KIND: COMPUTER SCREEN |
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Project: Korean Airlines- PointCast
Role: Account Executive
This project post is included more for historical commentary, than a demonstration of my personal work. In an ascent that mirrored the industry’s rise, the PointCast Network was an early (perhaps too early) internet star. Before YouTube, before Google, before iTunes, corporate workers hogged network bandwidth with PointCast. While at Ogilvy & Mather, my primary account was Korean Airlines. I spent a great deal of time researching the internet and wanted to get O&M involved with internet initiatives for their clients. However, that kind of work was handled by the New York office only and the LA office could not take a lead. This was especially true when the voice for change was only a young AE. My one success during this nascent period was convincing my Account Director (I didn’t have a Acct. Supervisor at the time) that the PointCast Network was a solid bet.
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In 1996, all “interactive” work was handled by Ogilvy One, located in Manhattan. Ogilvy LA had no business pushing internet-based marketing initiatives. That is… until I sneaked an “experimental” project through the system. |
Korean Airlines (KAL) was an extremely frustrating account. Almost all creative had to come out of the Ogilvy Hong Kong office as KAL regional offices could not operate independently of the home office. This was the result of the hierarchical mindset that dominated Asian companies. Only the top dog could make decisions. If the top dog liked something, then everyone else could like it as well… |
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The rise and fall of the PointCast Network is stuff of internet legend. For those with a short memory, it acted as a “live” screen saver. When your computer went to sleep, PointCast engaged and “streamed” live data like stock information and news. It hogged bandwidth to the point of incapacitating corporate networks. One story at the time, reported corporate decrees that halted its use. |
This video represented a brief high point for both the account management (me) and creative teams assigned to the KAL account. Simple as it appears now, it was sophisticated for its day. |