Schaefer Advertising Co.

Case Studies

August 30, 2013

This is just the beginning

We created this spot for TCU last summer for their inaugural season in the Big 12. With TCU’s first game tomorrow against LSU it felt like a good time to post the spot. We were very proud to work with TCU on this project and be apart of the historic moment for the university.

August 26, 2013

Reverse litter

In an effort to bring awareness to the consequences that littering can have on Metroplex waterways, our client Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) partnered with several cities in the DFW Metroplex to develop a campaign called Reverse Litter.
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Our campaign featured four :15 TV spots that aimed at showing how litter on land ultimately ends up in our waterways. Every bit of these TV spots are real (no CGI animation was used), which made for a lot of planning to ensure we could create seamless transitions from scene to scene.
Click on the screenshots to view each spot, or learn more about our Reverse Litter campaign by clicking here.
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Each spot focuses on the most frequently found litter in our waterways: aluminum cans, styrofoam cups, plastic bottles and plastic bags.
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The emphasis of the campaign is that accidents do happen and you can unintentionally litter even when you don’t really mean to. Luckily, we can all be a part of the solution and help reverse litter by being more mindful of our actions and by lending a helping hand and picking up litter that you find near your home, office, school, street or playground.
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August 19, 2013

Croppin’ up

In anticipation of the Clearfork Main Street Bridge opening, which would open up traffic through Clearfork for the first time, we wanted to develop on-site signage that would call motorists’ attention to sheer size of the land and tease what was to come.

Rather than putting up traditional banners or billboard signage, we created a concept that used larger than life words to describe the soul of Clearfork. The words were placed at strategic points on the property and were made to appear as if they had grown out of the land. Thus, we referred to the project internally as the Clearfork word crops.

June 22, 2013

The one thing

It’s easy to say that a hospital is there for a community, but Medical Center Arlington has the numbers to back it up. That’s why we put their stats front and center for their annual marketing campaign. We used brand colors and bold, three-dimensional numbers to highlight MCA’s many benefits to the people in and around Arlington. And what better place to engage than at the Ballpark in Arlington?

Rangers fans were introduced to the advanced services MCA offers right in their own backyard with both traditional and digital messaging throughout the ballpark. The takeaway? For all of their advanced care offerings, their priority is always one thing: the patient.

Happy Friday, everyone. And to the Rangers fans among you, happy Home Opener Day as well.

This season is particularly exciting for us because one of our clients, Nolan Ryan’s Beef, is beginning their reign as official beef and hot dog sponsor of the Texas Rangers. While this probably isn’t the most shocking news you’ve heard all week, it does mean you can look forward to some pretty tasty food at the ballpark this year.

It’s been a scramble to get everything done in time for today’s game, but it’s also been a lot of fun. One of our first assignments was to create a ten-second jumbotron animation to promote dollar dog nights. Now, to be fair, dollar dogs kind of sell themselves. Apparently, senior designer Charlie Howlett recognized this and chose to use it to his advantage.

Everyone, meet Howdy, the official Hot Dog of Nolan Ryan’s Beef. Be sure to keep an eye out for him next time you’re at the ballpark.


Recently, I caught up with Charlie outside the Schaefer men’s room to see what he had to say about creating a new American icon.

Scott: So Charlie, what do you have to say about creating a new American icon?
Charlie: I can only hope he becomes an American icon.
SYou’re being too modest. So how did Howdy come about?
C: It was pretty natural, actually.
S: Care to expand on that?
C: Well, [creative director] Todd and I got the assignment and decided we needed to create a character – a walking hot dog. So I sketched him out on the window with a dry erase marker and we knew we were onto something special.
S: Were you worried the client wouldn’t go for him?
C: We always hope that clients will find the humor…
S: Slow down, I can’t type that fast.
C: Well, you should record it. That’s what real journalists do.
S: I’m not a real journalist, Charlie.
C: Fine. We. Always. Hope…
S: Stop it.
C: (laughs) We always hope clients will find the humor in what we do. Luckily, the NRB folks loved it.
S: So how did we land on the name Howdy?
C: We had been tossing some names around, but it was the client who suggested “Howdy.” That’s when we knew they loved him as much as we did. (pauses) We thought he had legs before…
S: (groans)
C: …but that’s when we knew he could really run.
S: (groans louder)
C: That’s the truth, Scott. That’s how it happened.
S: Sure it is. Anything else?
C: Actually, seeing Howdy helped my (3-year-old) son get a better idea of what I do all day.
S: Well, not all day, but that’s cool. So is he a fan of Howdy?
C: He is.
S: That’s how you know you nailed it. Well, thanks for taking the time to chat with me, Charlie.
C: My pleasure, Scott. I’m going to go get a hot dog. It’s Opening Day, you know.
S: I did know that. That’s what this blog is about.
C: So are you going to take me out to the ballgame? You know, take me out to the crowd?
S: Okay, I think we’re done here.