To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Kenneth Cole, we created a film that encapsulated the modern New York style and the social impact heritage of the brand. The film could easily have been 90 minutes long, but thanks to the editing vision of The Hayes Brothers, we managed to capture 40 years in just 90 seconds.

In my creative support role for The Mental Health Coalition, we partnered with Facebook and Instagram to create a concept that increased the conversation around mental health. Many people submitted ideas, but my concept of "121" conversations to encourage more intimate trust in the emotionally disconnected social space was chosen and developed.

The program launched during Mental Health Awareness Month with a new “121” conversation Every day in May. Here's the radio script I wrote that explains more:

Mental health is arguably the worst pandemic the world has ever faced, and those most affected don’t seek care due to the devastating stigma. Now, we must increase the conversation around mental health, and engage our community to inspire hope. Every day in May, The Mental Health Coalition is launching a series of “121” conversations featuring iconic actors, musicians, athletes, and influencers to shift culture and foster a more informed dialogue around mental health. Follow @mentalhealthcoalition on Instagram or visit TheMentalHealthCoalition.org to learn more.

For the Kenneth Cole CBD Skincare collection, I named each of the products and wrote the positioning tagline, No THC, just TLC.

When the launch date finally arrived, it coincidentally aligned with The 95th Academy Awards 2023, so I created this shoppable social campaign and we posted it on Oscar night.

Art Direction by Tara Rice.

To continue the conversation around the crucial need for sensible gun reform in America, I created a series of micro-campaigns for the Kenneth Cole social media channels in support of Giffords.org.

I wrote, photographed, and art directed each campaign, but owe a huge thanks to Alina Galaktionova for successfully manipulating the foam finger graphic.

To enter the Web3 space, we partnered with Ryan Kennedy at Human Resources to drop our first NFT project in support of The Mental Health Coalition. The unique collection featured impactful messages written by Kenneth in his iconic voice and hand-drawn style.

100% of the money generated was donated to The Mental Health Coalition – a life-changing movement working to end the debilitating stigma surrounding mental health and to change the way people talk about, and care for, mental illness. The artwork also included the coalition’s iconic logo, “a square peg in a round hole” to symbolize an all-too-common feeling we can all experience.

Through the collection, titled, The Normal Series, we aimed to address the unrealistic and pervasive perception of “normal,” and raise funds to help end the debilitating stigma surrounding today’s most prevalent public health crisis.

In an effort to make the artwork accessible and allow more people to be part of this initial story, each one was minted for just 0.05 ETH (approximately $100 at the time). There was also unique utility rewards specific to the level of rarity for each NFT.

The project was a complete success. All 500 NFTs were minted in less than 3 hours, instantly raising $50,000 for The Mental Health Coalition.

For Fall 2021, we projected the idea of preparing for the new world and the “next normal” by providing what’s essential. We focused on essential key items and highlighted the product’s comfort and performance attributes that are essential for meeting the demands of our busy work/life schedules.

The campaign was shot by Carlos Serrao during the pandemic in a studio in NYC, and uses a combination of real projections, a rotating plinth, and models with the ability to expressively create dynamic movements to further highlight the product’s tech features. The art direction was by Steffanie Gillstrap.

We proudly debuted the Kenneth Cole Pride 2021 collection in the hit hyper-casual mobile game High Heels! The highly-addictive game was created by Zynga, Inc. – a global leader in interactive entertainment, and has been downloaded over 60 million times all around the world. This collaboration marked the first time Kenneth Cole’s iconic street-smart style was featured in a mobile game.

In June, gamers were able to “Play with pride” as they outfitted their character and strutted the virtual runway in our Pride 2021 collection, including the brand’s iconic Kam sneakers, shirts that proudly stated, “Being different is what we have in common,” and other accessories.

2020 was obviously a very important election year for the future of America. To encourage voter turnout and consumer participation, we created a trifecta of social campaigns around the impactful statement VOTE TO EXIST.

The first asked our audience to simply write the statement on their hand, post the photo, and tag us, under the idea that “It’s in our hands.”

For the second approach, we produced masks with the message and gifted them to a bunch of influencers to do what they do best.

And for the third approach, in partnership with the CFDA, College Fashionista, Civic Alliance, TurboVote, Do Something, and the Civics Center, we reached out to thousands of design students to “make the statement” by creating a piece of artwork using the message VOTE TO EXIST. We then used the best submissions as social posts on key dates in the election calendar to remind people about when, where, and how to vote. Plus, we reached out to our consumer to also submit designs.

The visual concept behind this campaign is "from lab to life," based on the idea that the tech and functional attributes in the products would translate from the surreal clean aesthetic into real life. The campaign was shot by Dana Scruggs and art directed by Steffanie Gillstrap.

Due to the pandemic, we didn't get to do much with the "Engineered for city living" concept as we pivoted our strategy to support first responders and frontline workers.

In November 2020, the World Health Organization reached out to us to join a multi-agency videoconference brainstorm to ideate around how to encourage more Republican Americans to wear a mask. I came up with a bunch of ideas on the call, so WHO contacted us and asked us to develop the ideas further. After a few more rounds, we all started to gravitate towards my concept of addressing a very polarizing issue by using a polarizing figure.

Through WHO’s contacts, we managed to enlist the help of Governor Chris Christie, who had just recovered from being infected with COVID-19 after removing his mask at a gathering in the Rose Garden at The White House. I quickly wrote scripts tailored to his experience and personality, and they were sent to him for approval. He really liked my “Don’t be a mask-hole” and “Lie detector” scripts, but in the end, he approved the “Don’t be on the wrong side of history” concept.

The film didn’t just launch, it took off. It received over 1.2 million views on YouTube within the first 24 hours, and had multiple press hits from all of the major news outlets. On C-SPAN, even President Joe Biden congratulated Chris Christie on the commercial. The press hits included:

MSNBC’s Morning Joe and Nicole Wallace; CNN’s Jake Tapper, Wolf Blitzer, and Chris Cuomo; FOX News’ Martha McCullum; FOX 5 NY; The New York Times; The Hill; Newsweek; The New York Post; The Huffington Post; The Daily Mail; CBS; Axios; The Washington Times; NJ.com; Bloomberg; Hugh Hewitt; and Sirius XM.

I guess, sometimes, you have to fight polarization with polarization.

We wanted to push the boundaries of fragrance advertising to feature a more courageous example of "mankind,” so we cast the former Army Soldier, motivational speaker, and extreme sports enthusiast, Noah Galloway.

There wasn't a budget for a film, but I hired a videographer to follow me around the set and stole moments with the heroic Noah without holding up the shoot. I then put the film together and presented it to our fragrance licensee. They loved it and paid for it. I even entered it to Luerzer's Archive and it was accepted.

THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL in support of racial equality.

During the Black Lives Matter uprising in 2020, we were advised to board up our Bond & Bowery store windows in NYC.

We still wanted to show our support for the movement, so I wrote a message of solidarity for racial equality and we encouraged others to add theirs.

Soon, the boards were covered in a social commentary of writing, tags, and artwork, including pieces by the renowned artists Sir Shadow and SacSix.

It was such a powerful expression of our conscious community, the boards were later displayed in Kenneth Cole’s corporate headquarters as a reminder of the positive impact creative freedom can have on us all.

SHUT THE HATE UP.

Soon after the boards came down, New York City had to face a spate of hate crimes aimed at the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. I wrote the SHUT THE HATE UP message and we encouraged anyone suffering from racial trauma to visit The Mental Health Coalition for advice and other supportive resources.

OPENING DOORS.

Kenneth Cole has always led by example and recently became a mentor to the talented Black designer Áwet Woldegebriel to help launch his “Livewear” collection last year.

To address the fact that only 7.5% of fashion designers in America are Black, together, we collaborated on an exciting pop-up event to support and promote nine other inspiring Black designers and their products in a one-stop-shop experience by taking over Kenneth Cole’s flagship store in New York City. The venture ran for six days in December and was a huge success.

By continuing to support for these Black-owned businesses, we hoped to inspire more up-and-coming talented Black people to realize their potential and establish a racial balance in the fashion industry.

To demonstrate the tech attributes in The TECHNI-COLE Ready Flex Suit from Kenneth Cole, we created a film with Loic Mabanza, one of Madonna's tour dancers.

(He’ll deny it, but I taught him everything he knows.)

To infuse social impact with fashion, in 2015 we launched a new brand platform "The Courageous Class" under the belief that, "The real models are the role models." The campaign was shot by the renowned Glen Luchford, with cinematography by the talented Jack Webb. We even created a music video with Rhymefest that I co-wrote and directed.

In 2017, in line with the launch of our first Pride Kam sneaker, we created our TIED WITH PRIDE initiative. We have continued to evolve the campaign every year since then.

Big shout-out to Nick Hayes and Adam Hayes, the multi-talented Hayes Bros who partnered with me on the most recent group campaign featured here.

The Kenneth Cole brand has provided the official jackets for The Sundance Film Festival Volunteers for many years. Their enthusiasm, desire, and passion for independent film create one of the best movie-going experiences in the world, and ensure important stories reach a wider audience.

Since 2012, I have written and created short films to celebrate the volunteers and thank them for their commitment to the festival. In partnership with the Sundance Institute, the films were played before every movie shown at The Sundance Film Festival on Volunteer Appreciation Day.

The protagonist in my first two films was Derek Waters, the genius creator of the award-winning Drunk History series.

All of the extras were Sundance Film Festival Volunteers who kindly volunteered their services (force of habit).

Both films were directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, the highly accomplished dynamic duo of Break Thru Films. (If you’ve never seen their Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work documentary, go watch it now.)

The Kenneth Cole brand has provided the official jackets for The Sundance Film Festival Volunteers for many years. Their enthusiasm, desire, and passion for independent film create one of the best movie-going experiences in the world, and ensure important stories reach a wider audience.

Since 2012, I have written and created short films to celebrate the volunteers and thank them for their commitment to the festival. In partnership with the Sundance Institute, the films were played before every movie shown at The Sundance Film Festival on Volunteer Appreciation Day.

Harry Belafonte has been a dear friend, fellow activist, and influential mentor to Kenneth Cole for many years. To help continue the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement, in partnership with the New York Public Library (NYPL), we created The Harry Belafonte Black Liberation Speaker Series.

By bringing together influential thought-leaders around racism and equality, we hoped to enrich the advancement of Black culture and Harry’s mission to provide open, free, and equal access to education and opportunity.

The impressive speakers were all accomplished experts and scholars from the worlds of activism, journalism, literature, poetry, and entertainment.

The art direction was by Steffanie Gillstrap.

The Kenneth Cole brand is renowned for its distinctive voice, often infusing social impact into its fashion message (and vice versa). Over my tenure, I have written many billboards and other OOH executions in partnership with Kenneth. In reverse chronological order, here are some examples of how we put the brand out there.

How best to demonstrate the tech attributes of a new dress shirt? Put it on a parkour stunt performer and give him one hell of a commute, that's how.

We shot this in Downtown LA with the director Ben Franke and the fearless performer (who made me feel like a wooden slug in comparison) Ben Jenkin.

We were posed with the challenge of selling footwear as gifts during the holiday period. Very few people think of shoes as a gift item, so I created THE SELF-GIFT GUIDE. On KennethCole.com, we promoted the guilty pleasure of self gifting with the notion that, "'Tis the season to be selfish...tra-lalalala-lala-la-la” and “One for you, none for them.”

The campaign was accepted into Luerzer's Archive and the typography was created by the talented Paul Bruno.

For this campaign, I wanted to completely refresh The Courageous Class, so I partnered with The Hayes Bros. They created a bold visual dynamic, including cinegraphs that added a unique energy to the film.

The original message for this campaign was BE COURAGEOUS, but I loved the awkwardness of DO COURAGEOUS, especially as it’s more of a tangible call-to-action. As this Courageous Class demonstrates, doing is always better than just being.

For Kenneth Cole's 25th anniversary, I was challenged to come up with an impactful campaign that addressed social issues, but still spoke to fashion. I came up with WE ALL WALK IN DIFFERENT SHOES to celebrate diverse individuals who have the courage to redefine their roles and be true to themselves. The campaign was supported with the byline 25 years of non-uniform thinking. The Spring 2008 campaign was shot by Terry Richardson and the Fall 2008 campaign was shot by Matthias Vriens.

How do you:

1. Promote a plain black suit that’s double dyed so it retains its rich color?

2. Demonstrate that it’s perfect for business travel due to its wrinkle-resistant flex fabric?

3. Make it visually impactful?

A challenging brief indeed, until I solved it with two words: NEVER FADE.

Not only did it reference the black staying black, but it spoke to the stamina so often needed on grueling business trips. That then gave me the idea of creating a film that continuously loops over a series of days, but includes small visual changes to demonstrate the escalation of our protagonist’s work pitch and nightlife escapades.

I took my concept to The Hayes Bros, and once again, they didn’t disappoint. They had the ingenious idea of using a SnorriCam – a device that attaches a camera to the actor/model, so he films himself and creates amazingly up-close and intimate moments everywhere he goes. They then directed, edited, and color corrected the film. Fortunately for us, during an exhausting day, our actor/model Malcolm never faded either.

Over the years, I’ve created many campaigns in support of HIV/AIDS prevention. These are a few of my favorites.

When I joined Kenneth Cole, my first brief was...blank. The brand had just finished its 20th Anniversary campaign without any plan for the following season. I knew the brand had dabbled with statistics in the past, so I researched and rewrote weird and arresting facts under the overarching concept of "Are you putting us on?"

This concept continued through the following season, but took on more of a political slant because it was a presidential election year. The spring campaign was shot by the renowned Mario Sorrenti, and the fall campaign was shot by the legendary Richard Avedon.

Small note: The same-sex marriage execution was the first time marriage equality had ever been addressed in an advertisement, which won us the “Outstanding Professional” award at Images in Advertising – gay marketing watchdog Commercial Closet’s first celebration of “ads that break the test pattern.”

When Kenneth Cole became an International Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS, they challenged us to create a campaign around the notion they could end AIDS by 2030.

To eradicate AIDS from the planet, they had a robust strategy that primarily involved many grassroots initiatives. There were too many to mention and their strategy was extremely complex.

What all of the initiatives boiled down to was funding, so we needed a very simple fundraising idea with a low barrier of entry that could be democratized across the world. After all, we believed that if everyone felt like they were part of the solution, more people would participate.

This presentation is the concept I ideated and the strategy for how to roll it out. We presented this to many potential partners and the team at UNAIDS loved it. Unfortunately, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the UN’s focus moved away from this project.

A little really could have gone a long way.