Headquartered far from the busy advertising intersections of Chicago or Manhattan, The Martin Agency's broadcast work has come a long way from the pesticide spots they produced in the early 1980s.

The Interpublic shop, based in Richmond, Virginia, is agency for Coca-Cola, Hanes, GEICO, Ping, Olympus, Saab, and UPS, among others. According to president/creative director Mike Hughes, the last decade saw the agency make a concerted leap into the world of broadcast.

"We are pushing hard to improve our work without a recognizable style, encompassing styles from direct response to humor, emotion or drama," says Hughes. "Because we grew up with local accounts and those clients didn't have much money, every TV spot was a special occasion. We still look at work that way and every spot is treated as kind of precious."

John Noble, Jr., VP/director of broadcast production has a lot to do with the department's changes and standards. In-house tools like an AVID and Apple G4 allow producers Steve Humble, Brad Powell, Virginia Bertholet and Craig Jelniker to handle more work. "It's one thing to have smart producers, but you have to get them involved in the process earlier," says Noble. "Mike has done a great job of bringing producers into a project when it's in its infancy. We used to just get scripts on our desk, now we are in with the creative team at conception."

And the results are top notch. Case in point is Martin's "Brown" campaign for UPS, which the client reports has generated "unprecedented" results. The campaign, directed by Phil Joanou of Villains, LA shows various corporate personnel praising "Brown" for the logistical support it provides. Created by Cliff Sorah and John Mahoney, the Brown campaign incorporates informative-yet-witty writing, slick visual effects from Venice's Sight Effects and music from Elias, Santa Monica with Joanou's trademark surprising cinematics. Joanou directed vet actor Chazz Palminteri in a mafia-esque new campaign for the new Vanilla flavored Coke.

Martin is also increasingly producing in far-flung locals. Palomar Pictures, LA's Walter Kehr directed an Alltel campaign in New Zealand through Shoot New Zealand, making use of local scenery and talent. A recent Ping campaign borrowed heavily from the interlinked photos of the Royksopp "Eple" video created by Mother London and Oslo's Toxic Studios, so the team headed to Norway.

"It was an extremely complicated process, shooting all 900 still frames and then marrying them to create that seamless in-and-out effect," says Noble. "We went there because that's where [Toxic and Kraftwerk] were. We didn't take them to Norway because it was three times the cost of shooting here. We went there because that's where the talent was. If I can keep something in Virginia, I will, but we are on the national stage. I don't even consider the term 'runaway production.'"

Of course UPS's recent Nascar work, could only be shot in the US. Where else could Epoch director Stacy Wall assemble talent like Kermit the Frog, Dale Earnhardt and country crooner Charlie Daniels? The campaign was cut by Doug Walker of FilmCore, San Fran. Wall also directed the last GEICO spot, following up on previous comedic efforts for the insurance vendor like "Squirrel" and "Wuxia." In the pipeline for a Labor Day airdate is the next UPS Brown installment. And, while The Martin Agency has branch offices in Atlanta, Charlestown and NYC, the shop's Virginian roots are integral.

"I think it helps to have a point of view about the world not based on subways and taxi cabs," says Hughes. "More like how most people in America live, like we do."

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