THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 4, 1994 TAG: 9408020167
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
When Norfolk free-lancers Bill Owen and Mark Atkinson set out two years ago to woo national advertising dollars to their newly formed partnership, they started by identifying the worst ads in Forbes magazine.
The winner in their bad-ad contest was Bear Stearn, a multimillion-dollar investment banking company.
The two visual artists designed the ad their way and sent it off to Bear Stearn executives in New York, all the while knowing that the unsolicited work would likely land in someone's trash can.
Undaunted, a few days later they followed up with a phone call.
Expecting a brush-off, Owen and Atkinson instead received an offer to come to New York and talk. Within a week, the Norfolk artists had landed a lucrative advertising account from Bear Stearn executives.
``They loved it,'' Owen, the graphic artist of the team, said of their ad depicting an apple wrapped in dollar bills. Atkinson is the photographer.
``They said they had our ad plastered all over the office,'' Owen added. ``We couldn't believe it. It just showed us the power of good ideas and that people respond to that.''
Since then, this creative duo and their Norfolk-based Otto Visual Arts Communication company have made a name for themselves on the national advertising scene and in editorial circles. They've designed Bear Stearn ads for Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and other national magazines.
They've done promotional pieces for George Washington Medical School, the NASCAR racing team of Winslow Motor Sports and Operation Smile International. Atkinson has done editorial photography for Time, Esquire, Newsweek and other top-notch magazines. Last year, he shot three cover photos for The Washington Magazine, including one that featured Hillary Rodham Clinton.
``I didn't want to go to my grave without doing the kind of work I really wanted to do,'' said Atkinson, 39, a former newspaper reporter and photographer. ``I wanted to play with the big guys.''
Now, ``If I had the big one (and die) over the weekend, I know I've done what I wanted.''
Added Owen, a 42-year-old Norfolk native who once worked as advertising director for Port Folio: ``We said in the beginning we wanted to have some fun. And we have. I see what I do as play.''
After years of running into each other professionally, Atkinson and Owen joined forces two years ago to collaborate on a slick, hardbound book of Atkinson's color photographs commemorating Operation Smile's 10th anniversary. Atkinson has been shooting photos for the medical mission since its inception.
Fed up with compromising their creative ideas and the financial limitations of local advertising work, and buoyed by the quality of the Operation Smile project, the two began to toy with the idea of forming an agency that ``shot for something higher.''
``We started asking each other, `Are we doing what we really want to do?' '' Atkinson recalled. ``We really wanted to develop some clients outside the area and convince people to do work the way we saw things. We felt like we'd really outgrown the area. I love living here but it's not growing a whole lot from an advertising standpoint. From a style standpoint, the area doesn't have a consistent style and it's very hard to educate people. We wanted to do work that wasn't questioned so much.''
Owen agreed. ``We wanted to dig a bit deeper, and spend more time and energy on our projects,'' he said. ``If the path has been walked, we don't want to go down it again. We're spending other people's money so why not take a chance? There's always an answer out there you just have to be bold enough and have the courage to find it.''
Pumped with confidence and a burning desire to compete in the major leagues, the Otto partners never believed, in this age of computer and telecommunications wizardry, that they had to relocate to Madison Avenue to compete. Eighteen months ago, they set up a studio in a Colley Avenue loft with the help of Atkinson's long-time associate, Joey Mishkofski.
Today, the three still conduct business from there, although trips to New York and D.C. for photo shots and client consultations are frequent. The agency also maintains an office/apartment in Alexandria.
They bill themselves as seasoned veterans who have a fresh, sophisticated, yet fun, vision for communicating ideas.
``We are not young turks with a grudge,'' proclaims an Otto promotional brochure. ``But experienced professionals that are happy to blow some life into products, services and communications that need a little daring and personality in a world that sometimes, sadly, settles for less. You want more. And we are prepared to deliver.''
Others agree. According to client Debbie Carr, owner of The Cage, an upscale Hampton Road's women's boutique, Owen and Atkinson ``really get the feel of what we want to do.''
``They've got a real `with-it' outlook,'' Carr said. ``I've had companies come and ask me, after seeing their work, `What New York company did that ad?' I just smile and say, `Why do you have to be from New York to do top quality work?' They're that good.''
Some of Otto's promotions for The Cage have been so successful, in fact, that national clothing manufacturers have asked to purchase them for their own use.
``We did one for Eric Steward, the sweater designer,'' Carr recalled.
``It had this little girl pictured in one of their sweaters. We did dynamite business after that promotion and so did the company. They just loved the ad, and asked if they could use it, too.''
With clients like The Cage and Bear Stearns keeping them busy, Otto now has ``as much work as we can handle without bringing in free-lancers,'' Atkinson said. Whether to expand further is a question Atkinson and Owen will tackle this coming year.
``There's a lot of angst that goes on here, a lot of pressure,'' Atkinson explained. ``We have our moments of high anxiety. A lot of things can go wrong. What we sell is not tangible. A lot of it is air. But you have to believe in yourself . . . and we do. And you have to be committed to your downtown. Life is not all work.
``Now, finally, we're in a position to control and construct life the way we want. . . . It's a great place to be.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
Mark Atkinson, Bill Owen and Joey Mishkofski say they have a fresh,
sophisticated, yet fun, vision for communicating ideas.
Atkinson shot this photo of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
by CNB