Jim Heekin of OneGreatVid and Matt Kubis of Fortnight Collective on Music, Marketing and More

Going viral on TikTok with their band, Sun Jr.

Jim is founder and creative director of OneGreatVide and Matt is creative director/head of design at Fortnight Collective.

We spent two minutes with Jim and Matt to learn more about their background, their creative inspirations and recent work they’ve admired. 

Jim and Matt, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

• Jim: I grew up in Southern Connecticut, and I now live in Boulder, Colo.
• Matt: I grew up deep in the burbs of Chicagoland, went to school in Ohio and then chased a job at CP+B to Boulder in 2010. I’ve been here ever since. I love it. Please don’t make me move. 

How you first realized you were creative.

• Jim: Sophomore year of college I picked up a guitar for the first time and began teaching myself to play. As soon as I had some chords down, all I wanted to do was write my own music.
• Matt: I’ve always loved making things. Putting my head down to draw was the only thing that could hold my full attention for more than a few minutes when I was kid. But I don’t think I knew that I was creative until other people starting telling me that that’s what I was. I used to get a big boost from the compliments that I got from people when I was doodling and chased that high into a creative profession.   

A person you idolized creatively early on.

• Jim: I was a Jack White fan early on. Not just the music, but the visual worlds he created, the way he approached writing, touring and releasing music.

A moment from high school or college that changed your life.

• Jim: Falling out of my chair in English class junior year of high school. It made a girl laugh every time she saw me for a week after that, and now we’re married with two kids, three dogs and a cat.
• Matt: In early grade school, my dad worked at Leo Burnett and brought me into the office for one of those bring-your-kid-to-work days. He had a meeting and dropped me off on the Marlboro floor where one of his creative department buddies served as my babysitter. There was an entire wing of that floor that was just a bunch of people drawing cowboys and smoking cigarettes. I thought that was the coolest job in the world. I wanted to be in advertising ever since. 

A visual artist or band/musician you admire.

• Jim: Warhol. My mom is a big fan so we had a lot of his work hanging in the house and that was very impactful growing up.

A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.

• Jim: I really like the book The Courage to Be Disliked. Gave me some good insights into shedding expectations.
• Matt: Get Back, the documentary series behind-the-scenes of The Beatles creating their last album together. It was such a fascinating, raw and honest peek at the creative process. There’s an element of  relief knowing it was messy for The Beatles as well, and incredibly inspiring to see them work through that process to create something so iconic as their last album, Let it Be.

One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on. 

• Jim: I started a fast casual banh mi restaurant called Daikon, and was able to write, direct and create music for a pretty ridiculous promo video. 
• Matt: Jim and I actually play in a band called Sun Jr. After almost a decade, we recently had our first brush with fame via a TikTok post from one of our shows. It has 2.5 million views and has helped spark some new ambition and creativity. The band is mostly a fun side quest of a group of five guys in a basement jamming and trying to makes things together. But it has also been one of the longest-running and most fulfilling creative projects I’ve ever worked on.  

A recent project you’re proud of.

• Jim: A fun project for Swanson Health that let them celebrate their Midwestern-y goodness.
• Matt: Noodles & Company. One fun standout was for a limited-time relaunch of an old menu favorite, their Steak Stroganoff. The announcement could have easily been the standard campaign. But instead, we reached out to every single person who expressed disappointment that the Steak Stroganoff was off the menu to personally tell them it was back. The CMO sent personalized videos to fans to tell them Steak Stroganoff was now Steak StroganON. The campaign created and deepened a ton of brand love on social, and caused the dish to completely sell out within the first week of the promotion. 

Someone else’s work that inspired you years ago. 

• Jim: Randy Krallman’s work, especially this starburst gem. Eventually got to work with him on some E*Trade Baby stuff. 
• Matt: Early CP+B work readjusted my view of what advertising could be. Campaigns and stunts like “Whopper Freakout.” Or the “Truth” anti-tobacco work. It was so shocking and inspiring at the time and proved that advertising could be much bigger than super-slick and funny spots. 

Play

Someone else’s work you admired lately. 

• Jim: Don’t know who to give credit to, but the promo stunt for the movie Smile was pretty memorable. 
• Matt: There seems to be a return to handmade craft in design and ads lately. Lincoln Design, Young Jerks and Preacher are a few shops that come to mind with work that I’m always envious of. 

Your main strength as a creative person.

• Jim: Listening. It’s hard to solve a creative problem if you don’t understand the needs. 
• Matt: I keep showing up. Brief after brief. Round after round. I wasted a lot of time and energy as a younger creative being pissed off or frustrated when ideas died, pivoted or were co-opted. It was a hard lesson to learn, but I think exhausting myself in that kind of headspace helped me learn to focus on the project and parameters I have in front of me at any given time.

Your biggest weakness.

• Jim: Stopping and finishing. I generally want to keep going, feeling that the best idea is still out there. Sometimes it’s hard for me to put the pencil down and finish ideas.
• Matt: I have too many hobbies. 

A mentor who helped you navigate the industry.

• Jim: I worked with Dave Swartz a lot at CP+B and he helped me immensely, not only with creativity but also prioritizing different aspects of life.

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising.

• Jim: I’d be a touring musician or own a little breakfast diner. After a few takes of three creatives standing around one mic at Coupe Studios in Boulder, music was locked.
• Matt: I really like stacking rocks on top of other rocks. Is that a profession?