News

New SPARtian!

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:17:08 +0000

By Lane Casteix

Mom and "Jack".

Our own Erin Graham just had her first baby, John Edward Graham, and he will be called Jack. Eight pounds seven ounces. Born March 6. Momma and daddy (Chris) are doing well! Congratulations!

The SPAR, Inc. Christmas Card

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:49:01 +0000

Outtakes and Bloopers from the SPAR Christmas Card

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:47:30 +0000

By Keith Maresma

More Outtakes and Bloopers from the SPAR Christmas Card.

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:29:03 +0000

By Erin Graham

Rain Vodka Gets Write-up in Packaging Digest

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:20:47 +0000

By Lane Casteix Rain Vodka's new redesigned package got a write-up in Packaging DIgest. And of course SPAR was mentioned as the designer of the package.

Hurricane Gustav Update

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:12:07 +0000

By Lane Casteix Monday September 8 and SPAR is back in the office. No damage to speak of. All SPARtians are well and so are their homes.

Monique Bush Joins SPAR as Art Director

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:24:33 +0000

We are pleased to announce that Monique Bush has joined SPAR, Inc. as an art director. Monique’s background as creative director for Harrah’s Brand Marketing Studio and Cannery Casino Resorts in Las Vegas and as art director for Harrah’s New Orleans Casino and Andrews Sport Company of New Orleans gives her a broad range of experience that will be a great asset for SPAR’s clients. Monique can be reached at 504-849-6413 or at mbush@sparadvertising.com.

Erin Illg Joins SPAR as Account Coordinator

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:49:12 +0000

By Lane Casteix We are pleased to announce that Erin Illg has joined SPAR, Inc. as account coordinator. She will be working mainly with Lisa Wells and Keith Maresma, assisting in servicing our clients. Her position was created to enhance our client’s experience by providing even better and faster responses to their advertising and promotional needs. With Erin's considerable previous experience in account services, we were excited to find and hire such a highly qualified candidate. Erin can be reached directly at 504 849-6420 or email at eillg@sparadvertising.com.

"Mad Men" - The Season Finale

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 15:48:51 +0000

By Lane Casteix The bad news is the season is over. The good news is it was received well enough it will be coming back. The bad news (again) is it is not coming back until the summer of 2008! Now I will suffer withdrawal! When this series first started I wrote about it very cautiously and even came down rather hard on the opening episode. I have since warmed to it and even have become addicted to it. It is the one show I actually go out of may way to arrange my schedule to watch and when I can't it gets recorded. I also like "The Dog Whisperer" but haven't yet recorded missed episodes. This is a big deal for me, as I do not watch any other regularly scheduled programing on TV! The series is quite well done and written. Yes, it has some technical flaws, some of which were mentioned in previous posts. I have warmed to the characters and their human failings, which, considering the outstanding writing, is easy to do. The season finale left you hanging with enough loose ends so you will be drawn back for season two just to find out what happened. Will Don Draper, now that he has realized what he has in his family, quit sleeping around? Has Betty taken the kids and left Don now that she "knows" he has been unfaithful? Will Rachael, who obviously loves Don, yet at the same time hates his values, return from her European trip and stir the pot? Will Peggy, newly broken through the glass ceiling to junior copywriter, become a working single mom or put her baby up for adoption? (If you missed the last show, she delivered a baby she did not realize she was carrying - denial?) And poor Pete Campbell, is he the father of Peggy's child? Will he really be forced to accept Peggy as copywriter on his father-in-law's Clearasil account? The best part of the last episode was Don's presentation for the Kodak account and the Carousel projector. That alone was worth watching the episode. It was the catalyst that made him realize the value of his family and how he had put that at risk with his carousing. It was moving and so well done we wish we could present like that.

"Mad Men" - The Addiction

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 20:52:02 +0000

By Lane Casteix Okay, this is getting serious. AdRants is running a Mad Men contest. The winner gets a coffee table book of 1960's advertisements and - AND - a genuine Mad Men martini shaker. You only have to name the episode that Roger had vodka in his morning milk. I entered. It was number 7, BTW.

"Mad Men" - The Review II

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:03:22 +0000

By Lane Casteix Okay, I admit it. I am addicted! What is Don Draper's secret? Why did his half brother commit suicide. Will Peggy break through the glass ceiling and become a star copywriter? Will Pete climb the corporate ladder or be crushed? Will Roger self-destruct? Will Betty find ultimate fulfillment romancing her Maytag? Gads! Read all about it here.

Buffalo Trace Releases the 2007 Antique Collection

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:46:45 +0000

By Lane Casteix Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky recently released the 2007 Antique Collection. The following is from their press release. (Oh yeah, and SPAR designed the packages.) The collection this year will feature five limited-release whiskies of various ages, recipes and proofs. This is what whisky lovers can expect: Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old Two time winner of the "American Whiskey of the Year" award, the whiskey for the 2007 release has been aging in Warehouse K on the first floor. The first floor enables the barrels to age slowly and gracefully. This vintage has the same mature spicy taste as years past. Eagle Rare 17 Year Old These barrels were distilled in the spring of 1988 and have been aging in Warehouse C. This bourbon was actually 19 years old at the time of bottling giving it a delicate body with a dry woody finish. George T. Stagg This vintage of George T. Stagg was found on the first floor of Warehouse I. This bourbon was distilled back in the spring of 1992 and weighs in at a healthy 144.8 proof-the strongest ever! This whiskey is big and rich and not for the faint of heart! William Larue Weller William Larue Weller is the Antique Collection's uncut, unfiltered wheat recipe bourbon. The barrels were aged 10 years on the ninth floor of Warehouse I. This year's William Larue Weller registers at 117.9 proof. It tastes of sweet molasses with a hint of cinnamon. Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Handy is the newest addition to the Antique Collection. It is an uncut and unfiltered straight rye whiskey. The barrels were aged six years and five months on the fifth floor of Warehouse L with a proof of 134.8. It's very flavorful with bold allspice and a hint of sweet ginger. The Antique Collection continues to be greatly anticipated by whiskey fans and grows in popularity each year. Last year's show-stopper was the newly introduced Thomas H. Handy Sazerac uncut and unfiltered straight rye whiskey which flew off store shelves in a matter of weeks. All the whiskies of the Antique Collection are a limited release and a new vintage each year. "It is our extreme pleasure to offer these rare and unique whiskeys. We are very proud of all the whiskeys we produce here at Buffalo Trace and these are some of the best," said Kris Comstock, Bourbon Brand Manager of Buffalo Trace Distillery. The Antique Collection will be available in late October. For more information visit GreatBourbon.com or contact Kris Comstock at kcomstock@buffalotrace.com or (502) 696-5936.

"Mad Men" - The Review

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 19:05:41 +0000

By Lane Casteix We finally got to see the whole first episode. Interesting! It does portray advertising as glamorous, which is one reason I joined the game. That was then, and "then" seems to be pretty well portrayed in Mad Men. The show does have some technical problems I found troubling, but if you aren't in advertising you might not have noticed. As someone else pointed out in a review, the agency principal would never have gone into a meeting with a major client like Lucky Strike and not known what creative was going to be presented. The creative director would never have gone into such a meeting with nothing to present. He would have done anything to get the meeting moved to give himself time come up with something. The CD would never treat a prospective client the way he did the female owner of the department store. He may have thought or said those things behind her back, but never to her face. The reason: $$$$$$! And the principle would have nailed his hide to the drawing board with a thousand push pins. (That is some of the stuff we used before Macs came along.) The account executive's admission that he is "not a people person," which was obviously true. Hello? Where is HR? The AE had better be a people person! Good marketing research even then was valuable. The last ditch creative effort with the Lucky Strike client that led to the headline, "It is toasted!" was interesting, and as I recall a headline they did use. The client's claim "all brands toast their tobacco" should have received a better answer from the CD. Even though all brands can make the same claim, the first one to stake that claim purposefully and forcefully owns the USP (unique selling point). The others will only come off as "wannabees" when they try to make the same claim. And lastly, that IBM Selectric Typewriter that "only looks complicated, but they made it simple enough for a woman to use" - we still had two just like that before Katrina. They drowned. The jury is still out for me. I liked the show enough, in spite of the glaring errors, to come back and view it again.

Mad Men

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:13:47 +0000

By Lane Casteix I just had to comment.... This new TV production is about the advertising industry in 1960 complete with cigarettes in every mouth, martinis in every hand, lots of infidelity, and very non-PC comments slipping out. Or so says Adam Hanft in his article at Slate.com. I intend to watch it and give it a chance, but I am not usually excited about being bombarded by decadence and boorish behavior. There is enough of that in real life. Mad Men airs on Thursdays at 9pm central time on AMC. Review to follow.... UPDATE 20 July 07 - Ten minutes into the show last night COX dropped the signal! So, until they rerun it, there will be no personal review. Meanwhile here is one from the Baltimore Sun to munch on. ANOTHER UPDATE - Here is a review by someone who was actually there. CAUTION: Rough language.

ADDY Awards!!!!

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 14:38:28 +0000

By Lane Casteix On the evening of March 2, 2007, SPAR, Inc walked away from the New Orleans Ad Club ADDY Awards with thirteen awards. Of those, four awards were the coveted Gold ADDY, and nine were Silver ADDY Awards. The Gold ADDY winners were a floor display for Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, Dr. McGillicuddy's case card and point of purchase campaign. The SPAR Christmas card for 2006 also took home Gold. The Silver ADDY winners were a logo design for Yoko Japanese Habachi and Sushi Restaurant, a floor display for Captain Morgan Parrot Bay Flavored Rum, Dr. McGillicuddy's shelf talkers, table tents, and posters. The new SPAR logo and our new blog-based web site also took Silver. SPAR usually finishes strong in the package design division, and this year was no exception. One competing agency even suggested that we own this category. We won Silver ADDY Awards for a W. L. Weller 12 Year Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey package design and for the Thomas H. Handy Straight Rye Whiskey package design. Visit the portfolio section of this web site to view the winning designs. SPARtians are very grateful to have been given the chance to do work for such fantastic clients who appreciate good and effective creative thinking and design. None of this would be possible without them. SPARtians attending the event had a great time celebrating this win, which was a crowning touch on 2006, a year that was one of our best ever. Now, onward to even bigger and better in 2007!