Andy Westbrock - Art Director
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Camping with the Steberg's

I don’t know how lucky you have to be to find three rolls of old, lost film over your lifetime, but apparently I’m that lucky. Film that went forgotten about for decades and decades, locked away in a camera that was also forgotten and locked away in some box in a closet somewhere. And somehow these rolls of film keep finding me.

What’s extra interesting about this roll is that I actually have been able to find out a little about it’s background and the people in the photos. Here’s the story:

One of my all-time best friends back in Minnesota, Katie Yernberg, came across five old cameras at a family garage sale for Steve & Bev Steberg, who have been very close to her since she was a wee girl. Knowing me, she knew they would make a perfect Christmas gift for a guy who collects vintage cameras. Also (from what I hear), I’m apparently difficult to shop for, so Katie was just relieved to find me anything I’d like. But little did she or the family know, one of the five cameras she gave me contained another present, a roll of Kodak Verichrome 620 film.

So after I got them developed we found out a little more about the backstory. The cameras belonged to the family’s late-grandfather, Clifford Steberg, the older gentleman in the photo above. It should also be noted he was a veteran of WWII, where he lost a leg and was obviously a total badass. The photos were taken around 1964 to 1965, and had been waiting patiently in a Spartus Full-Vue camera. On a side note, the camera is actually built for 120 film meaning someone had re-spooled it for 620.

The first three photos were from when the family was moving a new house onto the farm near Willmer, MN where Steve’s mother, Val was actually born. The kids in the photo are Steve when he was about 8 years old, his older brother Jim, and their cousins Gary and Mary on the right. From what I hear, this was a pretty big event on the farm, and it’s pretty cool since you can actually see the blocks and the crane they were using to lower the new house onto the old foundation.

The camping photos were taken at a state park somewhere in Minnesota where we find Steve at the water fountain when he was about 9 years old. Not only does Minnesota have numerous state parks, but they also run thick with water fountains, so it’s difficult to pinpoint which state park they could be in. The car to the right of the awesome camper trailer is apparently a ’56 Chevy Station Wagon, and the young man crying in front of it all is a friend who was visiting for the camping trip. What had him so upset is lost to history. The mother, Val Steberg, also makes her first appearance. And I may be to blame for the black stripe across the top of the last photo. I didn’t expect there to be a roll of film inside the camera when I first opened up the back, and unfortunately it wasn’t completely rolled through.

But either way, it’s always incredible finding a roll of film that had been lost for almost 50 years. The family was as happy and surprised as I was to finally see the pictures, which it felt good to actually be able to get them in the hands of some true owners.  Which was rewarding and an added bonus (that hadn’t been the case in the other two rolls I’ve found seen here and here). And it’s another good lesson in always keeping your eyes open for hidden treasure.

Taco Del Mar Surfer

Dolphin disappointment

Be on the lookout for some fun, quirky new commercials for Taco Del Mar soon. It stars a long board surfer riding on a never ending wave of deliciousness and a few of this friends from the sea. Oh, and he really loves the new TDM Shrimp Tostada. A lot. And he wants everyone to know.

Shhhh. Tostadas are here.

Attention, ocean...

CLIENT: Taco Del Mar  |  AGENCY: Wexley School for Girls  |  DIR: Fred Northrop Jr.  |  PROD CO: Southdown Creative

ABCDE Wall

Another side project I’ve tasked myself with this year is to update a few things around my apartment, starting with the art on my walls. Obviously it needed a good ol’ fashioned cleaning too, but it doesn’t hurt to have nice things to look at and distract you from whatever crazy mess might be going on around it.

So over one weekend I finally mustered up the courage to put a bunch of holes in my 85 year old apartment walls, and hang up the signage type I bought recently. It also worked out to be a nice home for a few of my vintage cameras. I’m not sure how old the letters are, although I did get them all from the Pacific Gallery Antique Mall in SoDo Seattle, but I’m pretty sure the “E” is from a Blockbuster Video. Which isn’t very antique-ish. At least not yet, anyway.

Pioneers of Rugged

Seattle is one of the few cities lucky enough to now have a Carhartt Store in its limits. Because of this, Wexley School for Girls and I were lucky enough for the opportunity to design a few t-shirts for this new store, one of which was picked to be given away during the Grand Opening held back on 3/22/12. And if that wasn’t awesome enough, they even invited me down to sign each and every shirt during the event.

It’s already quite an honor to work on and wrap your head around a great and historic brand like Carhartt as it is. But then for the opportunity be at the Grand Opening of only their fifth retail store, representing both the brand and myself as a local artist, was unbelievable. I still almost don’t believe it actually happened. Everyone who came through the door was directed toward a table with a big pile of black t-shirts, and me with a silver Sharpie in hand. And the coolest part was how happy everyone was about the shirt and to have my signature on it. I was sure people wouldn’t give two shits about me and my signature, but was I wrong. People were taking pictures of me, and with me. One with someone’s daughter holding up my shirt. Everyone had great things to say (a nice woman even complemented me on my dimples). People actually wanted me to sign it. And of the 120 total shirts, I’m positive I signed at least 116 of them (unfortunately a few people grabbed a shirt and immediately wandered off into the crowd).

Anyway, the experience was amazing to say the least, and I’m really happy with how the shirts turned out. And I hope everyone who received a shirt at the Grand Opening gets many happy years out of their new Carhartt Seattle shirts. You should also stop by to see the store in person. It’s beautifully decorated like an old logging camp, and the attention to detail is impeccable.

If you weren’t able to be there for the Grand Opening, here’s a quick video to encapsulate things a little. And in perfect Carhartt fashion, the ribbon cutting was replaced by a section of drywall that was busted up with sledgehammers by baseball legend Edgar Martinez and Carhartt CEO Mark Valade. And if you watch closely, you can even see me pop up a few times when the camera pans to the left during the ribbon cutting, and in the store signing the t-shirts.

Carhartt has their grand opening downtown Seattle and Danny Bonaduce welcomes them. Ribbon cutting is done by Edgar Martinez, Carhartt syle.

Introducing the Tennis Court

Perched atop the Swiss Alps exists the International Tennis Court, the game’s highest, oldest, smartest, best looking and most respected governing body. For over 138 years, people have trusted the Tennis Court to deliver some of the toughest decisions in the sport of tennis. They were there for the monumental cases between Borg vs. McEnroe, Sampras vs. Agassi, and who could forget the pivotal Wood vs. Steel trial of the late 1960s.

Now the watchful eye of the ITC has turned to the new and controversial Wilson Juice and Steam rackets. Do they create an unfair advantage with possible illegal amounts of power and spin? Only the Tennis Court can decide. Join us as we follow the trial of these two new rackets.

Andy Westbrock
Sumter or Winmer. Your Choice.

Since we’re in the thick of winter, I thought I’d dig up a little something from summer. This is Mr. Alex Smith, producer extraordinaire, showing off another one of his talents out on Lake Washington during Seattle’s Seafair. Unfortunately moments after swimming out of frame, poor Alex was hit by one of the hydroplane raceboats. This one to be exact.

I’m a little bummed out I wasn’t able to use a tripod (or have been a little steadier) to keep the loop a little smoother, but what the hell. It’s just for fun.

The Duty of the Jury

Recently I was summoned to jury duty and the experience, while pleasant, reminded me of this very short story I wrote back July of 2006, recapping the first time I was called upon to do what Abraham Lincoln described as, “the greatest service a citizen can perform for his country”. At least I remember reading something like that on a poster in the courthouse.

. . . . .

Through the doors of the US District Court of Minnesota I go. Right on time too. Well, actually a couple minutes late, but that’s right on time for me. Then empty my pockets to pass through the ultra-tight security, only to find out I don’t pass.

“Next time take your belt off,” says the little old man as he waves his hand-held metal detector over my crotch. Was he coming on to me? I blush the rest of the walk up to the juror assembly room.

Once there, me and the other 41 people selected got to watch twenty minutes of the most enthralling instructional video, “The Dos and Don’ts of Being a Juror” (copyright 1995) which was hosted by a wonderful lady in the brightest blue suit in the northern hemisphere. Of course she was accompanied by “The Asian Juror”, “The Black Housewife Juror”, “The Senior Citizen/Retired Librarian Juror”, “The White Farmer from Anytown, USA Juror” and probably a construction worker or something. The stereotypes all began to blend into, “who cares since you’re obviously all paid, bad actors”.

Now that the video was over we play a little game called “The Waiting Game” until the judge needs us up I the courtroom. It goes like this. First, you play it cool…and wait. Second, you go get a bottle of complementarity orange juice and continue to play it cool. Still you wait. Then, when things get rough, you pullout the emergency book, in my case it was “Barrel Fever” by David Sedaris. And after you’re three pages into it, “Okay, they’re ready for you all”. Damn, somehow I lost this round. But there will be more waiting to come.

We’re led up to the thirteenth floor, “Hey, I can see where Leena works from here” and then off into the courtroom. Inside we all sat on the wooden benches in the back and got the run down before our names were picked at random to see which 32 of the 42 would be widdled down to the final 13-14 actual jurors. I started doing the odds in my head. “Well, I have a better than 75% chance of at least getting picked to be questioned. Those are good odds and that will be fun.”

I didnt get picked. What are the odds? Oh yeah, less than 25%. Round two of The Waiting Game starts now, only I can’t read my book. The ten of us leftovers got the pleasure of listening to the judge get the whole life story of the other 32 jurors, only to find out that the video lied. There wasn’t any Asian or Black jurors. Although, there was a lot of old, retired, white people, one of whom was a farmer. As usual I was by far the youngest. Where the hell are all the 23, soon to be 24 year olds? I had an hour and a half to think this over.

After that we had a 15 minute recess (not the jungle gym kind, unfortunately). Mostly everyone jumped to their cell phones as we got the liberty to turn them back on again. I did the same.

When my text message recess concluded, we were all herded back into the big wooden room and asked to sit in our same seats as to not confuse anyone. Seconds later the judge began reading a list of those who could leave. “Mr. West-brook” was called off. Close enough I thought, and made my way to the exit.

Ford: Drive the Bases

Back in November, we got to help Ford promote and run an awesome event they were doing in conjunction with the Seattle Auto Show. The plan was to let people test drive the new Ford Focus around the warning track of Safeco Field (which is across the street from the Auto Show) that uses all these fancy cameras and sensors to track you as you drive the course. Then after people do the drive, they get a video sent to them showing the whole experience as if it’s a video game. It’s very cool. So cool in fact, that’s it’s almost one of those “build it and they will come” situations. So our job was fairly easy.

It should be added that getting to walk and drive around one of the most beautiful stadiums in the country is a pretty awesome feeling. It’s sort of magical with a side of, “I’m not supposed to be here.” Which makes it all the more impressive that Ford was willing to do such a thing, and do it for free. You can even check out my drive around the bases right here:

Windows Big-Ass Phone

A few months ago my writing partner, Andre Vriesman and I, were brought in to do some early concepting on a top-secret project that, in retrospect, we knew little about or were unsure if it would ever happen. But as luck would have it, the project later dubbed (at least internally) “The Big-Ass Phone” actually did happen just two short weeks ago. And looking back over the timeline and the event itself, I’m really proud that we were able to play even a small part in such an awesome and literally huge thing for the Windows Phone, Wexley School for Girls and all the people who were there to enjoy the show. Not to mention all the other talents that came together for everything to go so wonderfully.

Old, Crusty Cameras

It’s funny thinking about having to get to know a piece of equipment, but I’ve found myself having to do just that with an old camera of mine. People obviously have quirks and moods, but apparently inanimate objects can too. So a while back some friends and I made a trip over to Harbor Island in the Port of Seattle to do just that with my Toyocaflex TLR.

Being that it’s over a half a century old, it sort of behaves like an old man. The viewfinder is a little dark and cloudy, sometimes the shutter sticks at low speeds and it’s a bit heavy. It also has a bladder-control problem and eats dinner by 5:30pm. But I still love it, and I enjoy learning new things about how it behaves every time I take it out.

Photoshoot with Birdie Royale

Fashion photography isn’t something I’ve done a lot of in the past, but it’s always fun whenever I get the chance. So a few weeks ago when I was asked to do a photoshoot with my good friend, the lovely Miss Laura Haithcock, I had to take her up on it.

Laura operates Birdie Royale Adornments and a corresponding blog of all the cool stuff she makes and thinks. And it was because of all this, she being featured on the Seattle fashion blog, FreshJess, thus needing some nice new photography of three outfits she wanted to showcase. That’s where I came in. So we set out across Queen Anne and Pioneer Square dodging wind, rain and random bits of sunshine to capture said photographs. It all seemed to turn out pretty nicely, too. Although, it definitely helps having a good model to work with like Laura.

She also gave a nice interview on her style, influences and thoughts on the Seattle fashion scene. So be sure to check out all the photos and the end result right here.

Should you fill your face with Taco Del Mar? ¡Of Course! ¡Of Course!

Last week our team at Wexley School for Girls launched our very first campaign for Taco Del Mar. We’ve been working super hard over the past few month on this, and it’s extremely rewarding to finally see this stuff out in the real world. And basically, here’s the idea behind it all:

AHHH...Tommy what happened? Can you fall into a giant burrito at TACO DEL MAR®? Of Course, Of Course!

Does Taco Del Mar have the biggest burritos on the planet? Of course. Does Taco Del Mar have the greatest Fish Tacos on earth? Of Course. Does Taco Del Mar make your food exactly like you want it with the most tantalizing ingredients? Of course. Does Taco Del Mar make your food fast? Of course. Is it filling and satisfying? Of course. And when your friend calls and asks, “Hey man, want to go grab some Taco Del Mar?” you’ll love it so much the answer isn’t just a single “Of course.” It’s an emphatic, “¡Of Course! ¡Of Course!

Is this gorila eating a Mondo Burrito??? "Of course, Of course!"

It’s not often that one of your favorite pieces from a campaign happens to be a billboard, but it’s hard to see the “Cougar Fight” billboard and not smile. It still gets me, even though I’ve looked at it a thousand times. And as we roll out more work in the next few weeks for the campaign I’ll be sure to keep adding in the new stuff. So be on the look out for it. The whole campaign is going to be super fun and stupid in a good way.

Make A Date with A Sounder

Agency: Wexley School for Girls Art Director: Andy Westbrock Copywriter: Matt Kappler Creative Director: Ian Cohen Developer: LitFuse

Ever wish you could have a super-awesome date with super-awesome professional soccer players? Of course you do. You’re only human and the need for love and soccer are part of our basic human necessities. Luckily, there are now things in place to help you with this very thing.

Recently, we launched Make a Date with a Sounder. There you have a chance to get to know the guys of the Seattle Sounders FC , learn their likes and dislikes, and obviously, make a date with a Sounder (along with 36,000 other fans). If all that doesn’t satisfy your basic human needs, I don’t know what will. You’re probably a lost cause and dead inside.

So if you’re in the Seattle area, hopefully you’ll see the full campaign running (billboards, TV, print, charity eBay auctions). I’ll post the rest later, but for now check out everything that’s going on at datewithasounder.com and don’t forget to actually make a date.

Note: Last night the Sounders broke the MLS attendance record with 46,505 wild, screaming fans. I like to think we sold a good share of those tickets. They’ve also added over 30k new fans on Facebook in just four weeks since the campaign has launched.

CLIENT: Seattle Sounders FC | AD: Andy Westbrock | CW: Matt Kappler | CD: Ian Cohen | AGENCY: Wexley School for Girls | DEV: LitFuse

Fishing Line That Binds

If you can’t read the copy, or don’t feel like turning your head because your neck is actually just for looks, here you go:

“To a magazine, the binding is the most important part. Everything depends on it to hold it together. Kind of like fishing line to a fisherman. Everything you depend on starts and ends with the line that holds it together. This explains why more fisherman choose the most dependable fishing line in the world.”

Anyway, this is an ad I did a while ago at a little agency back in my hometown of Minneapolis, by the name of Kerker, now known as Preston Kelly. At the time they had Pure Fishing as a client, which had a ton of great fishing brands under their umbrella, Stren being one of them. So to a Minnesota boy who had grown up fishing since the age of two, I absolutely loved the prospects of working on all this stuff. And this was an ad I always liked for its simplicity, and the point it made using the media.

As for Preston Kelly, they’ve actually been getting some notoriety lately. They won AdAge’s Midwest Small Agency of the Year award, and have been showing up in the CA Ad Annual and Archive as well. They’ve probably been winning a lot of other things too, but either way, I’m glad to see my friends back at PK doing great stuff.

Social Photography

For a while now, I’ve been against the idea of the fake Photoshop-action apps people use on their mobile phones, but since Instagram has come along, I’ve changed my tune a little. I still feel that photography is slightly cheapened by just selecting from a few predetermined filters with a couple of finger taps (which goes for pretty much all photo apps), but it was the social aspect of Instagram that seemed to make all that okay. Sure you’re still shooting though a crummy camera-phone lens (until the technology catches up), but at least this way everyone is using the same tools on an even playing field. And then you get to share everything amongst one another to see what they choose to do with it. Making it more about having fun and community. Which is not so bad if you look at it for what it is.

Anyway, I hope this doesn’t subtract anything from my film photography, but if you’d like to check out any of my Instagram shots, you can find me @awestbrock, or I’ve gathered a few into a Flickr set.

Also, if you want to read another great take on the rise of Instagram, check out this post done by Mullen’s own, Edward Boches. He has insightful thoughts on pretty much everything under the advertising sun, and he’s a super nice guy to boot. Plus, he’s a fellow road biker, so there’s one more reason to give him a listen.

Actioncopter

The city never sleeps. Therefore the chopper team at Channel 9 News never sleeps. Years ago they punched in their time cards, and since then, they’ve never punched out. They are your eye in the sky 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365.25 days a year. Even those days you wish you didn’t know what was going on in the world, they are pumping your brain full of the most up-to-the-second, action-packed news you can handle.