Long-Form Storytelling
These stories, some favorites from my career so far, range in tone from awe-inspiring prose to just plain silly. But each worked to spark a new conversation with its audience.
ACDs: Lauren Hystead, Lauren Swago
Director: Diana Zalucky
A sustainable, female-owned coconut farm.
When every coconut water is shouting the same thing – organic, pure coconut water - ONE needed to make it clear that their name actually stood for what they were selling: a one-ingredient, sustainably-harvested coconut water.
To tell that story, we went to the source. A small coconut farm in the heart of the Philippines owned by Annabelle Tan.
A love song to the second city.
To launch the rebrand of Choose Chicago, master storyteller John Claxton wrote this ode to our city. I was lucky enough to be on the team that brought it to life.
A weeklong shoot in every corner of the city and a recording session with Marc Smith, the father of slam poetry, resulted in this epic story that still gives me chills.
CD: Myra Mazzei
Written by: John Claxton
CW: Lauren Hystead
AD: Lauren Swago
CD: Tom Flanigan
CW: Lauren Hystead
AD: Lauren Swago
Director: Hiro Murai
A back-to-school ad turned legit music video.
The request was simple: an ad for Kmart back-to-school clothes.
The solution was bigger than any of us saw coming: an original rap performed by two up-and-coming artists and produced at a famed Chicago studio. And a music video shot by a soon-to-be-legendary director.