BERMUDA BOARD OF TOURISM: REQUIRED TO WORK WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF EXISTING ADVERTISING, CULTURE A.D. INTRODUCED IMAGERY COMPELLING TO AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN TOURIST IN THIS PRINT, OUTDOOR AND RADIO CAMPAIGN. AGENCY PARTNERS: ARNOLD USA, IMAGES USA; ART DIRECTOR, WRITER: CRAIG BRIMM; WRITER: ELLENA BALKCOM

DESIGNING CULTURE
Working with the black personal care industry, Culture A.D. is involved in exploring complex racial identity issues. The agency is currently rebranding African Pride, a hair care product line introduced in the late ’80s during a period of Afrocentric renaissance. It was more of an opportunistic gimmick than sincerely African-inspired, but people instantly fell in love with the products. Later, when consumers learned the brand wasn’t owned by an African- American company, there was a backlash.

“Over the years the brand had kind of lost its way,” says Brimm. “Our mission: Ashy to Classy. We always want to make a brand bigger. By that I mean extremely relevant in its category. It should be the sexiest, the coolest, have the most utility or its own special niche of desirability. We really see this product as a fashion brand, and we advertise it as a fashion brand for the hair. This fashion-conscious advertising is what excites the young lady that buys this product. We know where she lives and we knock loud.”

In doing work geared towards the African-American community, Culture A.D. employs a process essentially the same as in any design or advertising project … but the message, with its associated visual and verbal cues, is different. “We still use the same fonts. There is no ‘Ebonics Regular, Light or Oblique.’ It’s simply niche marketing, and the African-American market is something we know thoroughly,” says Brimm. “You have to be mindful of the medium and the reception. We all have filters.”

So what are those things, beyond putting dark-skinned people in the images, that make us aware the communication is for African-Americans? “As a non-black person, you won’t always know if something is for the African-American audience. But they will,” he explains. “It’s a pyschographic approach. We advertise and design for a mind-set. This also involves ethnography, which is knowing and understanding the community. We pull on common —and not-so-common—references from black culture.”

There’s a fine line between tapping into shared metaphors and indulging in stereotypes. Shortcuts can be dangerous, so Culture A.D. challenges itself to deliver fresh ideas. Brimm and his team are comfortable referencing a variety of inspirational sources— graphic design history, ’70s TV sitcoms, current hip hop lyrics and everything in between … all to convey the right cultural qualities to establish an emotional connection. “One key tenet for us is to always evolve the creative,” Brimm says. “We often start with the mundane just to get it out of our heads. Then we push through. ‘Evolution, not circumstance’ is our motto: Evolve the brand or fall victim to current competitive circumstance.”

AFRICAN PRIDE: THE “IT’S THE PRIDE THAT YOU FEEL” CAMPAIGN SELLS THIS HAIR CARE PRODUCT LINE AS A FASHION BRAND ... USING AN 80’S REVIVAL IN STYLE AND TONE. ART DIRECTOR: CRAIG BRIMM; WRITER: BROOKE BRIMM

CULTURE SHIFT
In 2005, Craig’s wife Brooke Brimm became agency manager and primary account executive at Culture A.D. She has a master’s degree in Professional Counseling, and before joining the agency had spent eight years in the field of behavioral science, working mostly in research and evaluation. “We’re just beginning to explore how we can leverage this core competency to intensify our creative approach. I think when we get the formula right it will be explosive,” says Brimm.

Brimm’s vision of his agency’s future is expansive. “Culture A.D. is intended to be ‘The New Black,’” he says, alluding to his intention to redefine African-American advertising. “I’d like for us to be a major part of the modernization of advertising for the African- American market and take it beyond all of current-day advertising. Most of our advertising is conservative. Not due to lack of black talent—there’s more black talent out there than you can imagine. But it’s due to a lack of budget—our clients often don’t have the budget for any experimentation.

“We are such a creative people. African-Americans are responsible for so many new things in this country. Black music was the first music to go around the world and sell in mass quantities. That music includes gospel, blues, jazz and rock. This music transforms and reinvents itself over and over again. I’d like to channel that kind of energy and metamorphosis into black creative. Maybe with enough new creative energy we can surpass the need to have black or white agencies.”