For 18 years, Park Howell has been the owner and chief storyteller of Park&Co, an advertising agency in Phoenix, AZ that exists to build movements that matter.
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The shortest path to the hero’s journey
Have you ever struggled to get an important concept across to your peers? We've all been there. The powerpoint that sucked. The big idea that didn't penetrate smaller minds. The blown story. The unfocused presentation. There is a foolproof way to bring meaning to every pitch. It is the universal story pattern discovered by American mythologist Joseph Campbell called the monomyth, or the hero's journey. This is the best animation I've seen that quickly takes you by the hand through the ...
High performance storytelling drives Audi “Prom” spot for Super Bowl XLVII
Smart brands on the world's most super advertising stage know that powerful storytelling outperforms stupid spots every time. I have held storytelling workshops around the country showing people how to use these proven nine steps – in this order – to standout, engage audiences, and ignite movements. Audi's "Prom" spot is a perfect example. Here's the blow-by-blow breakdown using an abbreviated, but universal, Hero's Journey story structure by Joseph Campbell to show you how great storytelling connects with us on our most primal ...
“If I were a green marketer, I would…”
My pal, Margie Albert over at Focus on Customer Success, asked a great question on her blog this morning. She asked, "If I were an advertiser, I would..." Here's my answer. What's yours? If I were an advertiser or green marketer today, I'd fight the urge to think that social media is a silver bullet. It's not, it's a tactic. I'd seriously question all of the "new media" pundits who bash broadcast advertising. If you can afford TV and radio, they remain among the ...
What advertising storytellers can learn from a model airplane and a prayer
Yesterday, I had the honor of being the keynote presenter for the National Ad2 Mid-year Retreat in Phoenix. Instead of speaking, I chose to share a remarkable story with the young advertising pros to underscore how powerful "Story" is in our craft. Then I challenged them to write their own personal story, and to focus on what truly great things they would like to accomplish. And when I say "Great," I mean something out-of-this-world that is bigger than themselves. All compelling ...
Passionate Storytelling is the Engine Behind Google’s Search Spot
A nice bit of storytelling by Google, and all in the confines of its search window, which makes for one helluva product demo as well. It's so well crafted, that the emotion the spot evokes has attracted more than 4 million views on YouTube. What do you think of it?