News

by Adam Flynn, D/C brand strategist
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.
He was right. By the standards of late 1980s television, GoT was completely untenable. It was too big, too complex, too expensive, and too explicit. Part of the reason for the golden era we’re in is that the experience of watching and following a series is fundamentally different from what it once was.
In 1990, if you were following Twin Peaks, you had to watch every episode exactly when it came out, or hope to pick up a bootleg VHS tape of past episodes for the then-princely-sum of $20.
Today, things are different. Starting with torrents and wikis, and evolving into our current welter of second-screen references and on-demand, over-the-top, timeshifting, watch-anywhere offerings, it’s become immensely easier to catch up and join in on a show with water-cooler momentum. In terms of our ability to pause, repeat, compare, and look up past moments, TV is now closer to text than it has ever been, and it’s no wonder we’re seeing an uptick in the complexity of storylines, bringing it closer to the sprawling casts and twisting plots of novels. (The bigger budgets don’t hurt, either.)
When it’s easier to catch up, writers create more to catch up to. And we’re all the more grateful for it.
Work + News

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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