Good Day Advertising

[Jingle: Good Day Advertising — the DMV edition]

Jingle: Good morning, DC, Maryland and Virginia. We are broadcasting to you from Portland, Oregon. And Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. Which is closer, but still not the DMV. Not even close.

Jingle: We have four member agencies in the area. Colorado had 20. We said we weren’t going to bring up Colorado. It’s fine. They can’t hear us.

Jingle: Baltimore would like you to know it is not the DMV. Richmond is just happy to be invited. Go-go is the official music here, and we respect the law. Unlike 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Because it’s Good Day Advertising, on IndieHQ Radio. And no, we are not playing the John Denver song. Good Day Advertising.

Zanger: How about we start this over? Oh my God. All right. Well, there’s our little jingle. Good morning, everyone. More technical difficulties. Here’s what happened. Number one: I stepped on my headphones last night. They’re my wonderful gift from Robert Douglas at Left Off Madison Avenue. It’s late, I’m fumbling around in the dark, and I hear this crunch.

Kyle: Ouch.

Zanger: And sure enough, the left ear is dangling. So I need a backup. The backup is in my son’s room, he’s still asleep, and I don’t know where it is, because, you know, teenager.

Zanger: So, Doug Zanger. Kyle O’Brien here. Let’s just reset this sucker. Good God, Lemon.

Kyle: That’s right, Liz Lemon.

Zanger: We do this every Friday. Good Day Advertising. Last week we did Colorado. Today it’s the DMV, and we’re not talking about the Department of Motor Vehicles. It’s DC, suburban Maryland, Northern Virginia. Every record you hear has a connection to it, and every agency we talk about is one of ours.

Zanger: And we have a Show Off at Yes& in Alexandria, Tuesday the 13th. It’ll be up on the show page, because after each show we curate one. Technical advertising term. Curate.

Kyle: We’re gonna circle back to curating.

Zanger: This is our third show, so we’re getting some of the kinks out. And we will have a UK show that will probably feature the Kinks.

Kyle: Is there a segue to the Kinks I don’t know about?

Zanger: I tried, and I failed miserably. Anyway, coming up: a Virginia agency that just bought its third B2B shop in 18 months. A Bethesda agency that took “take a hike” and turned it into 86 million dollars in media. And a song with a DC connection that we’re going to mention and absolutely not play.

Zanger: Three records to start, and we start where DC starts. Go-go. It’s E.U. It’s IndieHQ Radio, the DMV Show.

Zanger: I love that song. Oddisee, “NNGE.” It stands for Never Not Getting Enough. He grew up in Prince George’s County.

Kyle: There you go.

Zanger: Toine’s in that one. He said the production on that one was inspired by the native sounds of DC music. It’s The Iceberg. It’s definitely a top five for me, without a doubt. It might be my favorite album, period.

Kyle: Really? That’s good. It’s dang good. But best album? That’s quite a big matzo ball you’re putting out there.

Zanger: I am putting a big matzo ball out there, and I got the backup headphones.

Kyle: I can tell. They’re not dangling.

Zanger: Zanger in Portland, Kyle in Jim Thorpe, Pennsy. It is Good Day Advertising, the DMV. If you happen to be listening and want to get on with us, just send us a note and we’ll get you the instructions.

Zanger: Before that, Van McCoy, “The Hustle.” Born in Washington, number 1 on the Hot 100. Guess the year, Kyle.

Kyle: I think that was ’75, ’76.

Zanger: ’75.

Kyle: Hey, got it right the first time.

Zanger: That’s right. “Get It Right the First Time.” Vastly underrated Billy Joel song, by the way.

Kyle: It is an underrated song, but that’s New York, so we’ll come to that eventually.

Zanger: We opened with the butt. It sounds really great, white dude saying it.

Kyle: We opened with the butt.

Zanger: E.U., Experience Unlimited. DC go-go band since 1975. Spike Lee commissioned that for School Daze, and in ’88, when we were both in college, it went to number 1 on Billboard’s R&B chart.

Kyle: Oh, I remember it well.

Zanger: In 2020, DC made go-go the official music of the District. So this was not a song choice. It was compliance.

Zanger: All right, let’s talk about our class in DC. A reminder that we have a Show Off at Yes& over in Alexandria. Very easy to get to. Hop the Metro, get yourself to King Street, and it’s legitimately a two-minute walk to the agency.

Kyle: And it’s an awesome space.

Zanger: Member or not, you get five minutes to show off your work, a little Q&A, a good hang, and it’s brought to us by Goodway Group. So thank you to the team at Goodway Group.

Zanger: One of the first to start with us, all those years ago: Artemis Ward in DC. Colin Moffett and Joel Daly started it in 2014, and they were our first member in Washington. Model B, also DC. Chris Perkins. Big Perk.

Kyle: Yo, Big Perk.

Zanger: I call him Big Perk. I don’t know if he likes that or not.

Kyle: I don’t think anybody else does, but go ahead.

Zanger: You know what? I’ve had a morning. I do not need the insubordination. I’m kidding. Can I hear the butt again? I probably do need the insubordination.

Zanger: RP3, up in Bethesda, Beth Johnson. And Yes&, hosting this great event. Colorado had 20. So we’re a fifth of the way there.

Zanger: But let’s talk a little about DMV extended. Up 95 in Balmer: Planit and Unrivaled Studio. Planit, you went there, didn’t you?

Kyle: I went there. My God, what a space. They do such good work. They were nice enough to invite me to their 30th shindig. It was an amazing experience.

Zanger: That agency’s been around a minute, so that’s very cool. And Unrivaled is going to be presenting at the Show Off. I’m excited about that.

Zanger: Down 95 in Richmond.

Kyle: Not much of an advertising town.

Zanger: I was there for a year. In spirit.

Kyle: At the Martin Agency. You went in on occasion.

Zanger: Exactly. Familiar Creatures, Dotted Line, Tilt. We’ve been talking to more Richmond agencies, and I think we’re going to do a happy hour down there for sure.

Kyle: Such a great town.

Zanger: Familiar Creatures took silver for Small Agency of the Year at Ad Age’s Small Agency Awards this summer. Ten people or fewer, revenue up 32 percent last year. They also won a Radio Mercury Award for Duke’s Mayo with something called “Duke’s Country Song.” So a radio show saluting a radio spot about mayonnaise. Full circle.

Kyle: So much mayo.

Zanger: It’s really good mayo, though.

Kyle: It is. And if you’ve heard the song, it’s funny. It’s inspired. Justin and the folks down there do a great job.

Zanger: Dotted Line just expanded its campaign for WNRN, the independent, listener-supported radio station out of Charlottesville, into Roanoke. The line is “Independent As You Are,” and it’s built around real DJs instead of an algo. We may be biased, but of course we approve. And Adweek named Dotted Line the number 1 women-led agency on its Fastest Growing list this year.

Zanger: Balmer again: Unrivaled Studio, a production and artist management company. And three people from this group are judging our Top 40: People + Agencies awards. Chris Perkins at Model B, Ellen Carlton at Tilt and Leslie Griles at Dotted Line. So join us on the 13th.

Zanger: How about we get back to some music? We’re going to do a sting, and then music. Holy cow, it’s been a weird morning. It’s October. Mercury’s in retrograde or something. It’s IndieHQ, Good Day Advertising, the DMV Show.

[Sting: The Center Ring]

Ringmaster: Ladies and gentlemen, agencies of all ages! In the center ring… the administration! Watch as they pack 40 clowns into one small car and hand each one a federal agency. And now, for their greatest trick: a plan. …It’s disappeared.

Zanger: We call that the clown show. An homage to the current administration. All right. I’m Zanger. He’s Kyle O’Brien.

Kyle: Yo, yo.

Zanger: Fugazi got the full song.

Kyle: I love that. And I was hoping you were going to go somewhere with the hardcore scene, because it is prevalent.

Zanger: That was their first record, ’88, on Dischord. If you like Patton Oswalt, find the bit where he talks about Fugazi.

Kyle: So good.

Zanger: Before that, Mýa, “Fallen.” We used to play that song a lot at Jammin’ 95.5. She was born in DC. Now, that guitar probably sounds familiar. Some of you remember it from the Pharcyde’s “Runnin’,” but it’s built on a Stan Getz and Luiz Bonfá bossa nova record. There’s your trivia for the day. Possibly more coming.

Zanger: Let’s talk a little more about our hosts. October 13. Thank you to Goodway Group for our Show Off in Washington, DC. Go to IndieHQ.com for details and tickets. It’s a twofer: you get one, you get a second one free.

Zanger: Yes&, over in Alexandria, bought Modo Modo in June, a B2B agency out of Atlanta. That’s their third B2B acquisition in 18 months. Beacon Digital Marketing in 2025, Symmetri Marketing Group this year, and now Modo Modo. The founder, Moira Vetter, now leads the B2B business for Yes&, and her client list came with her: Equifax, Fiserv, Cox Enterprises, Georgia Tech. Our friend Zihla is CEO, and the Washington Business Journal has Yes& as the number 2 largest privately held ad agency in the greater DC area.

Zanger: Let’s go back to Big Perk. Model B. Here’s the story with them. They keep new ideas and tools in what they call the Model A Lab, a little nod to the Wright Brothers and Hank Ford. Anything still being tested stays in Model A. Once it’s proven, it goes to clients, and that’s Model B.

Zanger: Chris Perkins took over in 2023 and calls the way they work a movie-making model: a small core team, then a crew built for each job from the Partner Collective, 50 vetted agencies. His line when we did Meet an Indie Agency with him: strategic first, superpower second. We asked if they were weirdos, misfits or underdogs. He said probably more weirdos than anything else.

Kyle: Which I love.

Zanger: I think we just continue on with the música for now, because we’ve had so many things go wrong today that I figure let’s do something right. And there’s a little story about Bethesda here. “Down at the Twist and Shout.” It’s Mary Chapin Carpenter. It’s Good Day Advertising, everybody.

[Sting: The Beltway Report — “Traffic on the Beltway: still bad.”]

Zanger: That is accurate, by the way.

Kyle: Oh yeah, quite.

Zanger: When is a good time to drive the Beltway? Sunday at 2 a.m. That’s a good time to be on the Beltway, for sure. It’s Good Day Advertising, the DMV Show, on IndieHQ Radio. I’m Zanger. He’s O’Brien.

Kyle: That’s right.

Zanger: And that was the Starland Vocal Band, “Afternoon Delight.” It was number 1 in America the week of… I’m going to have you guess the year again.

Kyle: Ooh. That’s got to be ’75, ’77.

Zanger: Close. Split the middle. ’76. Now, clearly there’s a lot of innuendo going on in that song.

Kyle: No.

Zanger: But here’s the thing. Bill Danoff was at Clyde’s in Georgetown, where the happy hour menu was called Afternoon Delights, and he figured it would make a nice song title. He was right. Then it got all frisky.

Kyle: Then they’re rubbing sticks and stones together. Plus, it always reminds me of Arrested Development, when Michael and Maeby sing it at karaoke. Cracks me up every time.

Zanger: It is hilarious. Before that, Mary Chapin Carpenter, “Down at the Twist and Shout.” Do you know who was on the fiddle and accordion?

Kyle: I do not.

Zanger: BeauSoleil.

Kyle: I was going to say it’s got to be a zydeco group.

Zanger: It has a lot of Louisiana-isms in it, but the inspiration is a real place in Bethesda. That song won her a Grammy, by the way. And she was one of David Letterman’s favorite musical guests, which was great for all of us.

Kyle: I loved it when he brought her on. She’s so good.

Zanger: He also used to bring on Silversun Pickups, which I really like.

Zanger: Let’s go back to Bethesda. RP3. Beth Johnson founded it about 17 years ago. In 2020 there was this little thing we called the pandemic, and she didn’t close it. She rebuilt it. And the relaunch is built on an idea they call Wildly Original. I like that positioning. Their work for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy: “Take a Hike.”

Kyle: That was with Kevin Nealon. What a great campaign that was, and is. It’s ongoing. They got our buddy Kevin Nealon from SNL to play on the “take a hike” theme, which has been around a long time, and he made it funny, but also a call to get outdoors. Kevin Nealon, big hiker. I’ve got the Appalachian Trail about five miles from where I live, so seeing the kind of bump that campaign gave it is great. Plus, it’s Kevin Nealon.

Zanger: It is Kevin Nealon. So: 86 million dollars in donated and earned media, nearly a billion impressions, and Ad Age named it Gold, Integrated Campaign of the Year, at the Small Agency Awards. Then in August, Campaign US named Beth one of its 40 Over 40. Deservedly so. Nicely done.

Zanger: Now, back to the Starland Vocal Band, and I’m not going to dwell on this. Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, two of the four people in the band, also co-wrote a song with John Denver. We’re not going to play it, but it ties back to our Colorado show, because we always like having something to tie back to the previous show. Actually, we don’t. That was just me trying to be clever.

Kyle: You just wanted a callback.

Zanger: Wanted a little callback. All right, let’s get back to some music. Born in DC. One of the greatest songs from one of the greatest artists in our history, and one of my favorites, from the late, great Marvin Gaye. “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology).” It’s Good Day Advertising.

Zanger: Good Day Advertising, IndieHQ Radio. Thievery Corporation, “Lebanese Blonde.” Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, out of the Eighteenth Street Lounge scene in Dupont Circle. We’re going to do trivia with Kyle again. Before that, the late, great Marv— Martin— good old Martin. God, what a day, dude. Before that, the late, great Marvin Gaye, born in DC. “Mercy Mercy Me.” Do you know the year?

Kyle: God, I like that you don’t let me search.

Zanger: No, I’m not going to do that. If I can’t get it, there’s something wrong with me.

Kyle: ’70.

Zanger: You’re so close again. ’71. It’s a song about the environment.

Kyle: Yes, it is. It’s also a groove that if you don’t nod your head while that’s going on, there’s something wrong with you.

Zanger: Exactly. A song about the environment, which sadly is still current.

Zanger: All right. The final of our DMV four, and the first agency that joined: Artemis Ward. Strategy-led, built around one idea: the answer is always in the audience. True. And a cool client list: Oakley Meta, launching the new performance glasses. Nike Basketball. Microsoft. National Geographic.

Zanger: So: four members in the DMV, five more up and down 95. Which is an awful drive.

Kyle: Got to be one of the worst. Again, drive it Sunday at 2 a.m. and you’re great. Don’t drive it on a Sunday afternoon trying to go home.

Zanger: What we will say is: Tuesday, October 13, 6 p.m., at Yes& in Alexandria. Show Off DC. Five minutes each to show your story and your best work, then a quick Q&A from the audience. Drinks and food. Every ticket gets a free plus-one, and members get 25 percent off, thanks to Goodway Group for making it happen.

Zanger: And it’s not just agencies. A DC photographer said, “Hey, can I present?” And I said, yeah, that sounds cool. If you make the work, if you’re a little adjacent to this side of the business, come. There may be some students coming from Indiana University, which now has a campus in the DC area.

Kyle: Cool. I love seeing students.

Zanger: DC is the 13th, and we have others coming up: Show Offs in Atlanta and Minneapolis, and a trivia battle in Nashville. All the Show Offs are presented by Goodway. The Nashville trivia battle is from our good friends at Mogul, and we wrap up the year with a trivia battle in Boston with our OG partner, Pathlabs. God bless ’em. Thank you to all of them.

Zanger: Speaking of DC, again: King Street Metro, a couple-minute walk from there. If you’re coming down from Balmer or up from Richmond, take the train and get off at Alexandria. Don’t drive. You can tell I don’t ride a train much.

Kyle: You don’t have nearly the trains we do back here.

Zanger: Go to IndieHQ.com to learn more. Well, this was quite a day, shall we say.

Kyle: It was a day.

Zanger: A few lessons learned, and that’s okay. Here’s how we wrap this sucker up. Her family’s home was in Georgetown. At five, she was the youngest student ever admitted to the Peabody, up in Baltimore. A little DMV extended there. At 14, she was playing piano bars around Washington, with her dad, a Methodist minister, sitting in as chaperone. And she finished high school in Rockville, Maryland.

Zanger: There you go, ladies and gentlemen. We’re going to finish with Tori Amos. It’s “Cornflake Girl.” It’s Good Day Advertising. Have a great weekend. We’ll see you next time.