The Chairman/CEO of United Online came to me with an idea to create a series of spots using a celebrity spokesperson to allow NetZero to speak directly with consumers. After a few rounds of concepts and casting, we decided Mark Goldston, our actual Chairman, was the best option.

Directing and critiquing your CEO was a unique (if not slightly stressful) experience. The spots are visually impactful; Mark was amazingly prepared and did a damn good job.

NetZero wanted a ‘high-tech’ look for the introduction of its cached internet service. The result was a spot that highlighted speed and technology to compete with a growing DSL market. This spot was my introduction to CGI, motion control, and green-screen, and it was incredibly exciting. While it may not age well, it’s a special campaign to me and was pretty rad at the time.

Classmates.com created the Memory Lane website to capitalize on its wealth of nostalgic content. I created this launch campaign to introduce the site. I managed every aspect of this production from concept, script development, casting, art direction, shooting, and finishing. I also managed a budget north of $1 million, which included rights to several high-profile celebrities, including Muhammed Ali and the estates of Jimi Hendrix and Marilyn Monroe.

The “NetZero for All” campaign introduced two new products from NetZero, Mobile Broadband and Cellular Voice Service. I managed the entire production from concept to completion, including all budgets, casting, crew, and post. Individual URLs and phone numbers were used to measure performance, resulting in over 200 spots in this campaign.

As start-ups are prone to do, Mission Clould matured rapidly over its first five years as a business and a brand. I wanted to update the Mission hero spot to inform people about the brand and motivate employees. With a limited budget, we crafted a spot that combined stock footage with an interview of our CEO, filmed in one morning.