Gibson Guitars | "Hear More Of You"

STRATEGY // CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // SOCIAL CONTENT // DIGITAL DISPLAY // WEBSITE // PRINT

The Generation Collection of acoustic guitars represents a significant milestone in Gibson’s storied history - an innovation 60-years in the making, and a celebration of an entirely new generation of players. Inspired by a 1960s blueprint from their archives, the exclusive Gibson Player Port™ offers a totally new playing experience, delivering every sonic detail to the player. A feature once reserved for custom builds, the Generation Collection is purpose-built to “Hear More Of You.” To support this moment, D/CAL worked with Gibson to developed a fully integrated, global marketing campaign to captivate customers, educate them on this milestone collection of acoustic guitars and empower retail partners with several ways to amplify their activity.

This isn’t just a marketing campaign.  This is a collaboration with the future of music. With millions of new players in-market, we firmly believe this is a moment to re-introduce the Gibson brand in a truly authentic way. So, at the center of the  “Hear More Of You” campaign is a creative collaboration with three artists who represent a new, wildly diverse generation of genre-crushing players—Amythyst Kiah, Nikki Lane, and Scarypoolparty. Currently in production, a redux of each artist video will feature stunning visual depictions of each artist’s sound emanating from the Player Port™.

The beauty and feature-rich offering of each Generation Collection model was extended to a dedicated website experience, digital display, social content, in-store POP materials and print ads.

Gibson Guitars | "Les Paul - The One"

STRATEGY // CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // SOCIAL CONTENT // DIGITAL DISPLAY // WEBSITE // PRINT

Every musician has one guitar they love the most. The one they use to write all the riffs. The one that hammers as well as it strums. The one that sounds as good on stage as it does in the studio.

The Les Paul Studio is THE ONE.

To meet the standards of working musicians around the world, Gibson reimagined this iconic guitar with enhanced features and a more accessible price point. And to help relaunch this guitar, we partnered with a diverse cast of real working musicians to showcase key moments with their guitars—finding the right riff, recording in a studio, grinding out the highs and lows of a tour, the euphoria of hammering away on stage. Still and live action capture of these moments were translated to long and short form content, print, and other selling tools for a global audience.

Buddy’s Pizza | Detroit-Style Fandom

CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // SOCIAL CONTENT

Detroit-style tailgates call for The Original Detroit-Style Pizza.

Buddy’s Pizza | Originality Squared

CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // BRAND PLATFORM // VIDEO // SOCIAL // RETAIL

The Original Detroit-Style Pizza is Originality Squared.

Detroit Pistons | “Do Work”

STRATEGY // CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // VIDEO

After a string of rough seasons, the Detroit Pistons needed to reset in 2024. D/CAL was tasked with creating an inspiring rally cry for the team. Something that was authentic, believable, and didn’t repeat the same overpromises from years past. We weren’t going to capture the glory of the Bad Boys overnight. But one thing we were sure of is that everyone from the players to the coaches to the organization was going to put in the work to get back on track. That led us to the mantra of “Do Work” which came to life through an anthem video that was shared on the socials and in stadium.

Maestro Electronics | "Shape Your Sound"

STRATEGY // CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // SOCIAL CONTENT // DIGITAL DISPLAY // WEBSITE // PRINT//RETAIL

To be called “legendary” is to have shaped music as we know it. From Townshend to Harrison. Clapton to Frampton. The Rolling Stones to the Raconteurs. They all found their signature sound. A sound so uniquely shaped by effects - it changed everything. While the impact they had on the lineage of music is also unique, many have one thing in common - Maestro guitar effects pedals. So, while not everyone has heard of Maestro. Everyone has heard Maestro. It doesn’t matter what you play. As long as there are sounds being made, there’s room for new legends to be made. Maestro exists for one thing and one thing only - to help you shape your sound.

To support the relaunch of this iconic brand from the 60s, D/CAL developed a fully integrated, global marketing campaign to inspire both the obsessive musicians as well as the casual players who want to take their music to the next level. We let the pedals do the talking by teaming up with visual effects artist, Alex Braidwood, who created a custom algorithm that linked unique visuals inspired by the pedal graphics themselves with sounds generated by the pedals to create stunning visual depictions of a wide array of sounds that were deployed across a range of static and motion content in store, in print, and online.

Gucci | “Gucci Vs. Everybody”

STRATEGY // CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // ECOMM // SOCIAL CONTENT

To support Gucci’s ongoing commitment to foster unity through community action, we helped them launch a special collaboration between Gucci and Tommey Walker’s homegrown label Detroit VS. Everybody. A limited run of t-shirts, giving 11 US Gucci Changemaker cities their own place on the other side of the “Vs”. Staying true and authentic to the Changemaker mission, we leaned into our collaborative nature, creating Detroit-based creator projects within the film project itself; a new audio track by Jason Vaughn; a mural project by Bakpak Durden; and other creative inputs by Detroit talent. Ten locations in 1-day. One long form film and eight short form. And a pile of beautiful images from Detroit’s own Justin Milhouse. We’re especially proud to have been even a small part of helping fund grants through the Gucci North America Changemakers Impact Fund, a community scholarship program that supports nonprofits and students.

5.11 | “Your Mission. Your Rush.”

STRATEGY // CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // RETAIL & ECOMM // SOCIAL CONTENT

5.11 isn’t just a maker of insanely functional, durable apparel for first responders, they also have the most legendary line of bags and backpacks out there. In our continued effort to help our 5.11 partners open the lifestyle aperture of the brand while still curating its tactical legacy, we helped build a multi-channel strategy to elevate their line of Rush backpacks. This work positions them as a gateway to a world of apparel and gear purpose-built for those who live with purpose. Duties included an anthem film, a massive new library of photography, as well as a host of in-store creative.

KRK | "Studio Anywhere"

STRATEGY // CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // SOCIAL CONTENT // DIGITAL DISPLAY // WEBSITE // PRINT // RETAIL

The KRK name has been synonymous with superior audio clarity and accuracy in professional speakers for over 30 years. Their monitors are the tool of choice for music engineers and producers around the world. Responding to the everchanging nature of music collaboration and creation, KRK launched the GOAUX system which offered the same pro quality audio technology in a portable solution. To support this launch, D/CAL created the Studio Anywhere campaign. Because the studio is more than a place. Studio is what you do. 
It’s creating. Recording. Collaborating. And with KRK’s on-the-go 
studio quality GoAux monitors, musicians, producers and audiophiles can Studio Anywhere.

To bring this to life, we followed Grammy-winning artists and multi-platinum producers as they integrated GoAUX into their day-to-day, on-the-go, global exploits. We created mini-documentaries with road-tested testimonials from DJ White Shadow (@DJWS) DJ KHALIL  (@djkhalil), and Ali Stone (@itsAliStone). Assets extended across social, digital and retail platforms. 

jShip | “Ship Show”

STRATEGY // CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // PERFORMANCE MARKETING // SOCIAL

With a pandemic-driven surge of online shopping and people diving into new at-home hobbies, Americans became shippers. And what a ship show it has become. Enter jShip, an entirely new online shipping platform that allows consumers to compare shipping prices from major carriers, print labels, and even schedule parcel pickups. Our strategy was simple - tell it like it is. In addition to the anthem film, over 25 pieces of unique creative were deployed for a paid search, display, programmatic, and paid social effort.

May Mobility | “Nice To Move You”

BRAND STRATEGY // CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // PR // SOCIAL

When your client’s vision is “a safer, greener, more accessible world through self-driving mobility” you naturally want to tell the world about them. But, before we started doing that, we had to help develop a brand platform for May Mobility - a unifying center-of-gravity to help guide everything we’ve done and will do as partners. Our platform, “Nice to move you” paved the way for a full, top-to-bottom brand design and messaging effort that includes a new website, a complete overhaul of social media strategy and content, and ongoing support as they continue to evolve their technology and add new midsized cities to their roster of cities where they operate. In the midst of the public transit challenges covid19 brought, we also helped them launch their innovative Clean Shuttle in Grand Rapids, MI.

Uptime Energy Drink | "Your Uptime Is Now"

STRATEGY // CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // SOCIAL CONTENT // DIGITAL DISPLAY

Most energy drinks have found their success by equating themselves with extreme sports and amped up occasions. Uptime is an energy drink for the rest of us. Those who want to be in the moment, pursue meaningful things, and practice the power of NOW. And they need balanced, better-for-you energy to do it. So we created the campaign “Your Uptime is Now” which takes clichéd energy drink occasions and creates clear, effective misdirects. In these simple moments, we demonstrate how Uptime energy is different than traditional energy, from a product perspective AND an Uptime consumer perspective.

Xenith | “Live Your Game”

BRAND STRATEGY // CREATIVE // PRODUCTION

We helped Xenith develop a new brand platform to elevate themselves from being just an innovative football helmet manufacturer (Youth to NFL) to being a beloved lifestyle brand for those who love the game of football. LIVE YOUR GAME has unlocked opportunity for Xenith to introduce high-performance training apparel and lifestyle-driven streetwear into their product mix. Our brand platform delivers a unifying center-of-gravity for the brand that allows all communications and marketing efforts to not just coexist, but support the same narrative while serving two distinct audiences and two very different sales and marketing channels. In addition to platform work, D/CAL continues to work with their in-house team to bring LYG to life.

Bagel Bites | “Rad Dad Squad”

BRAND STRATEGY // CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // SOCIAL // ACTIVATION // LIVE EVENT

A once beloved brand in the 1990s, Bagel Bites identified an opportunity to reconnect with its core audience who were now young Dads. D/CAL developed a simple strategy: let’s celebrate the young Dads who bring spontaneous joy to their kid’s hyper-connected, over-scheduled lives. But not just any Dads - Rad Dads. The ones who see Fatherhood as a chance to relive their childhoods, right along side their kids. And so we tapped the raddest Dad of them all, our own Tony Hawk to lead the search for the raddest Dads in America. It all kicked off just before Father’s Day, with videos, surprise and delight social media engagement, a website, all culminating into the coolest pizza party ever at Tony’s giant halfpipe.

Kramer Pacer | "Put the Pedal to Your Metal"

CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // SOCIAL CONTENT // PRINT

Back in the day, every Kramer ad had a phone number in the corner that readers could call to get their own full-sized copy. The promotion ended up being so popular that Kramer had to create an ENTIRE DEPARTMENT just to handle poster distribution. So when Kramer brought back their Pacer Classic in 2022, we brought back the classic KRAMER HOTLINE with a 21st century twist: a brand new technology that immediately texted callers a link to Kramer’s monthly Spotify playlist.

The Pacer Classic is a tribute to the original 1982 version that was built for speed metal, thus we incorporated fast cars from the 80s into the art direction. Thanks to our friends at Keyshot Studios, we managed to make all this in 3D rather than procuring an actual Countach. And some old pals from Sangoma helped us put to use some call-to-text technology that they were previously mainly using to drive real estate inquiries.

Lions Clubs International | “Supporting Ukrainian Refugees”

STRATEGY // CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // VIDEO CONTENT // SOCIAL CONTENT

During the ongoing war in Ukraine, Lions Clubs members in Poland, Ukraine, and around the world have mobilized quickly to meet the urgent needs of those displaced. Grant funding provided by the global network of the Lions Clubs International Foundation has ensured that local Lions were able to provide immediate relief to those seeking safety and security in a time of immense need. Within weeks of the invasion, D/CAL documented the generous, selfless, and heroic efforts of Lions members throughout Poland and along the Ukraine border. If you want to join in to support the LCIF Refugees and Displaced Persons Fund, visit lionsclubs.org/humanitarian resettlement.

Wolverine | "Out Do Every Day"

STRATEGY // CREATIVE // PRODUCTION // SOCIAL CONTENT // DIGITAL DISPLAY // WEBSITE // RETAIL

Wolverine has been around for well over a century – because they give those who DO one simple thing…Confidence. Confidence to OUT DO whatever needs doin’, so they can build the lives they yearn for. And while a lot has changed over the decades, it’s the things that need doing that haven’t. Nails might not be forged by hand anymore, but it still takes a steady hand to hammer ‘em in. Today’s job sites can look like a science project, but the mud still runs deep. And while there’s tools for every trade, the most important ones – are still attached to our legs.