Rod Middleton

What can you do with your PC? Probably a lot more than you think. The Intel Unfold Experience is a series of animated webfilms @ intel.com designed to intrigue the average PC user and open their eyes to bigger, better, cooler capabilities that lie just a how-to video away.

ith Intel Insider, your PC isn't just a PC—it's an HD theater giving you super easy access to first-run movies, TV shows, and infinite entertainment possibilities. This pre-roll video made that point with a little help from a kid named Harry. I helped out as the ACD.

​This fully integrated back-to-school campaign helped kids score sweet HP computers through the power of mind control and a clever parental motivator tool called "ESP-mail".  This playfully subversive movement also reportedly helped some kids score new cars, timeshare condos in Aruba, and pet tigers.

​This fully integrated back-to-school campaign helped kids get awesome HP computers—and some valuable life lessons—with the help of board-sports demi-god, Shaun White. "Day-in-the-Life" style webfilms featuring Shaun and his crew gave students good, fun reasons to spend some time—and shop for a computer—on the site, with their host, Shaun "Don't Ever Call Me Flying Tomato" White.

​If you're doing business on the run, you need a very smart phone. When this campaign launched, the HP iPAQ promised to be the smartest phone you could get—ready for serious business, wherever, whenever.

​This is a collection of work I did for the launch of the Intel-inspired Ultrabook.

First up, a music-specific web radio ad that ran on Spotify.​ I wrote it and co-produced the original music track created by the awesome foglands.com. And the robo-voice at the end is me, robo-Rod.

Next, a series of entertainment-focused web pages for intel.com. I was the ACD/writer and did the content strategy too. I also did the cross-linking reccos, tying these pages to other pertinent content within the ginormous intel.com universe. 

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​When you're a small business, not having a good website can make you an Invisi-Business. And that's no good. This gallery features a campaign designed to drive that point home, while providing an easy (and free) way to avoid the problem.

As an added bonus, there's also a banner selling small biz mobility solutions—another great ​way to ensure your business never disappears.

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​​The HP PartnerOne Program is there to help the VAR (Value-Added-Retailer) sell more HP solutions. This campaign—illustrated by regular New Yorker Magazine contributor P.C. Vey—was a nice reminder of that cozy relationship.

In the Summer of 2013, Cisco was poised to launch its new Network Convergence System, "a network fabric family designed to serve as the foundation of a massively scalable, smarter and more adaptable Internet"–y'know, The Internet of Everything. Here are a few posters, an OOH piece, and a banner I did at Gyro SF to help Cisco build the big buzz.

When everyone in your organization isn't operating on the same, stable cloud, your organization is vulnerable. And that's no good. Here are a few ads I did at Doremus SF to help HP promote their FlowCM cloud product–the solution for multi-cloud chaos.

From sometime in 2014 to sometime in 2016, I did two long-term stints at Schwab SF. My first-ever forays into the client-side, internal agency world, these were mellower, gentler days compared to the standard agency life I'm used to. Everyone was awesome and extremely nice. I learned much about wealth and what to do with it. And I did some respectable work I can't show you due to official Schwab policy. And apparently, their lawyers are VERY big sticklers about it...so...yeah. From special event video, to audio content/VO work, to print ads, internal awards program content, recruitment posters, email campaigns, vast amounts of banners, and mega-upgrades to the local marketing section of schwab.com, I did a lot of good work I'd love to show you. Awww, what the heck, I know I might get in trouble for this, but...just let me know if you'd like to see any of my Schwab work and [REDACTED]

Intel wanted to tell the story of their highly successful Intel Inside Co-Marketing Program. It was (and still is) a fantastic program. But after 20 years, it had gotten way overgrown, and overly complex. The tale of how they fixed all that was truly epic. This video distills it all down to just over two minutes. 

​Realtors, like many of us, would rather be rock stars. They just need better gear.

Oh, and I just noticed the first banner in the stack here has some wacky, extraneous bits (due to an overly-hasty screen grab) that shouldn't be there. I am embarrassed by them and I am working to fix the problem. Please don't judge me too harshly. Pretty please.

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​The holidays come around every year. As do the holiday-themed ads. Here are a few I did for HP.

​HP was launching their very first retail stores in Latin America. The first ad in this gallery is how they said 'hello' in Cali, Colombia.

Also in this gallery: ​a few one-off banners I did for HP.

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​Here are a few things I did for MSN Music. One them was huge—JumboTron huge, and it ran in Times Square. The others just featured hugely popular rock stars. One of whom I hung out with a bit when I was in a ska band that was once kinda huge in Utah. No lie.  

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​Here are a couple of banners I did for MSN Search.  One helped people avoid phishing scams. The other—a Canada-only effort—helped rabid fans celebrate hockey's triumphant return following that horrible '05 NHL Season cancellation. Beauty, eh?

​Here's a collection of work I did for PacBell Wireless back when wireless was still in its infancy and pretty much drooling all over the place. 

Wanna hear some fun examples of the mostly lost art of radio advertising? Scroll on down...

I did this spot back when wireless was brand, spanking new. It was entirely hand-animated by classic MTV-staple Bill Plympton, the guy who once made trains coming out of the noses of middle-aged business men seem semi-normal.