Work + News

All the top advertising agency news you’d expect. Along with award-winning work from our San Francisco and Los Angeles offices. Along with smatterings of goofy marginalia you didn’t know you needed until just this moment.

All Work News

Animating anti-smoking

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

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.

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.
Female presenting influencer posing for the camera in a sleek white blazer and leather black pants. She is confident and raises her hand to perfect her long brown hair that is styled in a middle part and she's wearing make-up that accentuates her strong features. She's in front of a mirror with a table with SGX NYC products.

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.

Birds eye view over a male presenting young adult on the fire escape playing a guitar. Next to him is a notepad and pen and lush green plants creep into the frame. He appears relaxed as he plays his guitar.

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.
Diverse group of individuals and posing for the camera during the Coachella Music Festival. They are all self expressive through their make-up and fashion choices. Their individuality shines through as they each pose in their own unique way.

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.
Action shot of a pink nike shoe as it hits the concrete. The person wearing the shoe is running. A pink Rakuten logo appears above the shoe as if it popped out from her shoe indicating the runner is a Rakuten user.

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.
A group of male presenting individuals are sitting on a living room couch laughing and enjoying a meal together. They appear to be enjoying quality time together over a nice meal. There are takeout boxes on the coffee table.

Grubhub

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

Image headline reads: One Juul Pod Contains the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. The words “I just smoke at parties.” is written several times with words “at parties” crossed out so it reads, “I just smoke.” Two people are sharing a e-cigarette. They appear intoxicated and dazed.

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.
A gold beer can with the black and gold designed Brewlab label on a white background. The label is fully rolled out as an image so you can see all the design elements and text that appears on the label. The label is black and the text is gold and white.

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.

Grid image with two images. On the left is the Udemy logo, a burgundy background with a big letter “U” in white. The image on the right is a female presenting person in their twenties. She has several deserts in around her as she is sitting at a table with a slicing knife. She appears to be in mid sentence as if she is demonstrating something on the topic of baking.

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.

Black and white photo of a group of Golden State Warriors basketball players sitting on the sidelines. They are laughing and poking good fun at each other. The team’s logo is in the top left corner in golden yellow and on the bottom right corner is text that reads “game recognize game” but the second “game” is upside down.

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?
Female presenting person with blonde hair and beige shirt poses for the camera on her couch holding a black cat with yellow eyes. She is smiling and the cat appears calm and happy in her arms.

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.
A female presenting individual poses in front of a printed background of giant e.l.f lipsticks. She is wearing black denim jeans, boots, a black top and a camo jacket.

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?
A mother and daughter are sitting at a booth inside a classic looking camper van. They are wearing matching red checkered flannels and a tan vest. They each have the same Innovasian meal in front of them. In the window of the camper is a giant bear that appears to want in on their tasty meal. The mother is giving her daughter the side eye as if the bear doesn’t exist.

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.
Nabela Noor poses with her e.l.f. Lipstick as if she is applying it. She's dressed in all pink with gold accessories and full on hair and make-up glam. In the background is greenery with the same gold accents.

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.
A woman in a floral dress and long curly hair poses in front of a wall of greenery and white flowers. She has a huge smile on her face.

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.
A woman walks into a small light filled living room with a beverage in her hand. The room is quaint with lots of windows inviting the lush green plants to take up space in the frame. There is a beige couch with a salmon pillow and on the floor is a patterned light green rug.

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%.
A hallway in a black room with neon lights leads to a neon e.l.f. sign. The vibrant colors light up the frame and the distinct shades of purples, yellows, greens and pinks reflect on the black laminate flooring. Lips, a lightning bolt, eye and spaceship are other neon lights in different colors that surround the centered e.l.f. Logo.

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.
A diverse group of young adults pose and smile in front of the universal studios lifesize logo in Orlando, Florida.

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.
Two male presenting teens sit in their car in a parking lot. One is wearing a bright green hoodie the other is in a black hoodie. They are filming themselves as they take turns puffing from their e-cigarette.

Snuffing out the social smoker

How do you convince people to stop using a product they don’t think they use? With an innovative three-pronged media approach to reaching the social smoker.

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.

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.

Citibank · Double Cash

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

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.

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.

Kettle Brand

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

Sephora

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

StubHub

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Formula X for Sephora

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

Marqeta

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

I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway had been lost.