Real Smooth

Getting smooth to work for you.

Seattle’s Best Coffee (SBC) is a well-known brand that’s owned by a much better known brand, Starbucks.

The SBC folks had a SYSCO trade show to attend and needed a simple handout to create a little (yep, I’m gonna say it) buzz.

Smooth is the name of game with SBC so, working with copywriter Chris Rock and AE, Ashley Earwood, we developed the above piece with the head, “Smooth works for you.” The message was directed at SYSCO reps, delivering what they’re looking for; something that sells itself.

The mechanics of the piece were a literal play on the headline; the lid pops off and reveals the message.

Real smooth.

Let’s Go Bowling

Downtown Quentin Bowlin’ Brown.

At Marlin, we don’t just drink Starbucks coffee, we make it look good to drink Starbucks coffee.

We do tons of work for Starbucks Foodservice. They’re the folks who get Starbucks into places that Starbucks retail hasn’t penetrated (unbelievable, I know). Every year the FS people have a national sales meeting and for FY08 they all got together one evening for billiards and bowling at Garage in Seattle, Washington.

We presented several options (mostly gutter balls), but the beauty above was the spectacular splasher that got the game to a cool 300. Head kegler, Matt Rose, did a quick sketch of a mug as a pin (which forced me to cough up a beer frame—I’ll getch’ ya next time, Rose) leaving me to pick up the spare by tackin' down the stars as goal posts and nailin’ a barmaid down the back ends to the kickback with slick type and touch of good old fashioned distress to get ’er in there. But hey! We were sandbaggin’ just to get ’em to pickup the next beer frame.

As the legendary Chick Hearn once crowed, “Bowling for dollars, where the money goes up, as the pins fall down.”

Hot Hot HOT Cocoa

Oh how I miss Critch. No, not that critch.

You see, Gale Venosdel (or Critch, aka Lawrence, to me) was an art director here at Marlin. He’s now gone back home to roost in Tulsa and keeping his family fed via Littlefield.

He, Chris Rock, account exec Dan Schultz and I worked on a direct mail promotion for Starbucks hot cocoa. Gale did almost all the work on this one. He got me involved to tighten up the typography and illustrations.

Believe it!

Starbucks Sky Cafe Posters

Here at Marlin, Starbucks is the big rooster in our hen house. We had the opportunity to do some retail-side promotion for the Sky Cafe in the landmark Seattle Space Needle. The Sky Cafe is a unique Starbucks retail store that falls in a murky world somewhere between Starbucks retail and the licnesed stores category where we do most of our work.

I was the designer on the project with art director Gale Venosdel (now with Littlefield), copywriter Chris Rock, and account exec Dan Schultz. The idea was to play upon the experience of being in the Space Needle: The view. The assignment had us put together two posters with coordinating counter cards promoting Starbucks summertime drinks: Seattle Chill Mango Melon and Seattle Chill Toffee Nut Lattte.

The illustrations were crafted by Cori Dantini, which captures the hand-crafted world of coffees the Starbuckers roast for each and every one of us. Cori did a fantastic job of commmunicating the spectacular views and the people who see them. Cori is fun to work with and has brought a ton to the table of this project.