Einstein famously said that insanity is "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". Mike Lewis and partner Jason Harris took this to heart when they formed "gray area" agency Plan C at the outset of 2004. "That's how advertising is. Everyone's doing pretty much the same thing," says Lewis. "It came to us that we should stop just doing advertising or marketing and form this agency that fills the gray area."

Extraneous marketing initiatives, such as advertainment, film content and events, are what Plan C is designed to supply. The company works with and around agencies, and Lewis says there is little fear of "pissing agencies off" if Plan C goes direct-to-client by virtue of the fact that the firm provides a service agencies can't.

"When a client needs end-game content for a new title, who's going to do that? The agency's too busy working on advertising." But if an agency is involved, Lewis says Plan C will work quietly behind the scenes.

Both Lewis and Harris have extensive experience in marketing and advertising - Lewis most recently as a creative at OWN+P, SF (see Creative Teams, pg. 27) where he first became familiar with the gray area while staging events for long-time client EA Sports.

Plan C is located in the San Francisco offices of Buder Engle and Friends (formed from now-defunct Leagas Delaney) and works primarily with freelancers. Currently, it has two documentaries in the works and several pitches on the table.

However, Lewis and Harris are not working hard at spreading the Plan C gospel. Instead, they're being strategic in who they approach with innovative ideas. "We don't really want people to know about us," says Lewis. "It's almost better that we pitch new ideas to clients because it's not Plan A or Plan B, it's Plan C; it's the one you haven't thought about yet."