Employment Is The New "Sexy" Redux

Throughout most of 2021, I was fortunate and grateful to be working. Most of the work wasn’t high-profile yet as the pandemic raged on, I’d often joke, “employment is the new sexy!” 

Stock footage edits and motion graphics for on-line commercials were the bulk of my work. One product for which I’ve made several spots is “Control,” a topical cream for relief of menstrual cramps.

Yup, menstrual cramps – the pinnacle of my career(!). Did I mention, employment is the new sexy?

 The spots were fairly traditional, following the tried and true formula of “you have a problem, we have a solution.” However, the one element that was missing was FUN! I know… “fun” and “menstrual cramps” aren’t typically used in the same sentence. Nonetheless, given the target demo of young women (roughly between the ages of 15 and 30), I thought, let’s bring some color and pop culture to the visuals with a nod towards TikTok and Instagram.

 So I Photoshopped a couple style frames, sent them to my client and said, “let’s try this! We’ll keep it simple: problem/solution, 10-12 seconds on TikTok.” A few weeks later, I got the green light. Since then, I’ve made four – along with another for Walmart Pies. By all accounts, they’re huge hits!

When people ask, “Can you do TikTok?”, it makes me smile. Pixels never change – only formats do. Having done broadcast commercials, promos, digital signage and lately, social media, my simple answer is, “I tell stories. Let’s make yours the one to watch.”