INSPIRATION
The Circus:
As mentioned in my bio, I love the circus. The fascination began when I was 2 years old and living in Leuven, Belgium. My parents took me to see a Romanian gypsy troupe perform acrobatics, and I was captivated.
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Since then, I have been a circus enthusiast. In 1st grade I started gymnastics, and in 3rd grade I received a Ribbon Poi set. In 2009, I taught myself how to unicycle, and by 11th grade I began taking Aerial Silks, Pole, and Lyra workshops. Senior year of HS presented an opportunity to train partner acrobatics and partner unicycling for a circus show, working with previous Barnum and Bailey performers. (See video for a compilation reel of tricks).
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Oldies Songs:
In addition to circus performances, I find inspiration when commercials use audio to help propagate a brand's story. More specifically, I love when commercials utilize old music. The combination of familiarity and newness makes the spots memorable and nostalgic. Here's a ranking of my favorite ads that follow this style.
Now that I live in Nashville and outside of D.C., the opportunities to take circus classes have increased exponentially. Most recently, I have begun training in Flying Trapeze. I also have plans to train in Cyr Wheel this year, which was recently featured in a Chase commercial.
My favorite part about the circus? It combines the beauty of dance with the limitations of the human body. It's entertaining. It's dangerous. And it's fun.
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Plain and simple, the circus inspires me. If I'm in a rut, I watch performances online to rejuvenate. It gets my creative juices flowing, and it's a fun hobby.
1.) I'm an Elvis fangirl, so obviously this spot from Energy BBDO tops my list. Not only does it feature an older song, but the storyline and the "Give Extra, Get Extra" tagline at the end make this an ad I love to revisit. Plus, Haley Reinhart's cover is hard to beat.
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2.) More recently, Adidas has released a trio of spots under the "ORIGINAL is never finished" campaign. The combination of classic "originals" and current pop culture + trends work well with the cover of Frank Sinatra's song "My Way" (that Elvis also covered, cough cough.)
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3.) Is it obvious that I like Elvis yet? Jose Cuervo used the king's 1960 song "Now or Never" in this apocalyptic ad. It's fun, tells a story, and fits the tequila brand well.
4.) The next spot, a Downy campaign, features a Toronto children's choir singing Spandau Ballet's 1983 song "Gold." While my favorite spot in the series is no longer online, this basketball themed one is also fun.
I love the combination of Music and Visuals. I believe it is a key tool to successful storytelling, and it's part of the reason I want to go into advertising. When I'm trying to brainstorm an idea, I seek inspiration in many places. I love the circus and I love oldies songs. I believe these unique interests show my sense of adventure and help me to "think outside the box" --- which will help me in this creative industry.
