Campaign Unframed

A couple of years ago, an editor at AdWeek called me asking for a photo to go with an article I had written for them.

I was sitting in my boxer shorts at home. So I threw on a shirt and suit jacket and did what any person in my situation would do: I took a self-portrait, posing in a that ad-rag kind of a way. The sort of pose that says:

'I know some stuff and I should be respected. But not too much respect. I'm human too, just a guy. I'm accessible. But serious. But relaxed. There's a big friendly bear under this cold, academic exterior.. you just gotta peel the layers.. '

You know the sort of thing.
It's amazing how easily you get sucked into posing in that fake ad-land way.

What was more amusing though, was that I didn't put any trousers on. It was a portrait shot. So there I was in our apartment in Brooklyn, posing in this ridiculous way with no trousers but a suit and unironed shirt.

In the spirit of transforming bad things into good things, this gave me a little idea. Only a small one. A bit of fun; mostly forgettable. But in the interest of transient pleasure, I introduce:

Campaign Unframed
It's not just me - lots of ad-folk look very serious and important in their profile pictures in trade magazines. I thought it might be fun to provide a glimpse beyond the borders of the photographs to suggest a different side to them. The proverbial no-trousered look, if you will.

I'm not having a dig. Not really. Like I say, the inspiration came from my own example. But when people are looking a little too serious for their own good, I might just have some fun with their picture.

I've created three examples so far. The Photoshopping isn't great, sorry. Here's one, of Pete Robins:


This and two others can be seen in this Flickr Set: Campaign Unframed.

I might do more at some point. They're quite fun. So next time you're submitting your picture to Campaign, watch out - I might getcha ;)

--

Update: Paul called me out to share the one of me. I (honestly) couldn't find it. But fair's fair. I've produced an artist's impression over here.