These Gerber social posts were created by myself and Megan Heim throughout our internship at Ogilvy, NY. We were mostly assigned to work with this client and so we created a lot of projects for them, some of which were published, and some of which I unfortunately cannot show until they are released. I'm happy to share that the posts Megan and I had created were the trending posts of the month at the time and had received a lot of traction!
Below I have separated the projects into sections with in-depth analysis and explanations of each step.
The Brief
Brands have been jumping in on the self-referential trend of showing a pie chart of what their comments look like. Gerber has an extremely engaged fan base of parents who love a good shout out.
Why It Works
The post would be a funny, engaging, and playful way to combine a meme with the excitement that came with the photo search this year. Other brands such as Taco bell have also successfully used this meme to do the same.
Desired Outcome
To engage with followers who most often interact with Gerber, and to get them to smile at the truth in the humor of the pie chart. It's also an opportunity to show the Gerber brand as having a cheeky playful tone.
Color Palette & Assets Used
These were the assets that I had created and used for the Daycare Giveaway social post. I was inspired by the idea of a child growing up and getting their first backpack for their next stage in life. I wanted to stick with a simple illustration style that felt like the Gerber brand, which meant minimal to no outlines and solid colors. Overall the designing aspect was my strong suit and I was excited to exercise my artistic muscles!
**I only illustrated the cabbage and apple out of all the fruits. The other illustrations were pre-made before my internship by another designer.**
Color Palette
Illustration Assets
Background Wave Illustration Assets
SOCIAL POST FIRST DRAFTS
My Copywriting partner and I had started the illustrations on Canva at first to plot out what the design would look like going forward. I continued creating illustrations on Illustrator and would check in with our head Art Directors for feedback. The first draft of the posts contained stock images as placeholders in case we decided to go with photographs instead of illustration. Gerber wanted to distance themselves from using too much illustration at the time, and so we were still coming to a consensus on the look of the post. This was also the time when we were playing around with background colors and copy as well.
Giveaway First Slide - Created On Canva by Myself
Giveaway Entry Rules - Created On Canva by Megan Heim
Giveaway Carousel First Slide - Created On Illustrator by: Myself, Copywriting by: Megan Heim
Giveaway Carousel First Slide V2 - Created On Illustrator by: Myself, Copywriting by: Megan Heim
Giveaway Carousel First Slide V3 - Created On Illustrator by: Myself, Copywriting by: Megan Heim
Giveaway Coupon Slide - Created On Illustrator by: Myself, Copywriting by: Megan Heim
FINAL SOCIAL POST stills
Eventually we decided to go with a more illustrative style, and in line with previous Gerber posts, kept the simple wave pattern. The idea that I had in mind for the animation was that the backpack would unzip and the words "Win $20K For Daycare Tuition!" would pop out of the bag. The waves would move along with the fruits and the backpack would zip off screen, being replaced by a $5 gift card. The gift card would spin as the text changes, and then also zip off screen. Lastly the call to action would pop up on the empty screen with an excitable partying emoji!🥳
Illustrations by: Myself | Copywriting by: Megan Heim
SOCIAL POST & ANIMATION FEATURED ON OFFICIAL INSTAGRAM
Due to time constraints, and my lack of animation skills, the animation was delegated to another designer in a different Ogilvy office. I compiled the assets and had detailed the specifics of the animation and what each slide represented in a shared Keynote document. This designer took my illustrations and animation directions and created this wonderful social post! Megan had created the copy in the post and in the description which aided in the project becoming an utter success!
Outcome + Reflections + Next Steps
I wish I was able to create the animations for this social post on my own. If I could travel back in time with the animation skills I have currently, I'm sure I could pull it off one way or another. Something I also realized is that it can be hard to describe how animation should be handled. Although the animation was very well done, it was not exactly as I had pictured in my mind. Taking away from this experience, I need to figure out how to communicate more effectively in the future so that my ideas come across better. Overall I appreciated the chance at working on this project with my partner who was wonderful at every step of the way. I definitely learned a lot from the Art Directors advising me, and will carry on what I have learned from this project!
COLOR PALETTE & ASSETS USED
Due to this being another Gerber project, the color palette is the same for this social post. I did my best to scour all of Gerber's photo assets for Puffs to decorate the post with. Lastly I incorporated the wave pattern as the other post in order to keep everything visually cohesive.
Color Palette
Pie Chart Illustration Asset & Photographed Puffs
Background Wave Illustration Asset
GERBER PUFFS - FIRST DRAFTS
The team which consisted of myself, Megan, and our head Art Directors, really debated on what the final outcome for the post would be. We wanted to create something that would not be seen as offensive but would still show the humor behind Gerber. Personally, we all really loved the idea of the larger part of the pie chart being the parents eating the puffs, which would be wildly exaggerated, but very funny. Unfortunately the idea was dropped due to the possibility of it seeming like Gerber babies don't like/ eat the Puffs as much as the parents. We also played around with TGIF, but that didn't stick in the end as well.
GERBER PUFFS - FINAL INSTAGRAM POST
I was delighted to see the outcome of this social post. All of the comments were funny and endearing and made me laugh out loud. I was happy to see the amount of attention it had received, although some part of me still wishes I could've seen the post with the parents eating most of the Puffs go live.
Puffs Instagram Social Post
Outcome + Reflections + Next Steps
Although this was a relatively simple project compared to others I have created, I realized that a lot went into the process of getting a post accepted before being released to the public. We have to take into account of the possibility of receiving unintentional backlash and avoid controversy sometimes, even if it was silly or common sense. As sad as I was not to see the original concept published, I was still happy with the outcome and am glad to have brought smiles to those who have seen the post. Overall I learned the intricacies of each social post and how well thought out they are, and will continue to remind myself of this with every future project I work on.
The Real Babies Of Gerber + Up With Baby 2AM Starter Pack
Although I did not create all these posts, I did have a hand in helping our Art Directors in tweaking images and fixing things. Megan helped with some brainstorming at some points as well. Though we cannot claim these projects as our own, we did have fun learning under and working with our Art Directors.
The Real Babies Of Gerber Live Post:
Up With Baby 2AM Starter Pack Live Post:
The Real Babies Of Gerber
The Real Babies Of Gerber
Up With Baby At 2AM Starter Pack
Overall Outcome + Reflections + Next Steps
My internship at Ogilvy was a whirlwind of fun, learning, and lots of ups and downs in terms of confidence. I definitely felt unsure of myself and my abilities, despite being chosen to intern at Ogilvy and found myself questioning my every move and my work. By the end of the internship however, due to the Gerber projects and seeing their outcomes, I had gained more confidence in my design and proved that I could make things that influence others. Although these were not groundbreaking projects by any means, they definitely changed my outlook on life and my creations. I also learned what it is like to work as an Art Director and about the process of collaborating with a Copywriter. Megan was wonderful and definitely my pillar of strength throughout our project during times I felt unsure or defeated. Overall I had grown a lot due to this internship and the work I had created and will forever be grateful for my time at Ogilvy.
