art silverman

CAMPAIGN IDENTITIES

"Naming and framing" are the first steps in creating powerful messaging for issue campaigns.

Properly framing an issue, along with laser-like targeting of audience segments, cuts thru media clutter and focuses attention where it will do the most good.

Memorable campaign names and pithy taglines are force multipliers to compelling content and imagery.

Here are a few names and identities from my own portfolio.

”Caviar Emptor" A high-end consumer campaign to protect threatened sturgeon (Client: SeaWeb). The name was later appropriated by Law and Order for an episode about renegade sturgeon black marketeers.

"Girlie Drinks, Women’s Diseases" A campaign against the alcohol industry’s marketing of “alcopops,” sweet starter drinks aimed at teenage girls. A poster with this message was distributed to every pediatrician in the United States. (Client: American Medical Association)

"Heart Attack on a Plate" Fettuccini Alfredo became the national poster child for restaurant meals loaded with saturated fat and calories. (Client: Center for Science in the Public Interest)

"Look Ma! I’m A Bureaucrat!" A marketing campaign to persuade college students that careers in government can be cool and relevant (Client: U.S. Office of Personnel Management)

"Money In the Bank From Keeping Carbon in the Ground" Promoting the economic benefits to farmers from carbon sequestration via improved agricultural practices (Client: Environmental Defense Fund) 

"Sniff and Poke" A shaming campaign aimed at USDA meat inspection, which was formerly limited to examiners touching and smelling carcasses to ensure their safety (Client: Center for Science in the Public Interest)

"Something to Chew On" Ten years after the Alar controversy, apples still needed a clean-up. (Client: Environmental Working Group)

"This Bed’s For You” — An awareness and education campaign aimed at college students and their parents. Binge drinking, particularly of beer, has led to a startling rise in student hospitalizations on campuses.  (Client: American Medical Association)

"Totally Nuts" An initiative by progressive business leaders against wasteful defense spending becomes an actual ice cream flavor (Client: Ben and Jerry’s)

EDITORIAL SERVICES

From concept to copy

I deploy the written word to command attention and advance your strategic goals.

From soundbites & taglines to long-form prose

I write and edit compelling copy tailored to your specific needs.

My particular specialty

Translating scientific, legal and policy jargon into plain English

CREATIVE DIRECTION

Content creation is the art of orchestrating ideas, words, images and sounds to captivate an audience and drive action.

A creative director conducts this orchestra.

In advertising, where the concept originated, creative directors typically begin as either a writer or a designer.

My own background and primary expertise is on the editorial side, but I have also been privileged to collaborate and manage projects with many talented artists and designers over the years.