Top Advertising Agency in San Francisco and Los Angeles

DC appoints first Managing Director, Kumi Croom

A game changer since her arrival six years ago, Kumi will lead account and project management and continue to shape DC’s culture and client relationships.

InnovAsian finds balance, and big results.

A blend of content creators and traditional photoshoots was the perfect recipe to increase InnovAsian’s engagement on social – without breaking the budget.

Empathy over stigma

DC is honored to have been selected by the state of CA to tackle one of the most challenging issues of our generation. And to be covered in AdAge.

This Golden Road work isn’t good

People always ask: You good? But that indicates a pretty baseline, “just okay” type of good. DC’s new campaign for Golden Road asks a question that aims a little higher from a city that does the same.

Plant-based partnership

After a competitive review, DC “inked” a deal to become social and digital AOR for Tattooed Chef, one of the country’s fastest growing plant-based food brands.

El Secreto esta en el balance

Nuestro nuevo comercial para la cerveza Mango Cart de Golden Road establece una conexión alegre entre la tradición Mexicana de bailar mientras se equilibra una cerveza abierta en la cabeza con el sabor de la deliciosa cerveza con infusión de mango de Golden Road.

Empathy wins

DC is honored to announce that our work for the California Tobacco Control Program to help smokers quit in an empathetic way has been recognized with a Clio Health award.

Drink to the future

Organic wine industry pioneer, Bonterra Organic Estates, bolsters brand leader status with a future forward, fashionably chic campaign from DC.

TikTok campaign breaks records

e.l.f. celebrates self-expression and individuality with beauty products for every #eyeslipsface through the most viral organic TikTok campaign ever created.

Test it. Treat it. You can beat it.

COVID fatigue is real, but so are the treatments. Pushing through that barrier with a sing-along? Now that’s contagious in the best way.

Brand metrics meet media metrics in the Table™

Leveraging Lucid’s large-scale consumer panel and audience technology, Duncan Channon now puts brand-building alongside media metrics, powering greater optimization and growth.

Voyaging past the reef

Ahead of their 75th anniversary, our friends at Outrigger Resorts asked us to help elevate the brand for a global stage.

Hope and dance for foster kids

Our latest project for SFCASA is a short film featuring a former foster youth who tells his story through dance.

Helping Rosetta spread the word

Against competitive headwinds, DC reintroduces Rosetta Stone as the leader in deep, nuanced language learning with ads so cute you want to pinch them.

Foster kids above all

DC’s latest social impact campaign asks adults to ‘Show Up’ for foster kids.

The Little Big Lie

Our new campaign for the California Tobacco Control Program calls out Big Tobacco on the cigarette butts polluting our Earth - and bodies - with harmful microplastics.

Catching “Waves” with Kelly Slater

Fresh off an exclusive in Adweek, our latest work for Kona Brewing is ready to make waves all summer long. And this time surfing legend Kelly Slater is along for the ride.

Vaccinations, empathy, and equity

The “Let’s get to immunity” campaign, for the California Department of Public Health, counters COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy by meeting people where they are, and rooting every message in empathy and respect.

Coachella x Tattooed Chef

DC’s experiential team partnered with Tattooed Chef—bringing the brand’s edgy, purpose-driven ethos to life at Coachella’s 2022 return.

Eat to the beat with SweeTARTS

Launching today, the SweetBEATS mixer lets fans create musical loops, share them with friends, and enter for a chance to win a one-on-one virtual studio session with pop legend Christina Aguilera.

Vaccination: our state’s best shot

As reported in AdAge and Adweek, DC was awarded the state’s $40 million campaign to bolster public confidence in Covid-19 vaccinations. And work is already underway on this critical effort.

When the clinic’s a carnival

How do you convince a particularly hesitant group of Californians to get vaccinated for Covid-19? With free games, music, food, slushies and a great big Ferris wheel.

e.l.f. 2020 Halloween activation

Duncan Channon’s LA team kept the halloween spirit alive by bringing a spooky holiday pop-up straight to beauty influencers’ homes.

Brow besties, IRL

To re-energize their brow line, e.l.f. rolled out a digital campaign with real-life besties and beauty influencers Roxette Arisa and Yesenia Hipolito, and celebrated with a fabulous dinner produced by DC.

Covered CA on Adweek’s cover

DC is thrilled to announce that we were awarded the five-year, $400-million Covered CA account. We are resolute in helping at this crucial time when more Californians need coverage than ever.

Animating anti-smoking

The spots are animated. The struggle is real. True tales of former smokers on the perilous path to quitting.

“They can’t take your ballot”

At a time of unprecedented voter suppression, the mission of Vote From Home 2020 is more essential than ever. Our new “Suppress This” campaign helps them get ballots into the hands of disenfranchised voters of color. You can help, too.

InnovAsian: The Next Generation

DC is back with seconds of our award-winning, supply-chain-busting InnovAsian Occasion campaign now running on stations across the nation.

Beautyscape influencers launch e.l.f. collection

It’s a beautiful day at DCLA with the launch of the e.l.f. Cosmetics Retro Paradise collection — the new collection from e.l.f.’s Beautyscape winners Alissa Holmes, Diana Curmei, Elicia Aragon, Jessa Green and Valeria Loren.

Kona Brewing

Not only did viewers rank the TV spots above those of market leaders Corona and Dos Equis, they gave them the third highest score for any alcohol-related ad that year. Which might be one good reason for a frothy 37% sales increase.

Nicotine = Brain Poison = Clio

Our work for CTCP has awakened parents to the teen vaping epidemic and won a slew of awards in the process (not nearly as important, but nice). The latest is that most venerable of ad accolades: the Clio.

Beautyscape in the Bahamas

Created by DCLA for e.l.f., the fifth installment of the award-winning influencer program is now underway in the Bahamas. And garnering more heat than ever.

Nicotine: the teen nightmare

Nicotine is a neurotoxin whose changes to the teen brain could be permanent. And that’s what our campaign sets out to communicate.

SweeTARTS’ Be Both is back

After the sweet success of last year’s 'Be Both' launch, SweeTARTS is doubling down on the campaign to Gen Z with brand new work in market now — and more to come in 2021.

How sweet (and also tart) it is

It’s not just the sugar talking when we say that we’re so fired up about our new client: iconic candy brand and childhood favorite, SweeTARTS.

CBS x Alfred Coffee · Emmy Awards

DCLA partnered CBS Studios with Alfred Coffee to reach Emmy voters and garner support for Star Trek: Picard. The timely work tapped into the diversity and inclusion central to Gene Roddenberry’s original vision.

Keepin’ it real in HR

HR is about helping real people. The H is for human, remember? So why does so much HR advertising feel so unreal?

Rakuten

Loyalty or discount program advertising often dwells in the downscale world of the coupon clipper — a turnoff to savvier online shoppers. Our strategy was to present Rakuten as every bit as premium as the brands it offered rebates on.

Buy stuff, get Steph

Rakuten is back with the latest installment of the “Power of R” campaign, this time featuring a relatively well-known professional basketball player.

StubHub

Even the mild-mannered have something inside that drives them wild. And thanks to StubHub that wild thing is busting out all over.

New partner, new locations, new DC

We’re thrilled to announce the acquisition of A2G, a pioneering experiential and social influencer agency with offices in LA and New York.

Gap · Dress Normal

Gap asked us to build consideration and generate trial for their newly launched “Dress Normal” brand platform. Thirty influential Instagram photogs helped us do just that.

The lazy tyranny of Facebook's best practices

Our ECD John Kovacevich challenges whether Facebook's "best practices" are really the best we can do. He is also aware that he uses lots of ironic quotation marks.

This way to health insurance

Today marks the launch of our first campaign for Covered California as part of a five-year, $400-million effort to help all Californians get the health insurance they need.

A couple locals go national

The two lovable locals that anchor Kona Brewing’s Dear Mainland campaign are about to hit the court and the big time in a series of new spots running for the first time nationally during this year's March Madness.

Kettle Brand

The “Stirring the Pot” work celebrates Kettle Brand's counterculture legacy and all those that zig when others zag.

Playing the name game with InnovAsian

These four 15-second spots use rhymes that play with the catchphrase “InnovAsian occasion” to help consumers better remember the brand when navigating the crowded freezer aisle.

Redhook Brewlab

Craft beer is like indie music. If you get too popular, you’re no longer cool. Just ask Redhook. In the early ’80s, they took off like a rocket, Anheuser Busch came calling and the brand was labeled a sellout. “Budhook!” the beer nerds snickered.

Rakuten makes Grammy debut

The Japanese e-commerce giant dropped its first ever North American campaign during last night’s Grammys. Directed by acclaimed duo Vania & Muggia, the TV introduces Rakuten as a premium lifestyle brand and is the introduction of a months-long, DC-led brand overhaul.

Flavors Hook Kids

Evoking moments all parents remember; watching their kids find their favorite foods. Set in stark contrast with teens taking their first flavored steps into addiction.

Upwork is happening today

Oh, it's happening alright: the new campaign for freshly IPO'd Upwork launches this very morning and portrays an experience familiar to us all in the workaday world: the “oh shit, how am I going to get this finished?” moment.

Upwork

As a global network of freelance talent, Upwork needed to overcome their target’s gig-economy skepticism.

Ad exec/poll worker

For yesterday’s midterms, a big chunk of DCers added the title poll worker to their already sparkling resumes.

Nabela Noor for e.l.f.

DCLA created a can’t-miss launch event for Bangladeshi-American sensation Nabela Noor’s collaboration with e.l.f. Cosmetics.

Golden State Warriors: Game recognize game

The new campaign for the NBA champs celebrates the franchise's 47-year legacy in Oakland through novel pairings of Warriors — old-school and new — playing in perfect sync across a continuum of time.

Gap

With the Be Bright campaign, we secured the rights for Gap to be the official concert tee at the summer’s hottest music festivals.

Universal appeal

Our assignment was to convince teens and tweens that Universal was the “what’s next” vacation for them and their families.

Universal Orlando

Universal Orlando leveraged DCX’s stable of influencers to reach the difficult-to-reach teen and tween audience — and succeeded 40 million times over.

Shiseido relaunches

What better venue to make a grand re-entrance than Fashion Week? Shiseido’s pop-up experience drove huge engagement, reintroducing the brand in style.

Golden State Warriors

One of the greatest teams ever assembled was just about to leave the city that supported them through thick and thin for 47 years. How do they say good-bye?

Being Purposeful this Football Season

With pre-season underway, our Purpose Practice Director, MJ Deery, recommends some serious changes to the NFL’s playbook in Adweek.

Esurance

To keep growing, this pioneering online car insurer, which had catered to a younger demo, needed to persuade older, more discerning consumers of its stability, reliability and humanity.

The tobacco industry has a kids menu

Today marks the launch of DC’s latest campaign for the California Tobacco Control Program. The work exposes the tobacco industry’s latest deception: using flavors and products that masquerade as snacks and flash drives to hook kids when their brains are most susceptible to addiction.

SGX NYC · #hairgoals

SGX NYC wanted to increase awareness around winning two Allure Best of Beauty Awards and reinforce the brand’s positioning with cost-conscious consumers looking for premium products. We hit the bullseye with three well-known #hairgoals influencers.

DriveTime's new direction

The new campaign from DriveTime asks the burning question: if you’re not buying your car at DriveTime, how smart are you?

Citi · Citigrammers

Citi wanted to increase awareness and favorability on social media, particularly within the music and dining categories. We assembled a team of influential visual artists to create the sort of shareable content the brand couldn't.

Hey World! Upwork’s here to help

DC’s first campaign for Upwork positions the freelancer network as a movement of motivated people who are here to roll up collective sleeves and make stuff happen.

e.l.f. Cosmetics · Coachella

e.l.f. wanted to launch Beauty Shield, an all-new skincare line powered with antioxidants and SPF to help protect your skin against environmental aggressors. DCLA provided the perfect testing ground.

Is your brand ready for the conscious economy?

If you didn't see it, DC's director of social purpose, MJ Deery, was featured in a recent Adweek outlining a best-practices reset on rules for the burgeoning conscious economy.

Grubhub

While the competition focused on transaction and technology, Grubhub really understood the near magical moment that occurs when the “food’s here.”

How to help North Bay fire victims

We were all touched by the devastating fires and did what we could in the moment, but what about now?

California Tobacco Control · Social Smoking

Daily smoking has been on the decline for decades and yet casual smoking is actually on the rise. How do we get at-risk groups to see social smoking for what it is: plain old dangerous, unhealthy smoking.

DC in the World Series

As part of a long-term partnership with the MLB, the campaign for SU2C challenges the common perception that the only way to beat cancer involves one monolithic cure.

Udemy

DC developed a stylish back-to-school look for this growing learning platform. A new brand identity and comprehensive visual system celebrated the diversity of teachers and students and brought humanity to a previously transactional-feeling platform.

Not just a health system, a health squad

When you're sick, injured or facing a frightening diagnosis, you want more than just clinical excellence. You want a support system. You want a squad. And John Muir Health has your back.

e.l.f. Cosmetics · Cruelty-free

To promote e.l.f. as a vegan brand, we tapped five beauty influencers known for their animal activism. Incredible images were created, important causes were supported and sales were spiked.

New TV and a billboard full of butts

In its latest effort for the California Tobacco Control Program, DC shifts focus from the health dangers of cigarettes to the environmental dangers of cigarette butts. The “Come Clean” campaign features new TV and a billboard filled with 12,000 toxic butts.

e.l.f. Cosmetics · Christian Siriano

Designer Christian Siriano has been leading the charge for diversity in the world of A-list fashion. So who better to partner with a cosmetics brand that also celebrates beauty in all its forms?

Ad Age Agency of the Year — again

DC brought home a Small Agency of the Year award for the second year running.

InnovAsian

Chinese frozen food brand, InnovAsian, was languishing with low awareness and living in the long, chilly shadow of category king, PF Chang’s. Fix that, they said.

CBS brings Kona to Cali

Watch as our brothers spread their island wisdom up and down the Golden State.

Charlotte Russe · #CTGIRLSQUAD

Through targeted organic and paid social along with in-store announcements, we assembled the ultimate squad to help launch Charlotte Russe’s “New Beautiful” brand platform.

DC dishes up So Delicious

DC launched a brand new campaign for brand new client, So Delicious. The inaugural work emphasizes taste to challenge the misperception that choosing non-dairy somehow equals non-delectable.

Citi · ThankYou® Premier Card

Citibank asked us to create social content touting the many travel benefits of their redefined Premier card. And half a million YouTube views later, awareness was up nearly 20%.

Anne sounds off on The Drum

Our own ECD Anne Elisco-Lemme is featured in the latest edition of The Drum's Beyond The Brief with words of wisdom for all you creatives out there looking to make your mark.

Jkissa collab with e.l.f.

Known for embracing true individuality, DCLA identified Jkissa as the ideal person for e.l.f.’s next big cosmetics collaboration.

Kettle wins Campaign of the Year

For the second year in a row, DC brought home top honors at the sfBIG awards. Last year, it was our anti-vaping work on behalf of CTCP. This year, it was, in part, our pro-marijuana work on Kettle chips. Big thanks to sfBIG for the kind acknowledgement.

Citibank · Double Cash

Citibank wanted to jump awareness of their new Double Cash credit card. So we enlisted the help of YouTube superstar devinsupertramp.

Kona uses social media to get us off social media

Our Hawaiian brethren are back to help us haoles sort out our skewed work/life balance.

Pottery Barn

DCLA enlisted three influential NYC photographers to shoot Pottery Barn pieces and bring some 212 cred to the launch of the brand’s new flagship.

New person, new practice

DC is thrilled to announce the arrival of not only a true talent, but an important new agency offering. Today, we welcome MJ Deery as the first director of our social purpose practice.

Lagos Fine Jewelry

For the launch of Smart Caviar, the first fine-jewelry bracelet for the Apple Watch, Lagos wanted to reach a wide range of luxury consumers and highlight the versatility of the bracelet.

Talking community at SXSW

DCX’s Amy Cotteleer and Mara McCune from e.l.f. discussed the development of the cosmetic company’s lauded micro-influencer program, Beautyscape.

Sephora

To celebrate a grand opening at The Grove, we helped Sephora surprise and delight consumers with our ‘Let’s Beauty Together’ mini-makeovers.

Grubhub delivers dose of reality

To capture the genuine excitement and community a shared meal delivers, DC steered clear of LA and shot in Austin, Texas, with real friends. No actors. No scripts. No sets.

Still Blowing Smoke

After besting more than 100 agencies, our first task for the California Tobacco Control Program was to address the arrival of e-cigarettes.

DC's new look and leadership

It’s a red-letter day as the agency launches a new logo, look, website and leadership. In addition to the four partners and longtime communications planning director, Leslie Diard, Jamie Katz, Rachel Hermansader and Anne Elisco-Lemme will all assume vital new management roles.

Nintendo

We had Nintendo send 50 consoles to creators we selected for their talent and love of gaming. They, in turn, made 50 movies about the Wii U and self-published and championed across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Crunch time for Kettle Brand

At a time when wannabe competitors are trying to get on their natural chip tip, Kettle Brand is answering back with an irreverent new ad campaign. The “Stirring the Pot” work celebrates the brand’s counterculture legacy and all those that zig when others zag.

John Muir Health

Women call the shots (no pun) when it comes to family medical decisions. And women are wired to communicate. That’s where the Be Heard campaign started.

Retail therapy

Cash back from Ebates for the normal online shopping you were already going to do? No catch? We can understand your skepticism. That's why our new campaign tackles that disbelief head on by setting the spots in Skeptics Anonymous therapy sessions (a group some skeptical people doubt actually exists).

Formula X for Sephora

The breakthrough website — the first social network built for nail fans — puts the fun in functional.

Roller derby, feline affection and John Muir Health

The latest evolution of the Be Heard campaign for John Muir Health arrives on your TV set and computer screen.

Marqeta

It’s a complex story and has to be delivered with authority, concision and style.

Poop

What better word to sum up our feelings on this day that, at 44, our Amy has been taken.

Sephora / Marc Jacobs Beauty

When fashion icon Marc Jacobs made his move into cosmetics, he picked Sephora for a partner. And Sephora picked DC. And the pressure was on to match up to the master’s incomparable style.

Really big small news

We are so thrilled to have been named silver Small Agency of the Year in the west that we’re not even going to try and play it cool.

Tahoe South

Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority takes the plunge on a new name, a brand overhaul and fresh advertising, embracing its rep as the lake’s wild side.

“Wake Up” wins North American Effie

DC’s “Wake Up” campaign snared a silver at the 2016 Effies, the pre-eminent industry award for marketing that drives measurable success.

Blurb

Amid the glut of cheapo, on-demand books, this company stands for design, craftsmanship and beauty.

Redhook: the craft beer before craft beer

Picking up on the brand's rich origins story, D/C's new campaign puts “The Grandaddy of Craft", alongside a host of other "Seattle Originals".

Hard Rock

Work that earned top prize in the global Rebrand 100 competition, awarded for the combination of creative and strategy, and helped turn around a brand that turned rock stars into raving fans.

Kona bros offer miracle FOMO cure

The loveable Hawaiian brothers who've helped lift Kona Brewing into the top ten of US craft beer are back for the third year of D/C's "Dear Mainland" campaign.

Gap · 1969 Pico de Gap

Never underestimate the power of taco trucks to change the world — or at least the minds of fickle, fashionable millennials.

Water-powered relaunch for Tahoe South

"There Must Be Something in the Water" is the new tagline and name for D/C's new campaign for longtime client Tahoe South.

Bare Escentuals

Our Rethink the Quickie Tour for beauty brand Bare Escentuals brought fast, fun and free “makeunders” to busy women across America.

Campaign of the Year for “Wake Up”

DC’s campaign for the California Tobacco Control Program took home the top BIG Star prize over a stellar field.

DriveTime

In a world of no — no approval, no loan, no car — it’s DriveTime to the rescue. Two wildly enthusiastic young women deliver automotive salvation. And 38% more sales.

Vaporware

D/C has just launched the second year of the State of California’s effort to educate citizens about the potential perils of vaping nicotine.

Diamond of California

Diamond Nuts was stuck. Stuck in a commodity category. Stuck with low brand awareness. And stuck with a 30% premium price tag. Our mission was not only to fix the awareness problem, but to justify that premium price.

DC site takes top Pixel Award

Thirty-two industry judges bestowed top prize on D/C in the non-profit category of the 10th annual Pixel Awards.

Component gallery

If you see me in search results, ignore me. I exist for DC’s website team to test stuff. Also: Hi. Nice to have you here.

Not a morning person?

Thank you for using RingCentral.

Hi, Volta

Congrats to our friends and clients Staffan Terje and Umberto Gibin on last night’s official opening in San Francisco of their latest culinary masterpiece Volta.

Didn’t get into the CommArts Annual? Blame Anne!

No stranger to the pages of Communication Arts, our own ECD, Anne Elisco-Lemme, was chosen to be a member of this year’s esteemed panel of judges for the prestigious Advertising Annual.

Just what the doc ordered: gold, silver, Best in Show

Jackpot for DC at the 2015 Healthcare Marketing IMPACT Awards, sponsored by Modern Healthcare and Ad Age, Thursday night in Chicago. It started with a silver in the video category for John Muir Health, a pair of golds for California Tobacco Control (CTCP) in the video and integrated campaign categories and was topped off with Best in Show for CTCP.

Diamond of California is cooking

From TV to digital to print to a partnership with the Cooking Channel and Chef Kelsey Nixon, Diamond of California is serving up a complete creative feast in its first campaign from D/C.

“Turn Down” helps DriveTime turn up

Tina, Tara and the green rescue van are at it again in three new spots for DriveTime — including (if you're paying attention) one bumpin’ a lil “Turn Down for What.”

StubHub welcomes birth of inner fan

Today a new campaign emerges from that puppet’s long, weird shadow. Called “Let Your Fan Out,” the work champions StubHub as more than a place to get a ticket you want.

Stride Rite embraces the chaos

The world may change, but the joyful pandemonium of childhood remains a constant. Being no strangers to that joy ourselves, D/C was excited to be tapped to work on a brand refresh for Stride Rite. The new work encourages parents both to embrace the chaos and come prepared.

Crafty

Today, there are over 250 craft breweries in Washington. In 1981, there was exactly one. And we’re just here to remind Seattle who started it all.

California debuts ads to counter e-cigs

Twenty-five years after launching the first anti-smoking advertisements in the state, the California Department of Public Health today premiered a series of television, digital, and outdoor ads in a new campaign called “Wake Up,” as part of its educational effort to inform the public about the dangers of e-cigarettes.

Hooked up

Redhook Brewery has picked Duncan/Channon as its agency of record, leading strategy, creative and media efforts. This marks D/C's second brand from leading brewer, Craft Brew Alliance.

Making up with Kat Von D

Inspired by Kat’s tireless support of other makeup artists, the site is deeply collaborative, with products sitting side-by-side with user-generated photos and illustrations, as well as tweets and videos from the artist and her fans.

Better Business Beetle

Definitive facts.

Diamond scarfs D/C

Diamond Foods has picked Duncan/Channon to lead branding, ad strategy, creative and media efforts for Pop Secret, the fastest-growing major microwave popcorn brand, and Diamond of California, the branded leader in the culinary nuts category.

1st-person on the 3%

Last week, The 3% Conference kicked off its third year in San Francisco and Duncan/Channon was not only proud to host their VIP Party at the Tip (see above), but several of us were able to attend and be inspired. A recap of some of our favorite moments are below.

D/C launches site inspired by 3% Conference

Careers in advertising are long and hard. (That’s what she said.) To coincide with this year’s 3% Conference, we launched thatswhat3said.com, a place where women in advertising can give advice to female creatives who are just starting out. Visit the site, share it widely, and add to it.

D/C tops in fashion & beauty

We never doubted it, but now the OMMA award from MediaPost has confirmed it, bestowing top prize on the wildly social Sephora/Formula X website in the Fashion/Beauty/Cosmetics category, an effort in which, and we immodestly quote, "outstanding content, visual design and user interface create recurring value for users."

Episode II: Return of the Rescue Squad

Late last year, DriveTime, the number-one used car chain for the credit-strapped, introduced a new TV campaign called “Rescued.” Today, the campaign rolls on with three new spots playing across the country. Ride along with our intrepid rescuers as they put the fun back into car-buying for three more lucky abductees.

Gotcha! Not at StubHub

At StubHub, the only surprise is at the end of this new commercial. The campaign highlights that scoring good tickets at StubHub couldn’t be easier — or less aggravating — because there are never extra fees.

D/C wins California Tobacco Control Program advertising work

The California Tobacco Control Program, the state program who works to reduce the health impact and premature deaths due to tobacco use, has selected D/C as its full-service ad agency of record after a comprehensive review. The contract, which began this month, covers advertising strategy, creative and media, and runs for up to five years.

Is GoT the new txt?

A few weeks later, and we’re still reverberating from this season of Game of Thrones. Acclaimed as the capstone to our current “golden age of television,” Thrones soaks us in thousands of years of fantasy history, four religions, foreign languages with 14 words for “horse,” and yet we are still able to recognize, love, and mourn a vast assortment of characters. This is all the more ironic given that George R.R. Martin began writing Thrones after half a decade in Hollywood, determined to craft a story nigh-impossible to film.

Tahoe wants to know what team you're on?

As we all know, the world is made up of two kinds of people: those who play for #teamsummer and those on the roster of #teamwinter. In a new spot and outdoor launching today, longtime D/C client Tahoe South introduces the audience to the fun peeps and fantastic creatures of Team Summer in action at the world's most beautiful lake.

Dear Mainland

In this integrated campaign for Hawaii's first and biggest craft brewer, a pair of Hawaiian brothers comment on such “common mainlander customs” as multi-tasking, while inviting viewers to take a breath.

For those about to rock, call Ticket Oak

The coolest deciduous dude you'll ever meet, Ticket Oak always has tickets to the hottest games and concerts, is a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame and, in his off-time, loves to ride a Chestnut mare.

DC media is officially excellent

At the American Association of Advertising Agencies’ annual conference in LA yesterday, Duncan/Channon took home the O’Toole Award for Media Excellence in the Small Agency category for StubHub.

Creepy brands: how not to win the internet

How might organizations and brands best navigate this transition in a way that leads to positive results for all concerned? The first step might be making sure you're not being creepy.

In all candor: new John Muir Health ads

The next evolution of the Be Heard campaign begins rolling out. The three new spots created by DC and directed by Aaron Ruell, showcase the delightfully close relationships John Muir Health patients develop with their doctors.

Nailed it: Formula X for Sephora

With millions of mani photos and polish pins across Instagram and Pinterest, and no other brand harnessing this active audience of online nail mavens, D/C saw the opportunity to create a branded, social environment where nail fanatics could express themselves, get inspired and shop relevant products.

DriveTime saves the day

Two hyper-enthusiastic, hopelessly dorky young women in a homemade rescue vehicle are the heroes of the new D/C-created campaign for America’s number-one used car dealer for people with credit issues.

Kona Brewing taps D/C

After an extensive review, Kona Brewing Company has selected Duncan/Channon as agency of record.

Party time P.O.

Sephora/Marc Jacobs Beauty: we have liftoff

The full, rich, and, if we say so ourselves, beautiful Marc Jacobs Beauty site, designed by Duncan/Channon, is now officially up and running, replacing our lovely teaser site.

Today’s StubHub news: T.O. gets naked & other abominations

If, like us, you can't get enough of Ticket Oak, this Q3 roundup is for you.

A real beaut of a win: Sephora and Marc Jacobs and digital

Finally, it can be told: after an extensive review of agencies, Sephora, the world's best-known specialty beauty retailer, selected Duncan/Channon to design the website for its new Marc Jacobs Beauty collection.

"Well, I think Forbes is weird!" says weirdly defensive tree

As good a story as a big deciduous talking tree could ask for, today's Forbes article explains that StubHub's Ticket Oak is an extremely hard worker.

CA says Tahoe South’s just their type

Communication Arts has honored Duncan/Channon in this year’s prestigious Typography Annual for design of the new Tahoe South identity for the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority.

"I'm a puppet, damnit!" exclaims misunderstood talking tree

People can be insensitive, it's true. So on the occasion of this laudatory write-up of the Ticket Oak's diabolically clever maker, Anatomorphex, in North Hollywood, it seemed only right for D/C, as the tree's diabolical inventor, to post this as a reminder.

From small acorns: Ticket Oak goes nuts

It's the biggest campaign yet for StubHub and its lovable/creepy spokes-tree, conjured up last year by D/C.

DriveTime rolls out

They’ve got the technology, inventory and financing to put you in your dream-mobile.

Howdy, pahdnuh

For the first time since Andy Berkenfield became the slash in Duncan/Channon 13 years ago, the agency has added a new partner.

Prepare the shark-jumping ramp!

If you are a regular reader of this humble website then it’s entirely possible you’re mumbling to yourself: “Geez Louise, enough with the StubHub Ticket Oak already.”

Blurb finds its own books

A comprehensive rebrand and the “Find Your Book” campaign Duncan/Channon created for Blurb have garnered a second year of industry accolades, the latest honors being coveted slots in the Brand New Awards and Communication Arts Advertising Annual.

DriveTime parks here

After a comprehensive search driven by Pile & Company, the acceleration-minded company signed Duncan/Channon, the original pedal-to-the-metal agency, as its strategic and creative partner.

Slutty nurse dethroned

The final tally is in and it looks like America's new most popular Halloween costume just might be D/C's very own Ticket Oak.

Ticket Oak eats a fairy!

The Ticket Oak returns with a Halloween surprise for all of you would-be ticketholders and treehuggers.

D/C gets happy

This fall, after galvanizing the British public, the happy egg co. is coming to the US. And, following a pitch, they hired a truly free-range agency – the uncageable Duncan/Channon – to develop a digital brand in the US.

Only short when standing up

Moe is all torso. Spencer is all legs. Look for their wacky new sitcom on Fox.

On professionalism

Your tardiness...

The creepy touch

By the time you have read this...

On the plus side: D/C delivers new ID, site for shopping innovator

Marqeta, the company that's reinventing shopping for both consumers and businesses, today launched its new brand identity and website, created by the Duncan/Channon design and UX team.

Back by popular demand/outrage

Yep, he’s back. After a triumphant premiere this spring the oddly loveable, endearingly terrifying Ticket Oak returns and, this time, he’s doling out primo football tickets.

Jackpot: D/C wins Palms

Duncan/Channon has been picked to lead branding and advertising efforts for The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

Maker some noise

Three weeks into the first Duncan/Channon Makers Program, and the team – a university menagerie of Longhorn, Golden Bear and two Tigers – is making great strides. Or should that be strums? Non-digital device talking to Twitter, developing a personality – it's positively robopocalyptic. Surveillance video provided for cautionary purposes.

Dare to check out new Tahoe spot, Facebook app

Ah, summer. A time of road trips and bonfires and warm nights playing Truth or Dare. Tahoe South's new campaign conjures up the wild-child spirit of everyone’s favorite vacation season, kicking off with a Facebook version of Truth or Dare.

Adweek shout-out

Talk about investigative journalism, this muckraking piece in the new Adweek truly tears the lid off D/C, mentioning not only the Tip and Gary Wilson, but, horror of horrors, advertising.

Be Heard: The Sequel

DC is back for round two of its groundbreaking campaign for respected healthcare brand, John Muir Health. Smashing the mold of standard medical marketing, the "Be Heard" campaign lightheartedly taps into the female target’s need to really be listened to — especially when it comes to their family’s health and well-being.

D/C tapped for "digital spring" top 10

While the agency has been busy creating cool social apps, mobile ads that don't suck, new-fangled websites and a digital makers program populated by the best and brightest of Princeton, U. of Texas and Berkeley, the folks at The Next Web came along and designated Duncan/Channon one of the agencies “leading the charge in the digital revolution.” Thanks. And, um, onward.

Not your usual social, mobile gaming demos

But how better to communicate the cute and cuddly universe of Alien Family -- the new social, mobile game from GREE -- than with cut-paper animation and a jingly original song? And how better to express the pseudo-goth whimsy of Zombie Jombie -- the new social, mobile card game from GREE, where zombies are the good guys -- than with some stop-motion bashing and a bombastic cut from the game's soundtrack?

This is not an ad: Whiting wows SXSW

It was a full house for Robbie Whiting's solo panel at South-by-Southwest Interactive, "We made this, and it’s not an ad." An actively engaged live audience was echoed in the blogosphere, where more than one attendee called it the "best panel" of "the year," "the last four years," "ever." The premise of the talk was that many of those organizations-formerly-known-as-ad-agencies are now venturing far afield from recognizable "advertising," even crossing into product development. But it turns out that many of these non-ad projects not only serve quite effectively as marketing in a social media age, but also as a mighty spur to the agency's creativity, cohesion and contemporary chops. Tip Records, D/C's music label and home to the legendary Gary Wilson, was just one example. If you're interested, slides are posted below, audience commentary here.

StubHub goes out on a limb

Great tickets don’t grow on trees. Or do they? Enter The Ticket Oak, the 30-foot centerpiece and star of the latest integrated campaign from StubHub.

D/C exposed in Communication Arts!

Finally, Communication Arts, the bible of the design, advertising and interactive design world, has ripped the veil from Duncan/Channon. In a 10-page investigation within CA’s Interactive Annual, reporter Sam McMillan reveals the shady background and shocking practices of the agency that was "born to rock" -- from its "temple of guanxi" bar, wherein take place lurid lectures on "teledildonics" and concerts known as "Roofies," to its music label Tip Records, home to the inexplicable Gary Wilson, to its "real account people, media people and planning infrastructure." Shudder.

Good vibrations from Meyer Sound

Everyone in the music biz knows that when you want the best in sound reinforcement, starting with the industry's most innovative speaker systems, Meyer Sound is your move. For more than 30 years, Berkeley-based Meyer Sound has set the standard for sound in recording studios, big arenas, small halls, churches, theaters and cinema, around the world, creating breakthrough systems for Francis Ford Coppola, the Grateful Dead and Metallica, among many others.

Gap “Be Bright”

Once a Gap staple, the classic tee’s luster was fading. Our answer was to connect their tees to another classic: the concert tee.

Tahoe South goes wild

Is there any advertising more rote and shopworn than winter ski advertising? There’s the requisite photo of some dude who skies better than you ever will leaping from a cornice that’s probably not even in bounds to a slope with more fresh powder than you’ll ever see. Attach bad-ass headline. Ship.

D/C makes a splash with Tahoe rebrand

he Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, which is tasked with promoting the south side, hired D/C for a complete rebrand. Eight months later, client and agency unveiled the new brand and an entirely new name for the destination -- Tahoe South.

The royal treatment continues for Mario & Sonic

’11/:60

D/C preps US launch for GREE, Japan's top mobile social gaming co.

Ancestry.com picks D/C (this guy would be so proud)

Moscow comes to life

On the heels of its “punk rock opera,” the band Fucked Up came to Moscow for the first time for a VICE-promoted, Adidas-sponsored concert.

Eyes on the prize: D/C wins 1-800 CONTACTS

StubHub gives you the ball (and the bath)

Are you ready for some football (commercials)?

VICE invades Russia, aided and abetted by Duncan Channon

Brooklyn-based, world-dominating hipster brand VICE finally expanded into Russia and tapped DC to develop some digital and social videos for the arrival of the brand.

10 (with a bullet?)

Peru: the gods of rock

Sweden: a (ABBA) to t (trains)

The original Biggie

All due respect from new John Muir Health campaign

What do people want from their doctors? It starts with a little r-e-s-p-e-c-t. That's what consumers told John Muir Health and, not coincidentally, what John Muir Health has delivered patients for decades.

All the new Techie/Feely spots now playing

All seven new Esurance commercials are now in rotation on network TV, premium cable outlets and/or the web. Once again, "techies," the company's programmers, vie with "feelies."

Welcome, Evelina

New Citrix spot shows some meetings change the world

Farrier rolls on: One Show Pencil added to Creative Review, Addy honors

Blurb blast-off

Lasers, fire & a sea of nacho cheese

The first national campaign from the world’s largest ticket marketplace, StubHub, premieres this evening with a primetime spot on ESPN’s telecast of Opening Day.

REBRAND 100 redux: this time for Esurance

Duncan/Channon revisits the winners’ circle at the 2011 REBRAND 100 Global Awards, picking up a Merit for the rebranding of Esurance.

Tales of Hoffman

Uptown downtown

You might expect to see the venerable lion logo of the Ritz-Carlton Residences in Beverly Hills or Malibu. You don’t expect to see it in downtown LA near neighborhoods realtors politely refer to as “transitional.” The agency needed to paint a vivid picture for Ritz’s well-heeled customer of what it would be like to live in an area that only a few years ago they wouldn’t even visit. So rather than show the residences, which people are rightly inclined to believe are luxurious, the campaign -- which includes banners, collateral and a new website, in addition to newspaper and magazine ads -- puts the focus on the amazing sports, entertainment and dining options just outside their stylish front door.

Best of show (woo-hoo): packaging

DC's smart, charming and evocative packaging for Farrier wine, part of the high-end Jackson Family Wines (part of Kendall Jackson) took one of three Best of Shows Saturday night at the San Francisco Addys.

Captain Beefheart vs. Adam Flynn

100 Best in Advertising

Graphis magazine has honored D/C’s campaign for Sanita, the original Danish clog, with a gold award in its 2011 "100 Best in Advertising" annual. Founded in Zurich in 1944, Graphis is one of the world’s most influential graphic arts publications. The competition was judged by a prestigious international jury whose US contingent included Rich Silverstein. All of which ain't exactly chopped liver, a D/C spokesperson was heard to remark.

Possible new revenue stream

Possible new revenue stream

There are different ways to say “Welcome back from vacation.”

There are different ways to say “Welcome back from vacation.”

Faster than a speeding you-know-what

Skinless man

D/C goes old with new wine brand

"Biggest ad award" finalist third year in a row

"This is the toughest award in advertising, because it recognizes an agency's overall creative excellence," said Chuck Porter, chairman of Crispin Porter + Bogusky. "To win an O'Toole, one hot idea won't cut it, an agency has got to be the best over and over and over again."

Darkness redux: me and Bruce in the day

Lemme lets loose on CA

Going down

D/C just the ticket for StubHub

The world's largest ticket marketplace, StubHub, a division of eBay, has scored a new general agency in Duncan/Channon.

Sugar Pie and gumbo: the ballad of Ed Ward

New Birkenstock campaign sells out Arizona

This Arizona happens to be Birkenstock's famous two-strap sandal, and, last month, due to bold new print work from those fab fetishists at D/C, it completely (if temporarily) sold out.

South of the Border: a different kind of trip

A healthy piece of new business

D/C goes south for the summer

In a new campaign for the Lake Tahoe Visitor’s Authority, D/C helps Lake Tahoe South Shore step out of the shadow of its North Shore neighbor.

Russia: The bap

Re-boot

India: Pilgrimage

Esurance rebrand launches with TV, cinema, interactive, OOH

Seven months in the making, Duncan/Channon's new work for Esurance, one of the country's leading car insurers, debuted today all over the damn place.

Puttin’ on the Ritz

Gnu Gnarly

New wine, old bottle

The challenge for Farrier, the new luxe libation from Kendall-Jackson, was to bring in a sense of history, terroir and romance without dragging out the cliched oak barrels or little ole winemaker.

Adults only

Once the stomping ground of staggering starlets, the Palms was undergoing a complete remodel and looking to relaunch as a new kind of Las Vegas luxury and sophistication.

CA taps D/C

In a well-deserved tribute to the agency's interactive team, Duncan/Channon is being honored in this year's Communications Arts Interactive Annual for the Hard Rock Booth Interactive.

D/C's Battle Of The Bands

Who spiked my appletini?

Duncan Channon collaborated with artist Erik Natzke to create a series of trippy, dynamically-generated animations.

From A to Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ship-shape

Fifty-year-old Interasia was purchased by one of the world’s largest shipping firms, which wanted to reignite the enthusiasm of prospects, customers and its young employees.

Found in the office, author unknown

It was Parker’s office

D/C wins Esurance

Dünkanchannon Oktoberfest

Tennessee: My vacation hot spot

Worst band ever

A sneaker, by any other name

4As deems D/C top 3

Sin City gets first “out-of-box” memorabilia interfaces

It all started with a groundbreaking little Deep Zoom website, conceived and designed by Duncan Channon, that enabled rock fans to get extremely up-close-and-personal with Hard Rock's memorabilia collection without having to travel.

WhyHunger spot ships

Special moments with Duncan/Channon

Anthro-Pops-morphic

The Ould Sod: First day off in forever, man

A conversation with Bruce Springsteen

Forget what I said last month

Southern Cone: In 19,000 palabras

D/C scores National ADDYs for two sites

Duncan/Channon has been awarded two prestigious National ADDY Awards, for the much-honored, Deep Zoom-based Hard Rock memorabilia website and our own new, blogalicious site.

Self-Portrait with Frida Kahlo with Monkey and Parrot

Birkenstocks evoke impulse control issues in fashion animals, others

Buying new shoes? That’s so 2008.

Natzke

Alumni news, part 2: Sausage?!?

Alumni news: Colbert Report takes D/C castoff

Lester Bangs & the Detroit Wheel

Madness

The difference is sustainability

Horizonless projection

Hygge. Go ahead, you can say it.

The manufacturers of the original Danish clog, Sanita, have been making shoes for the US market for years. But now they’ve decided to sell them under their own brand.

We have a situation

Frank is on to us.

Hard Rock collection collects Webby honors

The groundbreaking, Deep-Zoom-able Hard Rock Memorabilia website and widget have been designated an Official 2009 Webby Honoree in two categories: Music and Best Use of Photography.

The little engine that could advertise

The Mighty Q

Austin: SXSW-slash-Disneyland 2009

"Disneyland for music fans," I call it, which is why I’ve been faithfully attending South-by-Southwest since 2005. Mostly I’m a fan of rap, hip-hop, DJs, electro-pop and punk. And there’s lots of it at SXSW -- along with just about everything else, from indie rock to classic rock to folk, soul, metal, country and more.

Brush with greatness

Twins

Rose Langford

Dunning Duncan Channon.

suspiciousvan.com

Middelfart: Denmark in January = Witch’s Tit

Everything that can happen

What up, Mongolia?

Processing Radiohead

El Lay: D/C goes to the Grammys

CORRECTION: Way-cool top 10 riddled with embarrassing errors

Call up Jim Morrison's pants with your iPhone

Microsoft has officially launched a Seadragon app for the iPhone. Which means you can now browse high-resolution photo collections on your iPhone -- including the Hard Rock memorabilia collection (as seen on the Hard Rock memorabilia website, conceived and designed by D/C and built by Vertigo).

A few words on trying times

When in Copenhagen

What’s going on over there?

Drunk dialing DC.

My 2008 top 10 is way cooler than yours

The end

D/C helps big chicken crow

Pilgrimage to Mecca

Booty

Greatest gift ever from the comedy gods.

Hotels check in to D/C

Duncan/Channon has officially landed the global media planning and buying business for Hard Rock Hotels.

Two words

The Indian of the group

San Miguel de Allende: Toro Toro Toro

Congratulations, America

Thanks for nothing

Rochester: Of custard, Camaros and Ronnie James Dio

Stay tuned

No lights, no camera, action

Birkenstock for president, pt. II

This just in: Birkenstock greenlights TV spots as part of rapturously received "political" campaign. But hurry. (And we did.)

Getting to the point

Birkenstock for president

The major party candidates blab about bringing America together, but now there is a footwear company that literally walks it like those guys talk it.

OK Radiohead

Xobni (1 of 35)

D/C pops cork on winery site

Photosynthishly delicious

Bert and Ernie ante up

Contextual legibility

Wiggity wack

Yeah. The Dark Knight is that good.

Graphis taps toes

Graphis magazine, it was announced today, will be honoring D/C's healthy feet campaign, created for agency-of-record client Birkenstock, with a gold award in its highly competitive 2009 advertising annual.

Deep Zoom Yosemite

Muto

Stones

Man wears dress

LOL Dick joke

Bye, Bo

When Bo Diddley headed off to rock ’n’ roll heaven two weeks ago, Hard Rock, which owns so much of his stuff, put out a tribute ad.

USA Today, Wired, Hyde Park: Memo site zooms along

The once top-secret Hard Rock memorabilia site is still making waves, with scores of prominent and positive citations throughout the blogosphere, a complimentary story in USA Today, and a laudatory item on Wired.com.

Sign of the Business Times

Alien invasion

Egypt: Um, check?

Brand clouds (not brain clouds)

D/C gets an A

He got the beat

Manbabies

Wayback

Larry

This one we never quite figured out.

On record

Brain cloud

Russia: it’s almost like a different country

Charlie Rose interviews himself

Vegas: Howard Hughes vs. the giant shoe

Every year, my husband and I join friends on a trip to Las Vegas. This year, we made a stop at the Neon Boneyard, the field where old Las Vegas signs go to die.

Frank Lloyd Wright, unrehearsed and uncensored

Notes from a rock ’n’ roll life

Resident rock critic totally schools Russkies

ATHFCMFFT website

Kris Sowersby / KLIM

Stuck in an elevator for 41 hours

Flop sweat

He’s got a point

Mars U.

Two for tea: D/C + Tetley USA

New Condemned spot spells end of civilization

20 for 20 at 2008 ADDYs

Secret Hard Rock site unveiled at MIX

Two months ago Microsoft gave the greenlight for D/C and our development partner, Vertigo, to create the first website to use Deep Zoom technology.

New site, branding for high-level Microsoft group

D/C tops REBRAND 100 for Hard Rock branding, design

To signify dorkishness, the 2001 movie Ghost World, set among contemporary twenty-somethings, clothed a character in a Hard Rock t-shirt. One measure of how far this 30-year-old brand had fallen. So D/C's work started by clarifying and then communicating a new brand strategy to a confused rank-and-file.

That’s right, upside-down and backwards: Vertigo ID

Red Steel goes Wii Wii Wii all the way to the bank

Fork you

While Hard Rock is aggressively expanding into hotels and casinos, this rockin’ fork, created by D/C, was designed to promote the restaurants.

You know where to go: Hard Rock

Deep down, most people feel like they still have a little rocker inside them. And this campaign reminds those people that there is only one place to literally and figuratively feed that rock ’n’ roll jones.

Booty call

Sonic Heroes: the preceding generation

The occupation of San Francisco

Heavenly’s take-your-liver-out-to-ski spot

Bubble Boy and friends: Dance Dance Revolution TV

Parker Channon’s nightmare (aka saved by Fox Sports)

Blue ribbon for Red Steel

D/C goes to the dogs. Dalmatians, to be precise.

CREDO says “I believe in D/C.”

New identity, site and songs for WhyHunger

Web “stars” turn out for ZoneAlarm viral vid

You know who you are 2008

The award-winning “You know who you are” brand campaign for Hard Rock got a refresh for ’08.

Mounting difficulties

Mouth vs. dinner

Spin-free zone

Plussed

Sometimes one word is enough

FOORP

Conference call

Twinkletoes

Memories

Shit, wrong Ian

Where do we send the check?

But Larry Postaer has to hang around guys like you?

Pod

These train cases full of Sephora product were delivered to nail artists and social media makeup and fashion mavens in the hopes of planting a seed about the company's wildly colorful, uniquely fun new nail lacquer, Formula X. And this large online community erupted with enthusiasm.

National TV

Well, we did cut this one short.

Happy Thanksgiving

Speaking of gifts from god.

How ya doin’?

Gangster-type just wanted to know.

DIY D/C and the dawn of viral

Doodling when we should be paying attention: GMROI