"Eating with our Eyes" or "What's in a Name?".

Although I'm unsure who said "presentation is everything," it was celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck who grew famous telling us that we "eat with our eyes." As a guy who has spent a career dabbling in the aesthetic, I agree whole heartedly... but how about a little anthropological data to support what I (think) I've always known?

Food TV personality Ted Allen hosts a show called Food Detectives, where food myths are debunked or validated, and all things culinary are considered. I saw a segment this week where 2 test groups where set at different times to give reviews of a particular meal. The first meal was prepared and served in a simple dining area with standard overhead lighting, no table cloths, no table accouterments,  and no embellishing the food's presentation. The second seating spent more time on the environment -- lowing the lights and placing candles on the table, and dressing up the meal presentation itself. 

But here's the other side of this experiment... each seating included a menu for those dining. Menu one simple said it how it was -- fish was labeled "baked fish," green beans were listed as such, and the wine was labeled "New Jersey Red," which was served in plastic cups. Yum. In round two, the "baked fish" had become Panko crusted St. John's filet, green beans were listed as Haricot verts (pronounced hair-co-vere,) and the Jersey hooch was relabeled as Napa Valley Cabernet.

Remember, both meals were identical. After each group had dined, they were surveyed. On a scale of 1 - 10, the results averaged as follows: Group 1 = 3/10, while group 2 = 8/10. Additionally, each group asked what they would expect to pay for a meal like the one they had just received. The staggering results... group 1 averaged a price tag of $10 per person for the less impressive dinner, while group 2 was happy to fork over $38 per person.

There's certainly a lesson in aesthetics here, but the amazing expectation that proper "naming" sets is well worth considering. Perhaps it's the difference between saying "enjoy your meal," and "bon apetito!"

Don't write like a band... write like a piana'

"You don’t write like a band... you write like a piana’. We were a big piana’." -- Eddy Byrne speaking on his playing with Thelonious Monk.

Simplicity is an art seldom perfected. Einstein is noted as saying, "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." That is, well... simply brilliant. I just purchased the documentary Helvetica (trailer can be seen HERE) and it supports what I've been feeling recently (I thought it was old age creeping in)... what's passing for communication these days is often just clutter. Cool and whiz-bang is ok -- and even invited around ADG... but concept and messaging needs to be clear, and alas, simple.

I heard a great NPR segment recently called Monk At Town Hall celebrating 5 decades of the genius that was Thelonious Monk. During the radio cast, trombonist Eddy Byrne spoke of playing with the great pianist as well jazz heroes like bassist Charles Mingus, and Miles Davis -- whose legendary trumpet skill is, even today, some of the finest ever recorded. Despite the monumental talent of each individual contributor, Burke and the collective strove to sound as one voice. "A big piana'" as he so eloquently put it. Complexity well formulated and thought out is simplicity at its finest.

Try this: black coffee, big chair, dim lights, and Blue Monk (one of his best offerings, available here at Amazon.) Life is undoubtedly complex. Here's an opportunity to simplify, if only for the 10 minutes and 13 seconds that the legendary pianist tickles the ivories on my favorite tune by the master.

A Look Inside

One of our esteemed creatives, Evan Davis, Director of Strategy is fond of saying that "Everybody likes sausage... but nobody wants to see how it's made." I find it hard to disagree, but none-the-less, here's a sneak peek into the meat grinder that is ADG. And yes, that's a real cow brain... Enjoy (if you dare.)

Filtering Through the Noise.

I had an opportunity to hang out in a music store for a few hours this weekend while shopping for new audio gear to fuel ADG's expanding production facility. The retail venue is huge, and sells everything from guitars (hundreds of them) to stage lighting and fog machines. For some reason, the sea of musical instruments and amplifiers (big, loud amplifiers) are like a pied piper for unskilled 15 year old musicians, and I use the term "musician" loosely. Not only were these pre-pubescent rock-n-rollers far from capable of pulling off their favorite Metallica song, but they seem to believe -- like so many of us when speaking to someone who doesn't speak English -- that being louder somehow bridges the gap. No surprise, it does not.

All of this to say that in the midst of the audio-rich experience, I worked with an associate manager named Chris who was very knowledgeable, helpful, and glad to advise me on my purchases. As a show of empathy, I said "man, I don't know how you deal with all this noise all day long." His response surprised me.

St. Chris (as I now think of him) said "it's the sound of business being done." Sweet and simple... "this is why we're here." His reply cut me to the quick -- I work in a service industry... I should have seen this right away. But now I'm thinking (and blogging) about this. Everyone has things in their job that cause them to want to scream and pull their hair out -- but often, the things that irritate us the most boil down to just being the cost of doing business. These things distract us from the very reasons we get into the fields that we're in to begin with. I love customer service. I love overcoming difficult challenges. I love pulling things off that many other firms cannot. But sometimes I forget that's why we're here. Remembering just requires a little "filtering through the noise."

Smoke On The Water...

OK, there's no shortage of opinions about the recent events surrounding Michael Phelps and his illegal drug usage. Is it fair? Was he careless? Are the rulings from USA Swimming just? My perspective on the matter will add no additional value or clarity -- but I would like to comment on the forgotten victims in this ordeal; his sponsors.

Who hasn't purchased something, only to get it home and find out that the picture on the box didn't represent the product within? And when this happens we're ticked, right? Without any attack on the amphibious athlete's character whatsoever, the packaging simply no longer resembles what corporate America purchased. High cost endorsements are, perhaps, a blog for another time... but celebrity beware: as Yoda once said, "...with much power comes much responsibility."

Once you sign on the multi-million dollar dotted line, you are no longer person -- but product. Mr. Phelps, you've been found defective, and have been returned. We'll wait to see if you end up on the bargain table.

Size Matters

Just a quick note about grabbing a Rolling Stone magazine at the newsstand the other day. I've never been a subscriber, nor have I been a frequent peruser of the rock-and-roll rag... but whenever I would see it on the rack, I would be drawn to the strong brand, compelling imagery, and skillful design that always graced the publication's cover. But more than that -- I think the size caught my eye. Rolling stone was big. "Was." The former layout would dwarf the other less outrageous offerings around it by sheer dimension -- but I noticed that this most recent issue had shrunk. Who knows, it may have shrunk months or years ago and in my oblivion, I just never noticed... but now it is small. Or, at the very least, it is the same boring dimension as the offerings all about it. The magazine being big made sense. It covers big personalities. Big entertainment. It demanded big attention. I think the change is a big mistake. -- JA

Blessed To Be Among the Best

Proud but not prideful. That's how I felt when I discovered that Baltimore Magazine had voted ADG as one of Baltimore's Best Workplaces. Proud of the work that we do... proud of the clients we serve, and the relationship that we've built with them over the almost two decades that we've been around... but prouder still of the team members who make up the ADG organization. When Karen and I started this firm in 1991, we had no idea -- nor expectation -- that we would be connected to such stellar individuals, and be so blessed. Thanks to each of you for making ADG what is -- and for being part of what we will become. I'm proud to call you our creatives. -- Cheers, JA

Baltimore Magazine's article from the February 2009 issue follows.
For more information on the release, visit ADG's web site at www.adgcreative.net


ADG Creative
Location: Columbia Employees: 29
Who they are: An advertising, design, and corporate identity firm
What we love: Inspiring leadership, cool space, fun work

When you walk into the nondescript corporate office building that houses ADG Creative, the first thing you might notice is the space itself—it’s sleek and funky in a way that most corporate office parks can’t pull off, no matter how hard they try. Inside, there are all the elements you’d expect from a creative company: comfy collaboration spots where employees can trade ideas; the foosball table; the dart board (which is frequently in use).

What you might also notice, though, is ADG founder Jeff Antkowiak, a fixture in the operation. You’re more likely to see him huddling next to an employee’s desk or pitching in on a video shoot than commanding an executive meeting in the boardroom (although he does that quite well, too).

In ADG’s culture, collaboration is the key word, and Antkowiak, the chief creative officer who says he’s “still a producer in the company,” leads by example. Although ADG attracts those with a passion for work—and long hours aren’t unusual—“we don’t crack the whip,” says Antkowiak. “It’s a culture of ‘how can I help the people I work with?’ And that’s rare.”

Those who thrive in that culture are also a rare bunch. And ADG is frank about that upfront. Instead of simply subjecting would-be hires to personality tests to see if they fit, ADG leaders give candidates the results of those leaders’ own personality tests. “So they can see how nuts we are,” jokes chief operating officer Craig VanBrackle.

Once new hires are in, ADG focuses not just on getting work out of them, but also on “their skills and their development,” says VanBrackle. “The expectation is that everyone in the organization is a leader.”

Along the way, ADGers get to do some pretty cool work, whether it’s creating web applications, dreaming up clever ad campaigns and branding messages, or creating videos onsite. Clients are large and small and come from a variety of fields (which is one reason Antkowiak says ADG should fare reasonably well even in a recession). Sometimes those clients are really big: In 2008, one ADG employee was asked to demonstrate a software application for then-President Bush.