We had VIP access to one of the premiere Super Bowl shindigs. But we know not everyone could get in, so we created a program that gave everyday fans inside access to the hottest party in town.

Green Bay Packers receiver Greg Jennings, a Coke Zero spokesman, served as our on-the-ground correspondent, giving people real-time updates through Coke Zero’s twitter account. He helped promote the program beforehand through his personal Twitter account and with a satellite media tour. Coke Zero also pushed messages through its Facebook and Twitter, creating a lot of buzz before the evening’s festivities.

The evening was full of excitement, including a surprise performance from Ludacris on the Coke Zero Countdown stage. And it was all captured on Twitter for fans to see around the globe.

Adding to the experience, we also created more robust videos of Jennings’s interviews with Luda, The Roots, predictions from athletes walking the red carpet and behind-the-scenes footage of the party that ran yesterday on Coke Zero’s Facebook page and continue through today.

Check out some of our photos from the festivities. It’s a hard job folks, but someone has to do it.

Ludacris brings the house down on the Coke Zero CountDown stage.

Guy Fieri, renowned Food Network star and Chef, walks the red carpet.

The Roots with Greg Jennings

What follows is the tale of how I ended up on my current career path, which has led me to Fast Horse. 

Film and movie making has always held a huge appeal in my life. The cost, however, had always pushed it to the outskirts of a possible reality for me. Video was neat, but I kind of always viewed it as the bastard child of film who would never amount to anything, ask to crash on your couch and then spill red wine on your living room carpet.

Oh, and then there was the angst that came with editing on A/B decks. There is a great section in Robert Rodriguez’s book “Rebel Without A Crew”, where he gives a nerve-wracking account of editing “El Mariachi” on an A/B system in a locked room of a public access TV station. Even as the first computer non-liner editing systems made their way into my high school, it kind of, sort of made editing easier, but video was still doing nothing more than nipping at the heels of the film world.

From there I took film/video as a possible career path completely off the table. I would continue to be a ravenous spectator, but nothing more.

It was somewhere around the end of ’08 into ’09 that I began to see some amazing looking footage that the makers claimed was shot with consumer level video cameras. It was a little adapter that allowed 35mm camera lenses to mount onto the front of a standard video camera, giving the shallow depth of field we are so accustomed to with film. It was a revelation! So, what’s the first thing I do? I rush out and buy the best HD consumer level camcorder I can find, which happened to be a Canon.

From there I began to research which would be the best 35mm adapter for my budget/camera. Just as I am beginning to narrow down my search, Canon splits the atom to blow the video world away. Even the film world gets caught in the outer fringes of the blast radius.

News had started to bubble up about the video capability of the Canon 5D Mark II and 7D DSLR cameras. “Saturday Night Live” shot its entire opening sequence used for the 2009 season with these cameras. All of the footage looked gorgeous. It also introduced me to Philip Bloom who was one of the pioneers in using DSLRs for commercial work. Right as I’m absorbing all this new information Canon releases the T2i. A very nicely priced consumer level DSLR with the same video capabilities as the 5D and 7D. It was my second camera purchase within about a months time. All thoughts of 35mm adapters were abandoned.

With all this potential at my fingertips, I decided to go back to school for video production. I was able to add all of the technical skills I was aware of, but not practiced in. During my time at school, I was continually complimented on my work and able to see my own improvement in the medium. In the last months of this new education, I jumped ship from my customer service day job forcing myself to prove I could make a living doing something I actually have a passion for.

After a number of great months freelancing, I caught wind of an open video position at a little place called Fast Horse. The application process required that I submit a video introducing myself. That’s a fun idea. I was fortunate enough to make it to an interview stage. These people are really cool! Now I actually want this position! Second interview. Yes! Amazingly, I was offered the gig. And that’s that mattress man.

Here’s a bit of my work:

Next week, Coke is capitalizing on the growing trend of second-screen media consumption with a campaign centered around the biggest media event of the year. The brand’s iconic polar bears are going digital at www.CokePolarBowl.com, and fans who log on can check them out as they watch the game.

As the contest unfolds, the bears will react in real time. One bear is wearing a red and white scarf (New York’s less commonly considered colors); the other sports a scarf in silver and blue (New England).  So when the New York quarterback throws a pick six, the New England bear might jump off his “snowfa,” pump his fists and do a dance while the New York supporter sulks and pouts. The online experience will even include some visitors to the cave (other bears and a penguin on holiday from the Antarctic).

You might ask, “can I really watch bears for four hours?” And the answer probably is “no.” But that’s not the point. The actual goal is to engage people on a deeper level than is typically achieved through traditional advertising alone. So when you see the Coke spots featuring (what else?) the polar bears in the first and second quarters, you’ll be invited to join them in their arctic ice cave through a tag at the end of the spot. It’s an engagement strategy that hasn’t before been seen at such an integrated level during the biggest sporting event of the year.

The ads are really quite good – beautiful animation and a great brand message in the spirit of Coke’s “Open Happiness” campaign. The spot running in the first quarter (“Superstition”) is unique because it’s designed to reflect the status of the game. So if New England is behind when the spot airs, the bear in silver and blue will be seen crossing his fingers, toes, arms, etc. It’s real-time ad selection based on the score, a turnover or another game-altering event.

Screen still from "Superstition" from Coca-Cola and Wieden + Kennedy

What I find fascinating is the way Coke will synch the bears online with the bears on TV. Just before “Catch” appears on NBC (second quarter), you’ll see one of the bears leave the ice cave on the website. It’s supposed to be seamless, and will be interesting to watch on game night. You can check out “Catch” below, and I encourage you to log on to www.CokePolarBowl.com to RSVP and “attend” the festivities on Feb. 5.

Click to view “Catch”

The Thursday press launch I mentioned at the top of this post was a big success. USA Today, The New York Times, Good Morning America, Fast Company.com, The Globe and Mail, Ad Age, Sports Business Daily, CNN.com and Perez Hilton have covered it so far, with Today, the AP, Washington Post, Fortune and many others still to come.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on the campaign – before and after the big game.

Ralph Rapson, 1914-2008

Ralph Rapson was an architect, artist and teacher who left a huge legacy in Minnesota and beyond.

Rapson, who died in 2008, designed the original Guthrie Theater, the Riverside Plaza residential complex, a series of modernist homes and a number of iconic pieces of furniture. As head of the University of Minnesota’s architecture school for 30 years, he influenced an untold number of architects and designers.

Rapson loved to sketch. Some of the chairs he drew in the 1940s and 1950s never went into production. Now, a furniture company created by Rapson’s son, Toby Rapson, is planning to build some of those unrealized designs for the first time.

And here’s something fun: Rapson-Inc. is letting modern design aficionados decide which Rapson chair gets put into production first. Letting customers (and potential customers) vote on the product lineup is a great way to get them involved and invested in the outcome.

The voting coincides with an exhibit of Rapson drawings and furniture at Danish Teak Classics in Minneapolis. Fast Horse is helping Rapson-Inc. promote the exhibit and the voting.

The exhibit runs through Feb. 5. So take a look at the chair designs below and cast your vote by Jan. 31. The winning design, to be sold exclusively through Rapson-Inc. and DTC | X, will be announced during a reception Feb. 2. (Details here.)

Option No. 1

Rapson designed this lounge in 1951. The design features a steel and wood frame with an upholstered seat and back.

Option No. 2

Rapson designed this side chair in 1949. The design features bentwood construction.

Option No. 3

Rapson designed this lounge chair and rocker in 1943. The design features a plywood frame with an upholstered seat and back.

A video highlighting the vote and an opening reception of the Rapson exhibit:

This is the second year UnitedHealth Group is at CES, showcasing its latest technology products and services designed to enhance consumers’ access to care, simplify their health care experience and help improve their health and well-being.

The presentation stage in the UnitedHealth Group booth at CES 2012

The start of the conference Tuesday capped several months’ work preparing for an increased presence in Las Vegas. That presence includes a 3,500-square-foot exhibitor booth, speaking engagements at several conference tracks and an online presence dedicated to the field of health tech – which is where we come in.

Through two newly created online platforms, www.ceshealth.com and @ceshealth, we’re helping demonstrate how UnitedHealth Group, and its UnitedHealthcare health benefits and Optum health services businesses, are simplifying the consumer health care experience by making helpful, practical information easier to access through devices consumers are already familiar with, such as smartphones and video game consoles.

We’re using the website and Twitter account to distribute the content we’re creating while at CES. We’re shooting video, capturing photos, interviewing industry influencers, writing blog posts, you name it … all adding UnitedHealth Group’s voice to the digital health conversation.  What’s more, we’re creating a valuable resource for those interested in the health tech conversation at CES who aren’t actually at CES. Contrary to how it might feel at times, not everyone is in Las Vegas this week!

To give you an idea of the content we’re creating for UnitedHealth Group, check out this tour of the UnitedHealth Group booth. Bonus: You get to see some of UnitedHealth Group’s truly awesome technologies.

I thought I had gotten away with my white lie, until the main room began quizzing me about whether I knew who that was.

“Uh, no,” I said.

“You have to have heard, ‘Right Now,’” said Mike Keliher, cueing the YouTube video.

“Nope. Maybe I’ll recognize it.” (I have to admit that I was fairly skeptical.)

As the song played everyone looked at my face, waiting for the moment when I would have an “aha!” moment and recognize an apparently famous jam. But, it never happened.

So, in an effort to appease my incredulous coworkers and open my musical taste to the ’80s, I’ve decided to review five songs that I’ve never heard… starting with the infamous Sammy Hagar.

Van Halen “Right Now”

The music may not be too shabby, but I CANNOT tear my eyes away from the car crash happening on stage. I don’t what’s worse about the singer’s style: the hair, the t-shirt, the cutoffs or the socks and shorts combo. Wow. (Is that Sammy Hagar?)

On another note, I can see why this is a big song for sporting areas. I’m envisioning a Mighty Ducks movie. This plays in the background and symbolizes the Ducks in the locker room gearing up to take the ice by storm before the third period.

Debbie Gibson “Lost in Your Eyes”
(Embedding is disabled on this video, and that’s probably a good thing.)

I probably should have listened to this song without watching the video. The cut-away shots to her and her heartthrob boyfriend are cringe-worthy. So cheesy. Wait, it got worse. Now there are violinists.

Honestly, I could never take myself seriously if I voluntarily chose to listen to this (sorry to anyone I’m offending). The lyrics are terrible. Just terrible.

Based on this song, I guarantee Gibson cries the first time the Donald criticizes her on Celebrity Apprentice.

Huey Lewis And The News “Heart of Rock & Roll”

I don’t know if I would voluntarily listen to “Heart of Rock & Roll” but the song isn’t too shabby. It has a good beat and, although the lyrics are still mildly ridiculous, it’s catchy. The sax and harmonica solos definitely make the song.

Dire Straits “Money For Nothing”

This song doesn’t strike a chord with me. There isn’t anything new or unique about the song, solos, instrumentation and lyrics. It sounds exactly as I imagine every other ’80s song to sound. However, I enjoy that their singer pronounces guitar as, “geetar.”

Bobby Brown “My Perogative”

I didn’t realize that Bobby Brown was a once-relevant musician until my colleague Mike emailed to say he used Shazam to identify a Bobby Brown song. Isn’t Bobby Brown the ex-husband of Whitney Houston? I can’t tell if I recognize “My Prerogative” because I’ve heard it before, or if Britney Spears’ rendition was my first introduction. Either way, I like Britney’s version better. What can I say? I may have been born in the 80s but I grew up in the ’90s with boy bands, Britney and Eminem.

This is the 1,000th post on the Idea Peepshow.

Cue the crickets.

Actually, we’re proud we hit the mark. Not because 1,000 posts means anything by itself. Blogging is not a game of “Most Posts Wins.” But the milestone gives us a chance to think about what we’ve accomplished, how we’ve managed to do it and where we want to go.

Jörg kicked off the Idea Peepshow on May 21, 2008, with a modest post.

At long last, we’re pulling back the curtain on Idea Peepshow, the Fast Horse blog! Cue the crickets. Frankly, that’s the reception we’re anticipating. And that’s okay. We certainly didn’t launch with illusions of building a vast readership overnight. Or ever. We do, however, intend to have some fun and hope to engage a few folks along the way.

So 999 posts later, we can say we’ve definitely had some fun, stirred up the pot on occasion and shined a light on the Fast Horse way of thinking. And the crickets aren’t quite as noisy anymore. For a boutique agency in Minneapolis, we’ve built quite a following.

Plenty of companies launch blogs. Not everyone succeeds. We’ve all encountered those company blogs that get started with great energy only to wither on the vine. That’s why we’re proud to have hit the 1,000 mark with plenty of gas left in the tank.

Here’s what we’ve learned about building and maintaining momentum for a company blog:

1. Get all hands on deck — Everybody at Fast Horse writes for the Idea Peepshow. Two benefits of this approach: No one gets burned out and our readers encounter a variety of styles, mindsets and ideas.

2. Make blogging a priority — Our blog isn’t a “nice-to-have” item, like a New York Times subscription that could be cut when times get lean. The Peepshow is central to our business. Since 2009, the blog has been our homepage, the gateway to Fast Horse, our culture and our people. Jörg has made a big commitment by dedicating a big chuck of the agency’s time to the Peepshow. If you doubt his commitment, try missing your scheduled post sometime.

3. Keep it fresh and fun — We aim to post at least once per weekday. It’s a target we’ve managed to exceed: We’ve posted 1,000 times in the 945 weekdays since we launched. We write about hefty topics, such as marketing trends, the media business and technology. But we don’t take ourselves too seriously or bog down our readers with bureaucratic pronouncements from the CEO (do we even have a CEO?). We give our writers the opportunity to delve into lighter topics such as sports, entertainment, travel and pets.

4. Enforce a writing schedule — Everyone knows when they’re supposed to write. This gives them time to develop a topic … and keeps the “Who’s got something for the Peepshow?!!!” emails to a minimum.

Thanks for taking this ride with us.

Is 10 the Metal Anniversary? — Loyal Peepers will recall that 2011 marked our 10th year in business. We marked the occasion with a big celebration party highlighted by a performance by our clients and friends “Rogue Valley.” My favorite moment from the party? Had to be when the sound guy we hired plugged his personal iPod into the soundboard and serenaded our early-arriving guests with some of his metal favorites. The Fast Horse crew briefly debated whether to request something a bit more “appropriate” for the occasion. The notion quickly died. We’ve always been a “come as you are” kind of place, and if that means that one of our hired hands wants to play a little Slayer at our agency party, so be it.

Jen, Jenny and Jengii –Sounds like Bowie tune, but in reality, Jen, Jenny and Jengii are the three talented new Ponies who joined us in 2011. Jen Kreilich came aboard as a Senior Director, while two interns, Jenny Zanatta and Alexendra Jenii Weaver aka “Jengii,” converted internships into full-time associate gigs. All three are smart, energetic and optimistic, so we’re thrilled to say that 2011 was the Year of the Jen around here.

Good Fortune – This year, we were lucky enough to grow nearly 20 percent and add 13 new clients to our mix, including projects from three Fortune 500 companies. In addition, our partnerships with long-term clients, such as The Coca-Cola Company, Marvin Windows and Doors and Next Big Thing (SweeTango) continued to grow and resulted in some of the very best and most high-profile work this agency has ever done, including an 8-page feature on SweeTango in the New Yorker, a mention of Marvin Windows in a key speech by President Obama and the launch of new packaging for Diet Coke and Dasani.

Making a Little Noise — We were also proud to add a bit of hardware to our trophy case in the past year. On a national level, we won a Silver Anvil from PRSA and had two finalists in the PR Week Awards, yielding an Honorable Mention for Global Campaign of the Year with our friends at Coke. We also won a Gold Sabre for the same Global program at the Sabre Awards. Locally, we broke through with an Award of Merit at The Show, took home seven PRSA Classics and were named among the Twin Cities Business Journals “Best Places to Work” and to the “Fast 50” list of the fastest growing private companies in the metro area. Most impressive, our staff can boast Mayorship at dozens of bars and coffeeshops in the Metro area as well.

Doing Good and Making the World a Bit More Beautiful. We hope. – Our collective pro-bono efforts this year were once again significant, and we hope impactful. Our staff served on a wide variety of great non-profit Boards, including Cornerstone, ACES, the University of Minnesota Foundation, Franconia Sculpture Park and Minnesota Land Trust, to name a few. And we put more than $100K in pro-bono staff time into several projects on behalf of local and national non-profits, including the American Red Cross, the Minnesota Beatle Project, Indian Health Board and Minnesota Film Arts. We even threw a little pro-bono time behind one of Minneapolis’ best bands, Rogue Valley, who we believe deserves a wider audience. We hope our efforts on their behalf helped introduce a few more people to their brilliance.

I could go on and on. But I won’t. No doubt 2011 was a memorable, even defining, year here at Fast Horse. And we look forward to another year of personal growth and professional challenge ahead. Thanks for coming along for the ride here at the Peepshow!

Happy New Year!

Yeah, didn’t think so. But if you’re an experienced marketing professional who longs for a bit more excitement and some new challenges, we should talk.

Fast Horse has an immediate opening for a client relationship director. We’re seeking candidates with a minimum of 10 years of experience. Public relations, interactive or advertising agency experience is required. This position also requires strong writing and organizational skills, as well as great initiative and problem-solving ability. We seek strategic thinkers who have a track-record of success in helping clients solve business and brand challenges through media relations, social media, special events, non-traditional advertising, branded content and brand strategy.

Our ideal candidate also must have deep experience in creating and managing budgets and timelines, counseling clients and directing new business initiatives. Got more skills than that? We’re all ears.

A sense of humor, curiosity and initiative are highly valued at Fast Horse. We need a superstar; someone who adds to our dynamic culture, and who has the firepower to provide day-to-day leadership on highly visible and complex consumer and B-to-B marketing programs. In short, we offer a “big fish/small pond” opportunity for personal and professional growth in a creative, fast-paced, and highly flexible workplace.

If you’re looking for a place to do cutting-edge, high-profile work in a progressive and creative culture, please send your résumé to Jorg Pierach at info@fasthorseinc.com.

You could work here! (Photo: Nicholas Waldman)

Wanna be our next Creative Services Intern? All you have to do is channel your inner Replacements and the gig could be yours. We’ll explain.

Our ideal Creative Services Intern will be a talented videographer and video editor with a knack for visual storytelling. Photography skills and basic design skills will be a major plus. The more versatility the better. Beyond that, we’re looking for creativity, curiosity and the ability to thrive in our flexible, fast-paced environment.

Our work includes developing video content for clients ranging from Coca-Cola and Marvin Windows and Doors to non-profits such as the American Red Cross and the Minnesota Beatle Project. Check out some of our recent video projects here.

Internship Details:

* Starts as soon as can be arranged
* Initial internship period is three months, but may be extended — and could even result in a full-time gig
* Paid position, hourly
* 40 hours per week
* Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
* Parking paid

Job Qualifications:

* Significant experience shooting and editing video
* Organized and efficient; with a demonstrated track-record for successfully working under tight deadlines
* Strong proficiency with Final Cut Pro (preferably Final Cut Pro X)
* Comfortable creating videos for a wide range of situations, from quick web-only videos to HD videos intended for broadcast
* Technical knowledge required to handle a variety of image editing and processing tasks
* Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suites (Photoshop, Illustrator)
* The storytelling chops and creativity required to convey a message with video, images or audio
* Bachelor’s degree, associate’s degree or equivalent
* Enough work samples to convince us you can do a killer job

If you’re a resourceful team player with the ability adapt on the fly and juggle multiple projects, we want to hear from you.

How to Apply:

Send a résumé and some work samples to info@fasthorseinc.com.

Additionally, please create and include a one-minute video set to The Replacements legendary kiss-off to MTV, “Seen Your Video.”  The video should be shot and edited by you, and should offer a little window into your world. The application deadline is midnight on Dec. 18, 2011. We will invite a select group of finalists in for interviews, and hope to have our new Creative Services Intern on board shortly after the start of the 2012.

Good luck, Scorsese!