around the bloch

Yesterday, “The Voice”, Don LaFontaine was silenced forever. He was only 68 years old. Though an official cause of death has not been released, it is reported that he did suffer from complications after a collapsed lung. He has be the most prolific voice over actor to ever work in Hollywood. Don did thousands of commercials, station promos, episodics and movie trailers. I have had the pleasure through the years to work with some of the best voice over actors/actresses in the business… they all are great… but fall short of the giant range of Don LaFontaine. Some of you may recognize the voice or you might have seen him in a recent parody of himself in a Geico commercial.

But… I’d like you to watch this video to see a little of what he was all about. It’s a true loss and no one will fill the mic like Don LaFontaine.

Don LaFontain was a living ledged. He is the “In a world” guy. He is “The Voice”. He is what every voice actor has ever tried to be… many can try, but no one will replace Don LaFontaine. Don has been silenced… but his work and voice will live on forever as the best voice over actor of our history.

Today there was one more “Get a Mac” ad added to the line up, “Off The Air”. Just like the others… very funny. You can watch below or click here for a high resolution file from Apple.

Today the geniuses in the Marketing and Advertising department over at Apple unveiled 3 new “Get a Mac” spots. Staying true to the past spots shot on a white background “Pizza Box”, “Throne” and “Calming Teas” are all brilliant. Here are the spots below.

The first, “Pizza Box,” has PC attempting to trick college students into buying a Windows computer, by hiding in a pizza box and marketing himself as free pizza. PC is mad that the Mac in the number one notebook computer on college campuses. (more…)

Telly Award

Good news on the work front. This year I received 2 Telly Awards for commercials that I produced and created. I teamed up with my friend and business partner, Paul Williams, to create so fun and eye catching television ads. With both of these spots we did it our way with minimal input from the clients. We told them to trust us to do our job right… and as expected the clients pushed back. Both of these clients thought that it was out of their comfort level for advertising. But in the end we won and were able to create the spots our way on both accounts. Memo to potential clients… Leave the advertising and marketing up to the professionals. You just might get an award winning spot!

Here is the Folsom Chevrolet “Shop Naked” spot.

Folsom Chevrolet \”Shop Naked\”

Here is the Coast Auto Insurance spot.

Coast Auto Insurance