The Martin Fashion Show

On December 13, 2012, we hosted our first fashion show at The Martin Agency. From account executives to media buyers to creatives, dozens of employees signed up to participate. The challenge? Design and create two outfits for only $75, one representing the team’s view of “Good” and the other representing the team’s idea of “Tough.”

You might be wondering, why “Good and Tough?” When people who know The Martin Agency talk about us, they talk about our work and our culture. But unlike our work, which is on display around the world for all to see, our culture is intangible. It is hard to put into words. But we found three: Good and Tough. Good to each other, tough on the work. Good place to stay, tough place to leave. You get the idea. Through the fashion show, we were able to bring the idea of Good and Tough to life.

No materials were off-limits and the teams were given a month to complete their artistic, humorous, serious, and/or out-of-this-world designs. The teams spent hundreds of hours combined on the designs and the results were phenomenal—but we’ll let you see yourself in the following pages.

So, without further ado, welcome to The Martin Agency Fashion Show, Featuring the Good and Tough Collection.

Check out the story on Creativity-Online. 

Good and Tough

When people talk about The Martin Agency, they talk about the culture. They ask us to describe it, though it is often hard to put into words.

But we found some. Who we are is good and tough.

Good to each other, tough on the work. Good place to stay, tough place to leave.

If you look at the world of companies, you will find many that are good. They treat their people well, but don't push them very hard. Similarly, there are just as many companies who are tough. They will push their people really hard everyday, but leave them feeling beaten up. Neither of these alternatives is acceptable to us. We have to be one of those precious few companies in the world that is both good to each other and really tough on each other. We must be good and we have to be tough.

So what does good and tough mean? Good to each other means respect, enjoying each other’s company. It means teamwork, collaboration and open minds — a community based on creative engagement and the opportunity to do important work everyday with people you care about. Tough on the work means reaching, stretching, working hard and never settling. Never ever quit. Have a point of view, be honest about it, no B.S., no sugarcoating. Good and tough created “Virginia is for Lovers,” “15 Minutes Could Save You 15% or More on Car Insurance,” and “Save Money Live Better.” Good and tough makes commercials, TV shows, apps, websites, events, games and stuff that hasn’t even been invented yet. Good and tough makes each of us better at our jobs and in our lives.

That’s who we are. It’s who we were 20 years ago when I started and it’s who we are today. Good and tough.