12,000 Square Feet of Clucking Fun!

We (Ky for Ky) made an epic ad for our new Kentucky Fun Mall. A commercial we're actually airing on a local Lexington television station. Read all about it on AdWeek and on the Herald Leader. Hell yeah! 

Welcome to the Kentucky Fun Mall, y'all! We've got Kentucky's largest selection of Kentucky gear, Y'ALL gear, Fried Chicken candles, bourbon gear and Southern Socks. Over 12,000 of clucking fun for everyone! We're open M-S 10am-6pm and located at 720 Bryan Ave. Lexington, KY 40505. Shop online at kyforky.com.

C O C A I N E B E A R

Look ma, I'm on tv talking about Cocaine Bear! A local news station (LEX 18) recently stopped by the Kentucky Fun Mall and ran a story on 'Cocaine Bear.' Check the video out below. From there, the story got picked up by Atlas Obscura, Neatorama, Oddity Central and BroBible. Our (Kentucky for Kentucky) beloved Cocaine Bear has become quite the Internet sensation and a top Kentucky tourist destination. If you're not familiar with Pablo EskoBear, read the story here. 

Cocaine Bear has quickly become one of the top tourist attractions in the state. Swing by the Kentucky Fun Mall to check it out! http://www.lex18.com/story/32396777/cocaine-bear-attracts-visitors-to-lexington-business

DIGIDAY AGENCY INNOVATION CAMP

I recently had the great pleasure of attending Digiday’s Agency Innovation Camp in Vail, Colorado as a mentor and a speaker. 

“Digiday’s Agency Innovation Camp is a unique — by invitation only — multi-day event, created for the brightest minds from today’s leading digital advertising agencies. These are the millennials creating change and innovation — the digital natives who are rethinking and reshaping brand communication through technology and a continuously evolving media landscape.

Over the course of three days, these rising digital media stars focus on modern-day media buying, planning and tech innovation in think tank sessions and workshops. An emphasis on collaboration and leadership is woven throughout the camp, as participants are divided into teams to ultimately compete in a Brand Hackathon.”

I had a blast! I absorbed so much positive millenial energy, I feel like I’m ten years younger. Maybe I feel older. I don’t know. There were around 80 young digital natives attending the camp from agencies all over. They were split up into eight teams that competed in a series of challenges. The most important challenge being a big ‘Brand Hackathon’. All of the teams we’re given a brief, a budget and were tasked with coming up with a pitch to be presented in front of a panel of four judges. My team (the Blue Team) put the epic Digiday smack down and WON it all. They took home the trophy for the big ‘Brand Hackathon’ and they took the trophy for being the overall ‘Camp Champions’. Hell yeah, it was an epic victory! 

While at the Digiday Agency Innovation Camp, I gave a 15 minute talk on "How to Sell your Ideas Internally”. It was fun. A brief description of that talk along with a video clip and my presentation slides can be found below. 

“The struggle to sell your ideas is real! For most young professionals, the battle begins right there in their own agency. Way before their idea hits the client, they’ve got to get it through the gauntlet of trained idea killers: the art directors, creative directors, account planners, chief innovation officers, chief strategy officers, chief insight officers, chief technology officers, chief sitting bull, the officer officers, the mailman and the chief chief of agency chiefs. Unfortunately for most, many ideas never make it out of the notebook. It’s not their fault, they’re just not properly trained to fight for their ideas. We’ll discuss how to give those ‘idea killers’ a swift kick to the nuts.”

Ask any successful leader in media or marketing and they'll tell you they didn't - they couldn't have - done it all on their own. Behind every great agency executive you're likely to find a mentor. That's why we've gathered some of the brightest young minds in the the digital advertising space in Vail, Colorado, this week for the annual Digiday Agency Innovation Camp.

The struggle to sell your ideas is real! For most young professionals, the battle begins right there in their own agency. Way before their idea hits the client, they've got to get it through the gauntlet of trained idea killers; the art directors, creative directors, account planners, chief innovation officers, chief strategy officers, the chief insight officers, the chief technology officers, chief sitting bull, the officer officers, the mailman and the chief chief of agency chiefs.

Creative Mornings : How To Bootleg A Brand And Cause A Revolution (in 15 steps)

On June 12th we had the pleasure of speaking at Creative Mornings in Louisville on the topic of Revolution. We had a blast. We talked about our Kentucky Kicks Ass campaign and offered up 15 steps on how we bootlegged the Kentucky brand and caused a little revolution. The video of our presentation is now live and can be viewed below. (Photos via Creative Mornings)

Whit Hiler and Griffin VanMeter, the founders of Kentucky for Kentucky, speak on their "Kentucky Kicks Ass" campaign and share tips on how to start you own little revolution. Kentucky at CreativeMornings Louisville, June 2015. Free events like this one are hosted every month in dozens of cities.

CREATIVE MORNINGS

Myself and Griffin VanMeter (Kentucky for Kentucky) will be speaking at Creative Mornings in Louisville this Friday June 12th from 8:30am-10:00am. We'll be speaking on the topic of Revolution. The event will take place outside at Resurfaced. We'll give away some gear and we'll also have a little Kentucky for Kentucky pop-up-shop set up at the event. We can't wait. The event is free BUT you have to register and seating is limited. Registration opens on Monday June 8th at 9:00am. Register here. 

HORSE HUMPING SOCKS

HELL YEAH. VIDEO BY IAN FRILEY. 

www.kentuckyforkentucky.com It’s time to party Kentucky, the ‘Official Socks of Horse Breeding’ have arrived! Celebrate Kentucky’s awesome $4 billion horse industry with these amazing new socks depicting two thoroughbred horses making sweet Kentucky love. While most of Kentucky (and the world) tends to celebrate horse racing and eventing, we feel there’s a huge opportunity for us to celebrate the breeding. Why celebrate horse breeding? Because breeding is awesome. It’s enjoyable to the horses, just as it is to humans. It also brings in a boatload of cash, around a billion dollars annually. Horse breeding accounts for a majority of the jobs provided by the horse industry here in Kentucky. It takes a lot of man power to handle all of that horse power. Hot damn! Come on y’all, let’s celebrate horse sex… with these socks!

HEAVY METAL BRANDS

"Heavy Metal makes everything better" - that's what my friend in 8th grade once told me right before he bit the head off a baby bat.  To this day, I still think he's right (even though he got rabies).  Heavy Metal does make everything better.  We decided to apply that crazy 8th grader's wisdom to a fun project at Cornett.  Would Heavy Metal make a corporate brand's branding better?  We asked members of the Cornett design team to pick a few different brands and make their branding metal.  Just as we suspected, it worked.  

Credits: Clay Gibson (Tylenol, Benadryl, Kleenex), Matt Newton (American Girl Doll, Fancy Feast, Disney), Matt Bitley (Anthropologie, Lululemon), Randy Steward (Mary Kay, Tampax), Chris Adams (Google), Ivy Oddis (Midol), Lauren Woods (Pinterest) Layout by Kris Ange

Heavy Metal Brands Press

“Heavy metal-inspired typography reinvents iconic logos” - Creative Bloq

“Famous Brand Logos Redesigned With Typography Inspired By Heavy Metal Music” - Design Taxi

“ROCK OUT WITH YOUR FONT OUT: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN BRANDS GET A HEAVY METAL MAKEOVER” - Fast Company

“Corporate Logos Get A Heavy Metal Facelift”-Metal Injection

“Popular Corporate Brands Re-imagined as Metal Logos” - Metal Sucks

“Heavy Metal Brands” - Brand New

“11 corporate logos re-imagined as heavy metal bands” - AUX

Daniel Boone and the Brewgrass Trail

Follow along as legendary Kentucky pioneer and explorer Daniel Boone pounds beer and hits all eight of the craft breweries currently on Lexington's Brewgrass Trail. New Cornett work for Visit Lex. Video by Kong Productions. 

Follow along as legendary Kentucky pioneer and explorer Daniel Boone pounds beer and hits all eight of the craft breweries currently on the Brewgrass Trail. Most know us for bourbon, but over the past several years, many dedicated Kentuckians have applied the same care and craftsmanship to beer in the Bluegrass. Prideful, community-minded brewers, along with passionate and knowledgeable beer lovers have allowed for a unique and thriving local craft beer culture. The Brewgrass Trail offers a chance to experience this scene and try the finest brews that Central Kentucky has to offer. Hop on the trail, and don’t forget to grab a Brewgrass Trail Passport at any of the participating breweries or the Lexington Visitor’s Center! Have it stamped at each brewery you visit, and you’ve earned yourself a one-of-a-kind Brewgrass Trail t-shirt for your trailblazin’ efforts. #ShareTheLex

LEX TALKS

We're doing a LEX TALKS at the Livery in Lexington, KY on Wednesday, April 29th. It's free but you'll need to register if you wanna go. Register here. We'll make sure it gets weird and awkward. 

"Watch the Most Strangely Hilarious Addy Awards Best of Show Acceptance Speech Ever"

Our Kentucky for Kentucky ‘Gold Plated Kentucky Fried Chicken Bone Necklaces’ recently took home the big ‘Best Of Show’ award at the AAF Lexington ADDY Awards. Hell yeah! Unfortunately we could be there to accept the award. We did create (with the help of Ian Friley) this little acceptance speech video that was shown at the event. Apparently the speech was a hit. It was also featured on ADWEEK. Check it out below. 

“Watch the Most Strangely Hilarious Addy Awards Best of Show Acceptance Speech Ever KFC necklaces were just the beginning” - ADWEEK 

Kentucky Fried Chicken Bone Necklaces Wins Best Of Show At The AFF Lexington ADDY Awards. This past weekend, the AAF Lexington ADDY Awards went down. Our ‘Gold-Plated Kentucky Fried Chicken Bone Necklaces’ took home the big badass ‘Best Of Show’ award. Hell yeah. Thank you AAF Lexington, you kick-ass. We also wanted to thank and congratulate all of those involved in bringing this project to life - Meg C Jewelry, Stanley Sievers, Hannah LeGris (LeGangsta) and June Tate. You gals and guys crushed it. Unfortunately, we were unable to attend the big ADDY award show. In lieu of us being there we created this video acceptance speech (created by Ian Friley) that was played during the award show.

http://www.kentuckyforkentucky.com/ In June of 2014 we launched a rad new product called 'Gold Kentucky Fried Chicken Bone Necklaces'. Everyone loved these amazing gold plated chicken bone necklaces. This is a case study about those epic gold KFC bone necklaces. Enjoy. Video by Stanley Sievers.

#SHARETHELEX PART TWO

We just launched a new #ShareTheLex video for VisitLEX. Once again we had a blast working on this. My buddy George crushed it as Daniel Boone and my buddy Ian (Kong Productions) killed it on the video. You can ready more about it on Skift and on the Cornett blog. Check it. 

http://www.visitlex.com/ We'd like to ask for your help in an exciting marketing campaign called "#ShareTheLex." It's a campaign that attracts more visitors to Lexington AND supports local businesses and the local community- all good things, right? Why would we launch a tourism marketing campaign targeting people that already live here, you ask?

KENTUCKY KICKS ASS FLAGS

Loving this new Kentucky for Kentucky video by my buddy Stanley Sievers. Hell yeah. 

http://www.kentuckyforkentucky.com/blogs/news/15512800-kentucky-kicks-ass-flags Kentuckians have been influencing and creating ​universal culture ​since the beginning of time. We were the first to​​ sing ​"​Happy Birthday​"​, fry chicken​ ​and slap high-fives. We invented bourbon, ​Bluegrass music,​ horses​ and​ not to mention​ the Kentucky Derby. We made cool cooler by birthing Clooney, Depp,and Hunter S. Thompson. We raised ​many a strong KY ​woman with ​tales to tell​. ​​Women like Loretta Lynn, Jennifer Lawrence, all the Judds, and Diane Sawyer. We redefined sport​s entertainment​ with Ali, Sea Biscuit, and Rondo. We invented the gas mask, people​...and we'd do it again. ​This week, we’re ​stoked to launch some ​killer ‘Kentucky Kicks Ass’ flags. Kick-ass flags for proud​ kick-ass​ Kentuckians. Flags that let the world know​ who we are and what we do. Celebrate Kentucky's kick-assery with a big ol’ Kentucky Kicks Ass’ flag. Hell yeah. 100 flags​ will be​ available this Friday (October 3rd, 2014) at 10:00am. ​These babies are made in the USA, and showcase double-sided "Kentucky Kicks Ass" logo detail designed by Cricket Press. Flags are crafted from a durable poly-blend and are measure 3' x 5'. They're to be flown with pride. Perfect for: Proud Kentuckians, Old Kentucky Homes, Boats, Recreational Vehicles, ATV’s, Businesses, Offices, Campsites, Festivals, Events, Boarders, ​Lovers & beyond. ​ Video by Stanley Sievers. Music: "My Old Kentucky Home" & Dying Fetus "Your Treachery Will Die With You"