What’s “our” story?

I use “we” and “our” throughout this site because Ideas for Animals is certainly not just “me.” But for the purposes of this section, I gotta switch to “I.” My name is Evan, and I started Ideas for Animals after a pretty long career as an advertising creative (writer / creative director / executive / wannabe designer). The 12 years I spent at one of the best ad agencies this crazy world has ever known taught me a great deal. But what it really showed me was that great agencies are full of wicked-smart humans who can do incredible things when they collaborate to realize a vision.

Pause: I realize this section is long and bucks today’s trends that say we no longer have attention spans for such wordiness. Thank you if you read it. No sweat if you don’t.

Ok so I don’t want to make this weird, but at the end of 2018, I began “seeking,” letting things go and shifting priorities. I know it’s a never-ending process, but now at the beginning of 2023, I feel it’s time to put Ideas for Animals out there. I hope it can represent a merging of my professional career with a burgeoning personal vision of what really matters. The crux of this merging is a realization that companies and creative advertising folks have so much freaking power. And I guess you could say that Ideas for Animals is built on a curiosity of what might happen if we encourage and empower brands to use their massive influence and highly visible platforms to not just seek profit, but to teach and inspire. In ways that brands never really have. Might we enable our clients to effectively become actual societal leaders? Might we be able to reveal an entirely different world - over “time” - by teaching peaceful thinking and right action - through brands? Of course, “right action” is subjective, but I believe we all belong to a “unified field of truth,” and we all share a certain knowing (if only unconsciously). And to me, “right action” is universal. And it’s about “unconditional kind regard.” AKA: Unconditional love.

The ultimate goal for each piece of IFA communication is that it be grounded in love.

I want everything we make to bring people in as equal and innocent participants who - in the biggest of metaphysical pictures - can never really do anything wrong. But I also wish to encourage each of us to be aware of our incredible power - within the physical world - to minimize the suffering of all beings, including the planet. I believe practicing unconditional love is the key to all of this. But within that, I specifically want to help us all understand how our daily consumer choices particularly impact innocent, non-human animals. I know we vegans can be a bit too “passionate” at times, and I understand why. Once you see what’s really going on, it’s hard to stay chill about it. But it’s so important. In an effort to learn as much as possible, I recently became a “VLCE” (Vegan Lifestyle Coach and Educator). And while my happy dream is that everyone will one day become “vegan for life,” I always want to attract and include, not create more divisiveness. Because now more than ever, we need unity. Besides, to see any real change “out there,” it first has to come from within. And I for one actually think certain brands - with the right campaigns - can help lead the way. If they have the courage.

What do I actually want to “do” with Ideas for Animals?

IFA is an outlet or creative platform for me and for my friends. I want to make things, even if very few ever see what I or we put out. Beyond that, I also want this initiative to inspire me to extend my professional skills, and teach me more current methods and strategies (which it already has). I want to work with like-minded brands as a small creative agency. I want to come up with ideas they can use to promote peaceful action. I want to direct little films. Or big films. I want to give creatives the opportunity to solve the world’s most important creative briefs. I want to partner with other ad agencies and brands as a consultant, freelancer or speaker. I want companies to check out our open source ideas and make one happen. I want to continue meeting with creative professionals and the “vegan curious” as a coach or mentor. I want to build relationships, make weird posters, put an ad on the Superbowl that inspires dog lovers who eat hot dogs to go visit a farm sanctuary and perhaps connect some dots. Is that even possible? I bet it is.

Using “Vegan Creativity” to “See Beautiful Futures.”

Now for a bit on how we intend to do all this. (Sorry but I gotta switch back to the “we/our” thing now.) The first tool we use is called “Vegan Creativity.” Vegan Creativity is an approach to ideation that strives to uphold the principles of non-violence in the ideas themselves. We may have to point our audience to certain truths, or share some hard information, but at its core, Vegan Creativity is a filter that ensures our ideas are as kind as the products or notions they’re meant to promote. Another approach we use might be summed up as “See Beautiful Futures” (or “See Beautiful Nows”). This means we hold our ideas to a standard of showing a new way, by focusing on the solution, never the problem. Again, we may need to give context here or there, but if an idea merely points out what’s wrong, without a proposed solution, it doesn’t work. Above all, we always try to remember we don’t know everything, and that finding common ground is essential.

We massively appreciate all the entities and individuals out there “fighting the good fight.”

We know that resistance approaches can and do work to change some minds. So we actively support many activism entities, and we’d love to help come up ideas they can use to raise awareness. But when it comes to resisting anything, we like to remember what Mother Theresa reportedly said when asked to attend an anti-war rally. “No thank you,” she said. “But if you have a pro-peace rally, count me in.” We love this story because we, too, believe it’s vitally important to picture the world we want, not the one we don’t. Which is why the most important thing we promise to keep working toward is zero judgment.

We’re not perfect, and never will be. But we always practice.

There’s a lot more to it, but that’s plenty for now. If you want to hear more, or discuss collaborating on a project, please send us an email. If you’re ever curious about {free} creative mentorship or vegan coaching, just let us know. What else? Oh yeah, to sign up for the newsletter we’ll be putting out from time to time, please use the form below. And seriously, thank you for reading all of this. We’re impressed.