Ad Execs Presenting Decks

Mavericky Origin Story

Atlanta agency Breen Smith was started by Creative Director Chris Breen when he wrote a letter to a former colleague, Tim Smith, suggesting that they start an agency together. Not so mavericky, you say? What if I told you the reason they weren't working together anymore is that Breen had been fired?!

Legitimately Impressive Credential

Breen and Smith have both worked on Super Bowl ads -- not since starting the agency, but still.

Insufferable Executive

TOUGH CALL: John Rowley of Nashville's Fletcher Rowley tells the story of losing a basketball game by a single point decades ago and still thinking about it; Breen cracks jokes of the "Nice sweater, does your wife know you borrow her clothes?" variety. But the prize has to go to Rowley's partner Bill Fletcher who is so obsessed with Sun Tzu that he quotes his writings over cocktails and reads him during a haircut.

Also, despite being a southern man in (at least) his fifties, he proudly takes us through his morning commute, during which he pumps himself up for work by playing a dubstep mix. FIFTIES.

Self-Consciously Quirky Office

Breen Smith's, where the conference room is adorned with a gigantic marlin and they drink during meetings.

The Fear?

Although Fletcher Rowley is looking to increase its profile in corporate advertising, it's firmly established, as an agency, on the strength of having worked on many political campaigns. Breen Smith, however, is a lot newer and, according to Breen, still has "no money"; he's anxious to land this account so that his employees don't lose their jobs.

Backpack Alert!

Fletcher enters the initial client meeting in a suit, carrying a backpack.

Leave that shit in the car, weirdo.

What The Client Says It Wants

College Hunks Hauling Junk is still run by the two dudes who started it when they actually were in college ("hunks" is debatable). Eight years on, they have dozens of franchises and have grown into moving as well as hauling. Has the name that put them on the map become a liability? Will it grow with them as they pursue their goal to become a national and maybe international company?

Cringily Unearned Moment Of Self-Congratulation

Fletcher leads a mini-team within FR that has decided the business needs to be rebranded using some derivation of the word "hero," and tries out a potential slogan: "'Heroic Moving And Hauling. Be heroic.' Ooh, gave myself a little chills there!"

Thesaurus Alert!

Fletcher tries to win the point about calling the company "Heroic" as opposed to "Heroes And Hunks" by reading the synonyms for "hero."

The...Uh, Pitch

FR goes first (and the CHHJ guys make them do their pitch in front of BS -- unprofessional!). Since the brief had included the information that in most households, decisions about movers are made by women, FR had conducted a focus group with a group of female heads of household, all of whom agreed that the word "hunk" was a turnoff, and that "heroic" was stronger because it conveyed a sense of reliability. Fletcher also notes that the term "Heroic" will translate in every other language should the company go international, unlike "hunk." Finally, he presents a fun pack they've designed for kids, with a colouring book and so on, which the client comments is "brilliant." The client's main criticism is that the logo looks like a can of soup, which it does. The client does not note that in an animated presentation of all the other names and logos they played with, the company consistently spelled it "Heros."

BS's big idea is to keep the business name as is for the hauling business, but to rebrand the moving arm of the company as "Hunks And A Dolly"; to this end, they've created a female mascot, Dolly, and we see her getting pushed by a hunk on a dolly loaded with boxes and not, for instance, moving any boxes herself so why is she even there?

"Now, you give Average Joe permission to say, 'Hey, I called Hunks And A Dolly,' 'cause he's just not saying, 'I called College Hunks,'" says Smith. "He can tell the guy across the fence and feel absolutely fine about that." Okay, so even though the brief stated that CHHJ needed to attract female clients, the real issue is that the connotations of the current name are too gay for men? Got it. BS goes on to hammer on the "Stress Dismissed" slogan by taking us through a mockup for a TV spot that shows the man, woman, and dog in a household all growing a ton of gray hair because moving is so stressful and...okay, I can see that being a Super Bowl ad if it was directed well and starred funny actors and the SFX was on point. But then the client points out that no part of "Hunks And A Dolly: Stress Dismissed" says that the subject is a moving company.

The Winner

Because CHHJ never had any intention, despite what they said, of giving up the business name, the assignment goes to Breen Smith. Congratulations, BS staffers, you live to drive eight hours to and from client meetings for at least another few weeks! Too bad, FR, maybe use your down time to brush up on your spelling.

TWIST!

This just in: after the show stopped filming, CHHJ changed its mind, so I guess everyone at Breen Smith is eating cat food now.