Estée Lauder wanted a 10 minute “Disruptive Video Panel” for their activation at this year’s virtual Essencefest. I pitched them their own late night show starring Advanced Night Repair, and they loved it so much they made it 22 minutes long. And that’s how I wound up writing a late night TV show hosted by Emmy-nominated Yvonne Orji with Grammy-winner India.Arie as our musical act. I still cannot believe I was trusted with this epic episode or that Yvonne Orji deigned to read words that I wrote, but I hope you enjoy the show!
Spent a summer getting Away. Named some collections, like the ski-inspired Chalet. Concepted campaigns for their Expandables, Totes, and Daily collections. Wrote some product copy and emails. Came up with names for new colorways. It was a mixed bag, and after it was over I bought a Rimowa.
My BFF since kindergarten and I started this postcard protest company after the election to keep the momentum of the Women's March going strong for the next four years. Each kit comes with postcards, pens, addresses, stamps, talking points, and a corkscrew (to help the ink and drink flow). We've partnered with non-profits like TechNYC and the New York League of Conservation Voters and collaborated with brands like Bulleit Bourbon. If you'd like to join our eloquent and enraged army, our kits are for sale at over a dozen retailers and LetsGoPostal.com.
I don't know shit about babies, but my friends keep having them, and since I have to buy them shower gifts, I started a diaper brand on Labor Day and I'm expecting a call from Jessica Alba any day now...
Nine West wanted to kick up the sass in their Pumprockers digital campaign to use across their social channels. Working with Select NY we gave each of these Pumprockers their own voice, and in one case my own voice. A free pair of pumps if you can spot my amateur VO...
In the world of beauty, this product launch was a high-stakes trifecta. It was for mascara (Maybelline's biggest category). It was Maybelline's first ad with Gigi Hadid as spokesmodel. And bigger still (to this copywriter), it was also the launch of the new campaign I wrote.
Our new Millennial-focused campaign gave the Maybelline girl an authentic voice, and a point of view, to go with her fancy new tagline, "MAKE IT HAPPEN".
So why the crazy idea to assassinate "Maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline."? Because in 2015, it felt wrong to have a brand saying to women, either you're born pretty, OR our products made you that way. Instead, we wanted a line that celebrates not just the latest lipstick; but the woman who wears it, and totally owns it.
If nothing else, it got Don Cheadle's attention.
Growing up, when I was just a baby-writer, I knew that being the Copywriter on Essie was My Dream Job. When I actually wound up getting that job, naming their polishes and writing their ads, it was truly a dream come true. The only disappointment? Free manis were not included.
Traditionally, our agency does just the print campaign for Maybelline's annual NYFW sponsorship. This year, I proposed we capture more, and make the most of Maybelline's newly launched snapchat channel to share the best BTS content.
Given that Beauty Tutorials are SUCH a thing on YouTube, I wondered why we couldn't bring that type of content to the Snapchat format as a Maybelline Beauty Snaptorial, if you will. Plus, grab a sponsored post from Gigi herself. And because we like to share, we also made some goodies for Maybelline's instagram feed too.
Yes, this is exactly what you think it is. May every Creative be lucky enough to work on an edibles branding assignment; this project was the most fun I've ever had. From briefing "We're thinking cannabis leaves and Rastafarian colors...", to the final asset delivery where our client told us he was so pleased with our work he'd be tattooing the logo onto his body, my partner and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves while naming and branding this product.
Writing for The Nudes Palette franchise has been a lot of fun, from the OG collection, to Blushed Nudes, to the latest hit, Rock Nudes. Not only do I get to write steamy copy that makes our clients blush, but these projects also beautifully showcase the difference between the old Maybelline campaign, and the new Maybelline campaign that my Art Director and I developed.
When Hurricane Sandy hit the week before the 2012 NYC marathon, my best friend (and fellow high school XC team captain) had an idea for a pop-up philanthropy that would match would-be marathoners' empty hotel rooms, with displaced New Yorkers who needed housing. My friend assembled a motley crew of marketers, non-profit experts, programmers, and general Girl Bosses who hunkered down for a very intense 72 hour working session. We got the site up and running by Friday morning, and by Saturday we were featured on the Today Show and fielding press inquiries. By Sunday we'd been re-tweeted thousands of times, and placed some very grateful Sandy victims in otherwise unused hotel rooms. On Monday, we went back to our day jobs.
Benjamin Moore asked us to name and brand a new paint line extension that would appeal to everyone's favorite demographic, the Millennials. (So obviously we put chevrons on almost everything.)
Our concept for American Express brought the best in fashion imagery and inspiration to the lobby at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The interactive towers featured street-style photography from Garance Doré along with curated images from fashionistas around the country submitted via Instagram using #AmexFashion.
The brief was for a single page Sierra Mist ad that would run in People magazine's annual Sexiest Man Alive issue. Even though it never ran, and is technically just a coupon, I still find this copy incredibly sexy.
Okay, printers aren't the sexiest things in the world, but when we pitched HP (and won), we decided we could at least make the packaging look a little sexier, and sound a whole lot wittier.
Someone had the terrible idea to let me run the agency snapchat account. Follow us @beautyatgotham and see how long it takes me to get fired!
When the agency was asked to re-launch Wisk and take on Tide, we were blessed with courageous clients who told us to do away with the loathed but memorable line "Ring around the collar". We came back to them with the tagline "Fight Stains with Science" and their beloved jingle, in a remix.
For this project, we were tasked with proving 7-Eleven is about more than just the flavor of Slurpees by featuring it as the perfect flavor for any occasion. (While also showcasing the latest Slurpee flavor innovations.)
As a sponsor of NYFW, Starbucks Frappuccino was given unrestricted access to the event, from Lincoln Center, to the tents, to backstage. As the Official Agency Fashionista, I was charged with concepting, writing, producing, capturing, and editing, 10 days of daily content, and I loved every minute of it (even the 6AM editing sessions).
And if you can spot the before-they-were-Real-Housewives moment in the vids, you win a free Frappuccino.
I got to play drunken travel guide for Hob Nob Wines. I recommend pairing the heat of Miami with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc.
My agency told me they wanted to send me to Sundance for our Chase Sapphire Pop-Up experiential event. They didn't tell me that due to budget cuts I was going there to be the on-camera talent. There's no such thing as a free lunch, but I did receive an XL jacket that only cost me my dignity.
Got zits? SuperStay Better Skin's got you covered. Fun fact I learned while writing the copy for the product portal on Maybelline.com: One hour's sleep before midnight is worth 3 hours' sleep after 12. The more you know...
Remember Ray Rice? Yeah, he was bad news. But the ensuing NFL/CoverGirl PR nightmare led me to one powerful idea...
I proposed that Maybelline leverage the media attention around the CoverGirl-sponsored, Katy-Perry-starring, Super Bowl to use its voice, and media dollars, in the fight against Domestic Violence.
Rather than paying $4 million for a :30 second Super Bowl ad, Maybelline could launch a social awareness campaign to donate the money instead.
