Agencies don’t make it on Creativity’s 2012 Agency A-List by following the status quo, acting predictably, and being all-around ‘normal.’ Creativity, a branch of Crain Communications, is looking for something that is unexpected, weird, and that may even make you flinch at first. Something like Frank Reardon (below) from the Kayak commercials.

In walks Barton F Graf 9000. Or rather, in ‘rolls’ Barton – walking is much too normal.

Indie ad shop Barton F Graf 9000, a prestigious member of Creativity’s 2012 Agency-A List, has again startled no one, and at the same time everyone, with their quirky take on a mobile site. Barton, instead of optimizing their website to convert visually to a mobile browser, converted their website to better fit the strengths of mobile access – speech and sound.

The agencies mobile website is blank except for a blinking number: 1-877-594-GRAF (4723). It may seem strange in an age of text, visual, and digital advances to actually use a phone to hear something, but it’s worth a listen. After being welcomed by the system’s voice software, you’re provided six options:

-       Press ‘1’ to hear about their work (including a play-by-play of TV spots like their work for Kayak)

-       Press ‘2’ for a client list

-       Press ‘3’ to contact the agency

-       Press ‘4’ to hear about awards they’ve won

-       Press ‘5’ for local movie listings (which actually directs you to Moviefone), and

-       Press ‘6’ for a ‘smarter version’ of the menu (which reads the same menu with a British accent)

It’s a clever and certainly different approach by an agency that’s known to be a little off-color – even if the execution itself seems old school and outdated. Give the site a call for yourself, and check out some of the campaigns that have helped give Barton F Graf 9000 their distinctive reputation below:

Little Caesar’s

Ragu

New agency hire announcement:

Barton F Graf 9000

Creativity

Images via Barton F Graf 9000