The fteenth-largest city in the US has a strong track record of punching above its weight when it comes to creativity – and its pioneering spirit and proximity to both the mountains and the ocean means clients need little excuse to hang out there. Simon Wakelin meets some of the city’s leading creatives and discovers a burgeoning local ad scene...

1. 1 Superfad’s award-winning
work for Lexus and Team One,
the Supermodeled iPhone app
2 Also from Superfad ,WA
Lottery Vending Machine
44 Places | seattle
The fifteenth-largest city in the US has a
strong track record of punching above
its weight when it comes to creativity –
and its pioneering spirit and proximity
to both the mountains and the ocean
means clients need little excuse to hang
out there. Simon Wakelin meets some
of the city’s leading creatives and
discovers a burgeoning local ad scene
It’s hard to argue with the quality of industry
in Seattle, housing big-time tech and gaming
companies such as Microsoft, Valve and Nintendo,
while corporate giants Amazon and T-Mobile
also roost in the heart of the region.
“Seattle is similar to Minneapolis in that there’s
enough big companies here to have a thriving
agency scene,” explains Chris Volckmann,
executive producer at motion graphics and visual
effects studio Superfad. “The big fish is Publicis,
which handles the T-Mobile account, but boutique
agencies such as Cole & Weber, Creature, Wexley
School for Girls and Wong, Doody, Crandall,
Wiener keep things interesting.”
Launched in Seattle in 2001, Superfad has
since expanded to open offices in New York,
Los Angeles and London, but has won its share
of local work over the years. “More and more we
are seeing clients set up here to produce work
direct-to-vendor,” explains Volckmann, who
handles a roster that includes Nike, Visa, Honda,
Sony, Durex, Sprint, Diet Pepsi and Taco Bell.
“Seattle has an old, outdoor pioneer spirit that
mixes with the new-tech world,” offers Ian Cohen,
who founded Wexley School for Girls with partner
Cal McAllister. “There’s a huge contingent of
sound and vision
seattle
athletic people in the city focused on different
activities to feed their bodies and minds. I’d say
that Seattle really has a rite of passage where
people need to get out and exercise.”
Keep the customers satisfied
Volckmann echoes Cohen’s sentiments. “We often
see clients traveling out here to enjoy the sights
and sounds of the city and its surroundings,”
he explains. “Clients such as Florida-based
22 Squared often frequent our Seattle office.”
“It’s a fun city and there’s so much to do,”
continues Cohen, furnishing work under the
Wexley banner for the likes of ESPN, Nike, Ford,
Microsoft and Seattle’s recently formed soccer
franchise, the Seattle Sounders FC. “The amazing
thing about Seattle is the opportunity to go to
the ocean, explore the mountains, go waterskiing,
take some sun on the beach – just about
everything you can imagine.”
“Seattle is a really collaborative and creative
city,” adds Publicis CCO Andrew Christou. “It’s
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2. 3 T-Mobile Alter Ego from Publicis Seattle
4 Toyota Sponsifier, Publicis Seattle
5 Wilson The International Tennis Court,
Wexley School for Girls
5 ESPN Game Day, WDCD Seattle
seattle | Places 45
an untapped creative market with an amazing
pool of talent. The perception is that we’re off the
beaten track, but you’re easily in San Francisco in
just over an hour, or Los Angeles in two and a half.”
While the location and terrain offer inviting
options to the wayward creative, Seattle’s ad
industry has seen significant movement in ad
dollars laid into non-traditional advertising.
“To do what we do – which is visual storytelling
– and taking that into an interactive space opens
up a whole world of possibilities for us,” explains
Volckmann. “Its an exciting time.”
Recent Superfad output of note includes
award-winning work for Lexus and Team One,
collaborating to create the Supermodeled iPhone
app to cross-promote the new Lexus GS with the
2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue – a shapely
combination that resulted in a silver Mobile Lion
at Cannes last year.
Good signs for growth
Cohen also has views on the impact of new-media
budgets on the burgeoning local ad scene.
“Clients seem to finally be spending more of
their advertising budgets on non-traditional
ways of selling,” he contends. “We’ve actually
added regional accounts already this year and
– considering we haven’t done any Microsoft work
in a long, long while – Wexley still grew over the
past year. That’s a really good sign for business
in the region.”
“When we get the chance to make advertising
here in Seattle it feels very natural,” adds Cohen.
“Obviously, budgets dictate where we shoot, but
knowing our city has a strong creative community
allows us to shoot locally whenever we can.”
Wexley recently went on point for tennis client
Wilson, tuning into the brand’s personality late
last year with a campaign entitled Paparazzi for
the sports equipment company’s Wilson Steam
tennis racquet. The campaign sees off-the-cuff
interviews with top ATP Tour tennis players such
as Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro and Spain’s
Feliciano Lopez. The players all talk up how well
they hit with the new Wilson equipment – until
being informed of rumors that the racquet will
be banned due to its incredible power and spin,
at which point the players abruptly end their
interviews and walk away.
“It’s a huge and iconic brand,” Cohen says of
the account. “It was one of the most successful
racquet launches ever for Wilson, so we’re proud
of that one.”
Tracy Wong, one of the founders of WDCW
(formerly WongDoody), has also seen his fair
share of Seattle ad trends over the years, opening
his company back in 1993. Since then, he has
collaborated and created ad solutions for Amazon,
ESPN, CNBC, Microsoft, Toyota, Epson, NBA and,
for the past 18 years, Alaska Airlines.
“Since we opened we’ve witnessed the growth
of giant corporations such as Amazon, Microsoft
and Starbucks on the Seattle landscape,” explains
Wong, who also notes a definite survival-of-the-
fittest attitude in the industry after the US
economy’s downturn.
“It’s interesting that big holding companies,
such as Foote, Cone & Belding, have had trouble
expanding into the region,” he laments. “It’s really
been a weeding-out process for production
companies, post houses, ad agencies and more.
Since 2008, it’s been like a tide coming in and
sweeping them all away.”
However, as US GDP shows signs of
recovery, so does the creative spirit in the region:
“Everyone here has had recession fatigue for
a long time,” concludes Wong. “So far, 2013 has
been a busy one for many companies. I think the
best ones keep their heads down and focus on
creating great work, which everyone knows is
the secret to success.”
“Obviously, budgets
dictate, but knowing
our city has a strong
creative community
allows us to shoot
locally when we can.”
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