listened to their lived experiences with gun violence, their stories of loss, their concerns, and their ideas for change. To combat the deeply rooted apathy around the issue and urge people to act, students wanted to create a window into our dystopian near-future. 

“To get people’s attention, we need fake and preposterous ideas that show how ridiculous our solutions are, to show that there has to be a better way.”

—The Mayor’s Youth Council to End Gun Violence member

On May 22nd, ads for gun violence insurance appeared around Los Angeles. 

People were shocked. Confused. Even offended. But the fine print told a different story. Driving to our website and social channels, the ad encouraged Angelenos to take action. Those who called the number for more information were met with statistics around gun violence and an opportunity to leave a voicemail detailing their own personal experiences.  

And on June 7, everything changed. On National Gun Violence Awareness Day, the insurance ads were replaced with a youth-led call to action. 

Ranging from OOH, digital, social, to DIY, all campaign extensions drove Angelenos back to our campaign website to direct people to get involved, in ways big and small. 

Throughout the entire process, Omelet worked closely with The Brady Campaign, March For Our Lives, Giffords, Everytown For Gun Safety, and the City Of Los Angeles to craft a campaign that was reflective of the intersectionality of the issue, the inherent trauma of the topic, and the urgent need for real and lasting change.

Creative Director: Me

Art director: Chelsea Oz, Kailey Riggen

Copywriter: Daniel Paredes, Chad Goodnoe

Associate Creative Director: Jimmy Barker

Creative Director: Chelsea Oz, Florian Bodet

Thinking about the future is tough. It feels too far away. High stakes. Too big to tackle on our own. Sometimes we forget there’s someone who’s been in our shoes and come out the other side. Sometimes we just need a little push to get us there. This content series tackles those big life transition moments and makes the decisions around them just a little more accessible.

We found our talent through real people casting. And it wasn’t until we met people like Jennifer and learned of her desire to swim in the ocean again that we found our stories.

Campaign includes digital, social, and banners.

Associate Creative Director, Copy: Me

Associate Creative Director, Art: Brianna Lohr

Creative Directors: Florian Bodet, Chelsea O’Brien

After helping Create Comforts Brewing Co. develop their foundational brand positioning, tagline and brand identity, I stepped back in to help develop their new drinking lager, Classic City Lager.

If Creature Comforts listens to Thundercat, Classic City Lager only listens to Bruce.

The new brand needed a strategy that differentiated them from CCBC while retaining existing brand equity. And something that could strike the balance between an accessible sipping beer and uncompromising craft quality.

We delivered the brand strategy and identity, tagline, packaging, signage, and merchandise. Cheers.

Creative Director: Me

Art directors: Dan Atwater, Brianna Lohr

Last Stop Before

In many parts of the country, Walmart is your last chance to load-up on supplies before big events like Coachella, Burning Man, and more. What do small-town Walmart stores look like once the costumed characters descend?

Last Stop Before is the first-ever content series developed for @WalmartWorld, the social ecosystem for the 2.2 million Walmart associates.

Building a beverage brand led by a little girl from the ground up — now 15 years in business and in retailers nationwide.

A small lemonade company was at a crossroads that makes or breaks brands. On the cusp of major distribution deals with national retailers, a copyright infringement forced the company to walk away from their brand name, logo and everything that identified them on the shelf.

We decided to tell a story.

Unlike most of the competition in the packaged goods category, the lemonade company was a triple threat. A purpose-driven brand. Run by a preteen social entrepreneur. Dedicated to saving our honeybees. Based on their singular position within the market, we developed a 360-degree brand identity that amplified their social good message, anthropomorphized the brand into a storybook tale, and aimed that message at cultural influencers poised to spread the word.

Meet Me & the Bees.

Not only did Me & the Bees cement deals with retailers like Starbucks and Whole Foods, product distribution increased by nearly 300% and sales grew by almost 170% from the previous year. But there’s no way to quantify the cultural impact of the rebranding. Our story proved contagious, garnering attention from Forbes, Fortune, Inc., the White House and more.

NAME & LOGO:

In order to create a brand identity that could transcend the packaged goods category, we created the title of a classic children’s story. Me & the Bees captures the hero, the mission and an inclusive, universal appeal optimized to inspire other “beelievers” to action.

PRODUCT DESIGN:

We developed the packaging as “my lemonade stand in a bottle,” an ambassador for the Me & the Bees “origin story.” The new design needed to share visual DNA with the original, yet we shifted the focus from product to purpose—emphasizing Mikaila as hero and her mission to save the bees.

BRAND IDENTITY SYSTEM:

Iconic, playful and sophisticated, the Me & the Bees glyphs express the heart of the brand: Love, Honey, Bees.

BRAND BOOK:

A brand book was essential to codify the new look, feel and voice of the brand. But a clinical approach felt wrong. We instead developed a brand storybook, a narrative that proved engaging to our 12-year old client while remaining an effective tool for media and vendors. 

Winner of the 2016 Jay Chiat Award for Strategic Excellence

Designer: Braden Wise

Design Director: Tim Meraz

Strategy Directors: Mark Miller & Adrian Barrow

Protect what matters

FEMA needed a light touch to nudge homeowners toward flood insurance.

We wrote a children's story. It made people at the National Tropical Weather Conference cry. 

The national public service campaign proved so successful that FEMA asked us to convert it into a paid campaign. The original PSA campaign won a Silver Addy and has been featured in Lürzer's Archive, Motionographer, Adweek, AdForum, and more.

Campaign includes broadcast, web, print, OOH.

Copywriter: Me

Associate Creative Director, Art: Deb DeWitt

Group Creative Director: Lando Ettrick

Director: Headless

Score: Beacon Street Studios

The Lexus LC was the car that shouldn't exist, and Lexus needed a completely new global brand voice that didn't yet exist. No more fluff. No more hyperbole. Lexus had to be direct and confident to compete with an entirely new class of high performance cars. We developed a new global brand voice and tone that I dubbed "product swagger." 

Art Director: Quoc Lu

Designer: Braden Wise

Creative Director: Tyler Doupe´

Design Director: Tim Meraz

The Line is an annual collection of product-driven Lexus brand and lifestyle stories, from origami cats to the power of levitation to morpho butterfly wings. 

Art Directors: Ritzelle Cayabyab, Jennifer Choy

Creative Director: Tyler Doupe´

Design Director: Tim Meraz

Lexus needed a new brand voice to woo younger, cooler, small-batch-whiskey-drinking buyers over to the 2016 models of the RX and LX, their most successful vehicle and their flagship SUV. 

Art Directors: Kevin Mitchell, Quoc Lu

Creative Director: Tyler Doupe´

Design Director: Tim Meraz