HEADLINE / Marketing
Role: Creative Direction
HEADLINE is a mix of silliness and satire, and I wanted our marketing to embody that. This meant embracing the weird, and offering a sharp take on the cultural moment. Paired with bold visuals and an irreverent brand voice, we deliver the unexpected. Here is a sampling of my work.
Some examples of our on-site campaigns (including an alternate-universe Ivanka teasing our "Back to School" sale).
I created this "Sloppy Summer" video spot as a brand-marketing introduction to HEADLINE. It imagines us giving away a free sloppy joe with every t-shirt ordered. (Don't worry, it gets worse from there.)
I ran this "apology letter" on our newsletter and social to promote our "Extra Long Wiener" t-shirt. Consistently delivering entertaining content like this has kept our email marketing strong, even in an age of inbox overload.
Limited-edition giveaways have been a fixture of our holiday marketing. In 2018, we captured the zeitgeist by transforming a basic flash drive into "Her Emails!" It came loaded with a dubious PDF containing some of Hillary's "missing emails." The promotion was a smash with customers on both the left and right, and within 48 hours, all 500 were gone.
To stand out on a busy marketing day, we like to zig where others zag. Example: "HEADLINE Random Day," a bizarro Prime Day with "deals" like a kumquat subscription box, dystopian smart-tech, and a nightmare of a house cat. Paired with a (real) discount, Random Day was one of our biggest sale campaigns two years straight.
Nothing can propel a brand like social proof, especially celebrity endorsements. HEADLINE's wide appeal is on display in this series of photos, which includes everyone from Zendaya to Sir Patrick Stewart. Our shirts have also been featured in a wide range of movies and television shows.
Visual Identity
HEADLINE's mark of a baboon on a typewriter references the theory that a monkey typing infinitely will eventually type Shakespeare's Hamlet. This seemed a perfect symbol for a "silly but smart" brand. It became the foundation for HEADLINE's identity. Why a baboon instead of a monkey? I just thought it looked cooler.
Virtually every element of your brand is an opportunity to connect. A white Tyvek package is a perfect canvas for engaging content, like this parody of dubious vintage ads. Or the symbols in our printed wash instructions, which remind you to "remove before washing" and "wear with pants." Small details can go a long way.
