Fun Stuff

This year's Christmas video is a take-off on all those dad joke competitions we've been seeing online and on TV. We just replaced the bad dad jokes with bad marketing jokes. 
 

Terry Lesniewicz has been creating memorable images and effective work for brands since the early 1970s.

And as the creative leader of d2i - our brand, design and advertising agency - Terry is still makin’ it happen today, as both an impactful designer and a mentor to the next generation.

On April 19th, 2017, Terry and a few other area designers were featured in an informal retrospective called The Poster Show. Check out the images of Terry's work below.

We’re very proud of the influence that Terry has had on advertising and design, and we’re very excited that he shares his talent, perspective and vast experience with our team and clients every day.

"It's been a pleasure working with the up-and-coming designers here at d2i, including Greg Stawicki. He was instrumental in the work for the Mad Ave Collective poster" (middle row left  below). 

What's the best possible way to wrap up the work week before Easter Sunday?

Sure, a turkey shoot is one possible answer, but we were looking for "an Easter egg hunt in a sometimes dimly lit 65-year-old basement," of course.

Take a look at the video above and enjoy the intensity of Mad Ave Group staff members scrounging through boxes, old files and other cellar goodies in search of more than $200 in cash, gift cards and mini peanut butter cups.

Since 2009, our annual Christmas gift to you and yours has been a video - primarily because we don't know which size riding crop you take.

This year's presentation is sure to warm your heart, and possibly leave it cramping mildly. We call it "Christmas Thoughts." Feel free to share it with those for whom you have little to no regard. Merry Christmas. 

Related Posts: The Virtual Fruitcake (2014)
Christmas Memories (2013)
The Singing Christmas Card (2012)
A Green Screen Christmas (2011)
Our Video Christmas Card (2010)
What I Want for Christmas (2009)

Our home - 1600 Madison Avenue in Toledo's UpTown District - is about 65 years old.

But she's not ready to retire yet.

Our building has been the site of many businesses over the years, including an architectural firm, a state license bureau, and a financial services company.

It was also the headquarters of a public relations and advertising agency called Flournoy and Gibbs, which was founded around 1938. At least some of the years they spent at 1600 Madison would have been considered the Mad Men era. And, yes, the excesses depicted in the AMC television show were consistent with what Terry Lesniewicz saw as a young designer while here in the early 1970s.

After running his own advertising and design firm for many decades, Lesniewicz is back on the fourth floor of what is now the Mad Ave Group building, leading the D2I team.

Many things have changed about our building since it opened in 1950 - from the alcohol-fueled workdays to the fins on the cars in the parking lot - but it's still a place where people come together each day to harness their skills and creativity to make great work.

("Block Card 1600 Madison Avenue 1960" image courtesy of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, obtained from http://images2.toledolibrary.org/) 

We love our work, but sometimes even we need a certain kind of stimulation to get us through the last few hours of the week. 

Watch the video below. Maybe you can relate. 

 What do we do when a beloved member of our staff breaks a bone and is forced to hobble about the office on crutches for six to eight weeks?  

Why, we make fun of her, of course!

And that fun includes creating a trailer for a spooky movie in which she and her jacked-up fibula might star. Take a look...if you dare. 

We're big fans of The Onion, the satirical newspaper and website that poke fun at everything from major news events to the mundane aspects of life.

During a recent Creative Training session, we listened to a radio program that examined the Onion staff's writing process; specifically, how they decide which headlines they'll develop into full-blown stories.

Our exercise was to write our own Onion-style headlines over the next couple of weeks, bring them back to the group, and then choose the ones we like the best.

Here now, our favorites among the Oniony headlines we wrote.

• Face Tattoo Impresses Prospective Employer
  
  
• Unwanted Belly Fat Tied to Larger Waistlines
  
  
• Obama Announces Funk Sanctions on Rhythm Nation
  
  
• New Evidence Reveals Carrots to Be "Straight Up Poison"
  
  
• Multi-Orgasmic Atheist Searching for Name to Scream
  
  
• Report: 60 Percent of Staycations Taken in Bathroom
  
  
• Airline Food Has "Had Enough" of Comedic Put-Downs
  
  
• Friends Say Jim Howard the Best at Skipping Commercials on DVR
  
  
• Local Zookeeper Concerned About Peacock's Lack of Humility
  
  
• Origin of Living Room Stain Still a Mystery
  
  
• Groundhog to Nation: "You're All Screwed"
  
  
• Tours of Sausage Factories Rarely Attended
  
  
• Facebook Buys WhatsApp from Itself for $50 Billion
  
  
• Study Reveals Children Develop "Judgey" Behavior In Utero
  
  
• Local Drywall Contractor Not a Fan of Open-Concept Floor Plans
  
  
• Ray Rice Announces New Line of White Tank-Top T-shirts
  
  
• Dieting News: Other People's Food Doesn't Count
  
  
• Boston Sues for Emancipation from Mother Nature
  
  
• Area Farmer a More Reserved Square Dancer

"Flapjacks are a celebration of life," according to Valerie Likens, our Vice President of Account Management and Fulfillment.

It's that philosophy that serves as the foundation of one of the most-anticipated events in our region - or at least our building.

Mrs. Likens' Old-Fashioned Flapjack Festival is an annual pancake party that combines free flapjacks with the basic human need to eat free flapjacks.

"It's a match made in heaven," shouted Fulfillment Manager Susan Harris after finishing her fourth short stack.

"That's an exceptional flapjack," said Nikki Brown, her chin covered in warm syrup.

"It does my heart good to see people enjoying my old-fashioned flapjacks," said Mrs. Likens. When asked what makes them "old-fashioned," she replied, "Mainly the ingredients. I use a lot of army surplus flour. Korean War era."

Watch the short video below for an exclusive interview with Mrs. Likens.