Wednesday, May 21, 2003

The Addy Goes to ... Access Inc. for its AmRhein Wine Label

"This is really Kathleen's award," an Access Inc. associate said of the artist whose work graces the label.

By DUNCAN ADAMS THE ROANOKE TIMES

Fresh from the family's vineyards, Russ Amrhein checked the soles of his shoes. Amrhein's inspection preceded his entering the fertile but carpeted terrain where a blend of art, ideas and technology created a packaging campaign that has earned a Roanoke advertising agency a prestigious national award.

Tony Pearman, chief executive and creative director for Access Inc., plans to be in Los Angeles on June 7 to fetch a national Addy award for the packaging his company -- and independent local artist Kathleen Lunsford -- created for AmRhein Wine Cellars of Bent Mountain. Access won a second-place award in the category of "visual and audio elements of advertising-illustration."

Pearman said Access has collected more than 150 Addy awards in local and district competitions conducted by the American Advertising Federation. But this will be Access' first national Addy, and Pearman said it's a milestone for his nine-person agency.

"Winning a national award is huge for us because it validates what we do," Pearman said, emphasizing Access' focus on "in the trenches" collaboration between clients and staff.

During an interview Tuesday, Pearman, Amrhein and Kris Bailey, who is Access' associate creative director, all repeatedly cited Lunsford's key role in the campaign for AmRhein Wine Cellars.

"This is really Kathleen's award," said Bailey.

Lunsford's vibrant oil painting of a dancing couple became the central element for a label used on all of AmRhein Wine Cellars' 2001 red wines. Her paintings also grace labels for other wines from the family-owned vineyards and have previously earned industry awards. But the national Addy is especially heartening, she said.

"To be a painter and have this happen to you is just wonderful," Lunsford said. "It has brought me a whole lot of recognition in ways I haven't experienced as a painter."

Amrhein recruited Lunsford after spotting her work on the cover of City magazine. He said Lunsford's paintings reminded him of the work of Colombian painter Fernando Botero, whose art he'd encountered in Mexico. Later, Lunsford suggested they extend their collaboration on labels to include Access.

"I realized there was more to it than just my painting," Lunsford said.

Ultimately, Bailey's label design offered Lunsford a template of sorts for the painting that emerged. Bailey said she selected a black border to showcase the painting's intense colors - which serve a purpose both artistic and commercial, Amrhein said.

"If you ever go into a wine store and observe people, you'll notice they will linger at the bottles that have pretty or colorful labels," he said.

"We came to the conclusion we needed to have something that would jump off the shelf," Amrhein added. "We were trying to do something light and lively and something different from the normal wine snob label."

Pearman said he believes Lunsford's paintings for AmRhein Wine Cellars are romantic and sexy. He said the label design is not intended to specifically nudge women shopping for wine, but Amrhein said research suggests women purchase fine wines more frequently than men.

"Women buy wine. Men buy beer," Amrhein said.

Lunsford countered, "I think a lot of men are drawn to the label because of the strength of the color. And wine is one of the things men buy for women."

It's no accident, Amrhein said, that the figures in Lunsford's wine-label paintings wear jewelry. Amrhein is president of Amrhein s Jewelers of Roanoke. The Amrhein family launched vineyard operations in 1995 and opened its winery in 2000. Wines from AmRhein Wine Cellars sell statewide. Sales last year totaled about $350,000, said Amrhein.

Pearman said his agency's collaboration with Lunsford is unusual, noting that fine-art painters frequently shy away from commercial work. Lunsford's willingness to participate was "one of the things that drew us to the project," he said.

Lunsford said she welcomed the challenges and adaptations required.

The team that created the label agreed Amrhein was a discerning and particular client. This observation was accompanied by a collective team giggle apparently triggered by its understatement.

"Russ has a definitive eye and he certainly knows what he likes when he sees it," Pearman said.

"Kathleen has the patience of Job," said Amrhein, smiling. From first brush strokes to label fruition, the award-winning campaign took about a year.

Next month, Pearman will collect a silver Addy for the result.

The national competition began with 60,000 entries, which local, regional and national judging winnowed to about 300 awards.

The win by Access is significant, said Mary Hilton, a spokeswoman for the American Advertising Federation.

"It is a tremendously rigorous process the awardees have to go through," she said.

Access Inc.

History: Founded in 1996 by Tony Pearman, 37, CEO and creative director, and Todd Marcum, 41, president and copywriter. Began in the New Century Venture Center business incubator. Since 1999, offices in a renovated house on Denniston Avenue near Grandin Village.

Employees: Nine

Clients: About 50. Many are regional, including Roanoke College, Washington and Lee University, the New Century Technology Council, Luna Technologies, and Novozymes. Also has clients in North Carolina and Indiana.

Company Web site: www.accessthewebsite.com