What? Why are you posting an old comic strip as inspiration on a site mostly dedicated to broadcast media?

There are a number of reasons:

1. Writing to get a compelling story across with very little time/space. This is an area that Bill Watterson excelled in and broadcast promotion/advertising professionals have to strive to do all the time, get a story across in an interesting way that everyone can comprehend. It’s amazing the emotion, drama, comedy, and excitement that Bill Watterson was able to achieve in only four frames.
2. Writer/artist Integrity. Bill Watterson was able to do what many mass media professionals cannot, he stifled the attempts at diluting his work by putting the characters on anything and everything. While there are many arguments to support either side, license on everything or not to license, it is amazing to see how well the strip has held up since it wasn’t over commercialized during its heyday. Although I do belive there is a happy medium and I would have liked to see a little bit more development of the characters in other media, I can respect the amazing struggle it must have been to contain the license and keep it “pure.”
3. story development and serialization. Reading through the strips, from the earliest days to the final one, you get to see how well the characters developed. In addition, there were times that stories went beyond the daily four frames and continued on for days or even weeks. I think we can equate this to developing campaigns, where we deliver a message over a series of spots that compel the viewer to keep coming back for more. I think there’s a lot to learn looking through Calvin and Hobbes.
4. A message that can appeal to almost everyone. Bill Watterson, intentionally or not, was able to craft story-lines that almost everyone can enjoy. It’s great to read these strips now with my kid and she enjoys them just as much as I do. The stories never alienated anyone or tried to be offensive to gain attention. They were well crafted stories that seemed to have many different layers.

I think a great deal can be learned from reading through Calvin and Hobbes, looking at the development of characters, analyzing how the stories were presented, researching the struggle that Bill Watterson went through to get it published and to keep the strip pure.

Copyright Universal Press Syndicate http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/

This posting originates from sheehe.com. The imagery is Copyright Universal Press Syndicate http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/. The author of the comic is Bill Watterson.

Here’s a interesting viral campaign created by director Johannes Gamble. You can read more about how this ad came about here: http://www.studiodaily.com/filmandvideo/currentissue/9894.html

This posting originates from sheehe.com. The video is linked from YouTube.

SEGA and their ad agencies helped redefine video-game advertising and then Sony and its agencies helped refine it.

Here’s a great example of a spot for the PlayStation 2 that appealed to a large demographic. Captivating in it’s visual delivery, with a very interesting choice of music, this spot helped draw the viewer in.

This was aired during the time the perception of video game systems was changing. Ads and branding like this helped change the idea of video games from a “loner 11 year old boy” activity to a mainstream billion-dollar a year industry. 

The text portion of this posting originates from sheehe.com. The video is linked from YouTube.

While this isn’t a broadcast promotion or commercial, it is a collection of beautiful imagery that anyone in our business can get inspired from. What’s amazing is that it was all shot with the new Canon digital STILL camera the 5D mark II. Enjoy

This is long-form content, but, it’s worth taking a look. This was done during the writers strike and is very well done. It’s fresh, takes a risk, and captivates you from the onset. If you’re in the mood for some “out there” humor, check it out.

I’m amazed that they took the chance and made this spot, I don’t believe that many companies would. Nike has an amazing team that brands like few other companies.

This commercial, love it or hate it, captures your attention. It is one of those “what the…?” moments that makes many people rewind their DVR to check it out again.

An amazing animation/commercial for a roller coaster

This is a very cool spot.A52 does some amazing work.

This is a few years old, but, I still think it’s cool.