Walmart was a big sponsor of the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans, and they wanted to have a large presence on the main floor of the convention center. We knew that the target was very much into the wellness space that year, and a certain album release from a certain Queen B also had women connecting to their royal roots.

So I lead a creative team to develop the Reign On campaign, focusing on mind, body and soul as the touch points. I created 3 unique thrones that featured actual items that can be purchased at Walmart (required), then partnered with The Mill Chicago to bring each throne to life through 3D animation. I oversaw the design and rendering of each object, and multiple rounds of revisions and approvals. These beautiful animations finally came to life on 20ft. LCD screens at Essence Fest to wonderful reception.

The clients also decided to run these animation assets on their digital and social channels, along with a print ad later developed.

ARE YOU R.U.?

While working on the Reese’s account developing our usual Will Arnett led, orange world one-liners, the client had an opportunity. They were the recurring main candy sponsors during March Madness and the Senior Bowl, but really had no connection to college sports whatsoever. Just an in-store promo that never really got much traction.

The client already had a design team working on college themed swag for the promo giveaway, but we said let’s give Reese’s fans an actual college to root for. We developed a long-form promo video that takes itself as serious as they do PB and chocolate, and two additional 15s to run specifically during the college football and basketball windows.

We had to scout the perfect campus that was a mix of history and forward-thinking, and cast a diverse student body that was hungry for success and candy, and create a curriculum complete with book covers, all during the pandemic. Did I mention we wrote a fight song? But hey, we’d do anything the Ol’ Orange and Brown.

We found that this target has worked hard to have the means and freedom to take their playtime seriously, and want a car that reflects their style and spontaneity. For the 2019 Avalon we follow a couple through a series of videos, as they recreate childhood games in their own unique way.

Sometimes it’s better to not avoid the elephant in the room. Historically, African Americans have never felt comfortable venturing into desolate, unfamiliar terrain. We used this simple truth to develop a campaign for Toyota’s RAV4 Adventure Grade, which attempted acknowledged African American fear, while also demystifying the notion of exploring the great outdoors. To pull this off, we recreated horror movie tropes, that allowed the versatile features of the RAV4 Adventure Grade, to shine through in heroic fashion.

Imagine four happy-go-lucky friends, taking a RAV4 Adventure Grade, on a long trip, deep in the woods. Sounds scary, doesn’t it? In this digital campaign, we humorously prove adventures can actually be fun, and the outdoors, aren’t always as scary as they sound.

Art director/ co-writer in this expansive digital content campaign for the launch of the RAV4 Hybrid. 

The task was to educate and entertain AA consumers on hybrid technology, and put to bed their fears and misconceptions about ownership.

I created the character Ravelle Forman, (see what I did there?) a retired Driver's Ed instructor to teach a class of various students, who each embody a hybrid myth/ concern. 

RaVelle Forman was played by the hilarious Michael Keegan Key from Key and Peele. My partner and I worked closely with him and his writer to help bring this character to life. The entire campaign was shot by Tucker Gates, the director from The Office and Parks and Recreation. 

To launch the daring new C-HR crossover, we teamed with Saatchi & Saatchi and other Toyota agencies, to flip the script on well-known fairytales. Our "flip" was on Little Red Riding Hood--she's older, wiser, and more mischievous, on her way to the trendy night spot GeeGee's. 

Home field, home court, home turf. They all come with a so-called advantage. But in the game of life, the biggest wins happen on the road. 

This is the story of a Corolla driver that is leaving home for a new life. As he leaves his city, he flashbacks to all the exciting moments that happened while he was on the road. The Running of the Bulls in New Orleans, Electric Forest Fest in Michigan, all shaped his decision to leave home. 

And speaking of leaving your comfort zone, this was my first taste of how taxing a night shoot can be. 

I played writer/ art director on this campaign, and had the pleasure of working with then rookie QB Tyrod Taylor of the Buffalo Bills. 

This campaign aimed to prove that Camry drivers, although seen as boring, have some bold wishes deep down. And with their Camry, anything is possible... within budget. 

For the digital content, we continued the story of our Camry driver, trying to return to normal life after making his Bold Wish. But this was a wish that keeps on giving. 

The french director Stylewar (yes that's his name), really took my concept of an artist and his Corolla in a gallery space, to the next level. Every contraption was built to be triggered by the Corolla as it drove over some kind of switch or button. 

Just a taste of the good stuff. 

For years, the Toyota Camry has been viewed as a practical purchase. It’s biggest selling point was reliability, making it one of the most trusted vehicles in the world. But the all-new Camry comes with aggressive style, sport-like handling, and a premium audio system. This is a Camry for the emotionally driven.

Partnering with our other Toyota agencies we created the “Sensations” campaign, to demonstrate what it feels like to drive the all-new Camry. The thrill of the handling, the indulgence of the red interior, and “boom” of JBL speakers. For African Americans, style is the most important attribute of new vehicle purchases, so Burrell created Strut, to show how new style gives our hero the feeling of being in a one-man parade, complete with theme music.

For print, Burrell partnered with CATK studio in Germany to bring to life the power of premium JBL audio. The image is completely CGI, including the vehicle. We designed the “Boom” to resemble center stage concert speakers, making the Camry the best seat in the house.

This was my first brand where the client really allowed me to take the reigns, and apply my love of hip hop culture to its messaging in order to bring Reese's Puffs into the eye of pop culture. I wrote all the song lyrics as well as art direction for each campaign over the years, which spawned a ton of YouTube spoofs.