We teased you with the earlier blog about Prodigal’s new Sheely’s Holiday kids spot. Well now, we can take the wraps off this traditional gem of local TV and give you a look at “Everyday’s a Holiday 2.0″ right here– right now. Also look for it during the commercial breaks for your favorite shows over the next few weeks… and we challenge you to not smile while you watch it!

Late October means the holidays are just around the corner.  Time for great traditions like turkey and trimmings with family, gifts under a brightly lighted tree… and the Sheely’s Holiday Kids TV spot.

Anyone who has lived in the Mahoning Valley for any length of time, and who owns a TV, has seen this spot; cute kids in costumes singing about Prodigal’s long-time client, Sheely’s Furniture. It’s an example of a TV ad that has become classic, dare I say- iconic.  Hear it just a few time and the catchy jingle is in your head for hours (the very headline of this blog entry “Everyday’s a holiday” is a line from that song that is on repeat-play in my mind as I write this).

Good news for those who love the spot, Prodigal has made a fresh, new version for 2010!  It still features a wonderful group of talented kids thanks to our collaboration with Easy Street Productions.(The little miss claus in the sleigh has a special place in the hearts of the Prodigal staff)  The original jingle, created by our friends at Mainsail Music, has been tweaked just a bit so it’s familiar and contemporary at the same time.  Prodigal’s president and creative director, Jeff Hedrich, along with producer/writer Jamie Mash and account executive Jill Jenkins worked with Tabbara Productions to capture the magic on tape… and Prodigal’s in-house post-production team is working on the edit as I type.

The field crew wanted me to thank Andrea Roman from Salon Ruberto for a great job on hair and make-up (I’ve worked with Andrea several times– she’s great) and special mention of one member of the camera crew who helped keep the kids entertained between takes with his impersonation of Mickey Mouse.  Anyone who’s ever worked with kids or animals on video will tell you it’s not easy.

Watch for the spot. Hope you enjoy it.  it’s a classic… a great holiday tradition.  And we hope you’ll remember the sponsor of all the fun, THE place to go for furniture and appliances in our region– Sheely’s.

Prodigal is very pleased to have recently completed a campaign for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Youngstown.  The agency– which celebrates its 100th birthday as a movement in America this year– wanted to reach out to new supporters and our team developed something truly special for the job.

If you are not familiar with the agency’s work, simply think about any need a person in our community may have, and then imagine a caring and compassionate hand providing for that need without regard for income, race, gender or religion: that’s Catholic Charities.  Because it does such important work for so many, Our team was personally invested in giving Catholic Charities something new and something powerful.

Prodigal began with an assessment of past campaigns.  We then worked on tactics that would reach new donors without requiring a large investment of precious dollars.

Then it was time for messaging.  We did not want to do the same old appeal. You know the one; lots of dark and dismal images of people in severe need.  While it is important and necessary to honestly look at the effects of poverty and need in the Valley, in this case,  we wanted something unexpected, something uplifting- not depressing, and, most importantly, something new.

Prodigal decided to focus- not on the recipients of giving- but the givers themselves.  What do they get out of sending a check to Catholic Charities?  The team decided to focus on donors as angels.  The imagery is beautiful and powerful.  What’s more, nearly every religious group understands and values the concept of angels doing good works, so it is a theme that is inclusive of all people of goodwill.

Prodigal then designed storylines for billboards and a TV PSA that incorporated this “Angels like you” appeal with a call to help support Catholic Charities.  If you’re in Trumbull, Mahoning or Columbiana County, you may have have already seen the campaign.  And, if you haven’t seen it yet, you will soon.

Everyone at Prodigal enjoyed this assignment and we hope Catholic Charities is blessed with much success in this worthy fundraising effort.