Dunham — John Doyle Art Direction & Design

When Dunham, a 106 year-old boot company from Brattleboro, Vermont, came to my agency for a branding campaign, we were in the midst of a daunting economic downturn. Consumers had lived through years of being in bondage to brands with badge cache. But Dunham was a company that made boots that simply helped you, get the job done. The spare ads that were direct and to-the-point, rang true. The imagery and the words came across as a logic you could feel.

“Somewhere, somehow, art direction has lost something. A sense of grace. A mantle of literacy. The kind of work that immediately and explosively sets you back on your heels with its raw beauty and mindfulness. If John Doyle didn’t invent that kind of advertising then I don’t know who did. Few creative posses such pitch perfect convergence of strategic insight, deep understanding of authentic truth and insanely dazzling craft.”

Ernie Schenck
Creative Consultant, Author
and Contributing Editor
Communication Arts Magazine