| Business Beat |
| Where's the Love? A fond look back at rejected creative |
Rejection. It's one of the ugliest words in the human language. Of course, when we dare to love we risk rejection, and more often than not, the fickle hand of fate slaps you across the face and says "Not in this life, buddy."
You see, we who toil in creative matters love what we do. And we truly love to present to both existing and potential clients the work we hold so dear to our heart. It's never random and it's precisely what we feel will be the best creative to meet a client's goals and objectives.
Sometimes, however, our love is...(you guessed it)....rejected. Flat out. Cold-hearted. Often without any regard for the sensitive and loving creatives who put in their heart, their soul and their passion to create that gorgeous piece of work that was sure to boost sales, get phones ringing and win scores of Gold Addys.
To be fair, there might have been perfectly good reasons why our beloved creative was not adored and treasured but the sting is no less severe, simply because we love what we do (and our egos are rather large).
Nonetheless, we are big boys and girls here at Semaphore and we know that this too shall pass. But just this once, we want to share some of our most recent and beloved creative that was met with heartbreaking, resounding, painfully sharp, bitter cold....rejection.
 Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens
The following was a speculative campaign for Riverbanks Zoo that we included in a requested proposal package. We felt then (and still do) that this campaign captures the wonder, beauty and elegance of one of Columbia's major tourist attractions. With copy that connected both the zoo's animal and botanical features a unique selling point that may have been underutilized by Riverbanks in the past we integrated the zoo and garden as one unique entity to attract new and repeat visitors. The whimsical nature of the creative (including fonts and color choices) portrayed Riverbanks Zoo and Garden as an energized and playful experience to be enjoyed by children of all ages.
Midlands Regional Transit Authority
The following billboard (and radio) campaign was included in a response for proposals from the Midlands Regional Transit Authority. The image campaign was to help build awareness for how expansive the system is in addition to helping create an overall positive feeling about the bus system to the community at-large. With obvious wordplay on some of the Midland's more unique street names, the campaign helped inform passengers that they could travel to and from practically anywhere in the Midlands on this system. This was a critical component of our campaign, as many potential consumers have preconceived notions that the bus system only served downtown Columbia locations. We also highlighted this point with a branding icon that stated "The Bus Stops Here," a conscious word play on "The Buck Stops Here."
The Bill Sims Company
How do you motivate companies to use an employee motivational service? We thought we had the perfect answer in this whimsical campaign featuring animals. The client wanted to go in another direction but we maintain that our animals were not only memorable but quite motivating.
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