The Results

Bret's Leadership
Wins Business and
Elevates Brands

"Awards Would Mean Nothing if not to validate a campaign's success. Are they nice to win? Absolutely. They serve as a peer and industry gauge to measure the benchmark in which your strategic and creative thinking and implemention reached in changing consumer perception and behavior to drive action. Is it difficult? I don't think it is. It's a process of sort and simplify to break the code of consumer want/need. Know your target audience and deliver storytelling to effectively trip an emotive trigger."

"It doesn't matter what the brand or the category, you have to look at each challenge as an opportunity to do great things", Bret says.

His Approach - "I think often the Client is too close to their brand. Fresh eyes and perspective - combined with the right team of creative and strategic thinkers can change the game. Each assignment becomes an opportunity to do great work that inspires both consumers and peers alike."

Photos at right: 3 Decades of Awards

His Awards - And with great work comes recognition. Bret has earned a huge collection of advertising awards in television, print, radio and online/interactive advertising.

"Never underestimate the power of a simple idea. Sometimes what I do appears too easy. Simple does not always equate to easy. Ever watch a professional baseball player throw a shutout? It may appear easy - but it is far from easy - rather a process developed over many years of playing executed in a simple delivery. " - Bret Stout

You Have to Break Some Rules - In the early days of interactive advertising, Bret looked to reposition the "More Room" campaign for American Airlines. His concept was to show the true 'experience' - what more room actually "feels like" - not just say it. And to do this he needed to visually show the plane getting 'stretched' - with the voiceover of the streaming video ad stating "No, we didn't make our planes bigger...". Account service threw up a road block stating that they refused to show this to the client because "AA does not allow their brand to be manipulated in any way". Bret decided this was a battle worth fighting for and got the concept in front of the Client. They loved it and the online ad ran. Over 34.5 million web users clicked on the banner which drove to the new More Room Microsite.and changed the "brand manipulation" rules for the traditional creative teams.

The Harley-Davidson Win: An apparel manufacturer in St. Louis had been trying unsuccessfully to win the custom apparel business with Harley-Davidson. Bret stepped in and not only designed the custom presentation, he designed and photocomposited all of the apparel. As a result, the apparel manufacturer was awarded not only the business, but one of only three "Lifetime Vendor" contracts ever awarded by Harley-Davidson. Bret has also created custom apparel for Mercedes, XBox, and many others.

Art Imitates Life: In 1989, Bret took a temporary hiatus from advertising and opened the Stout-McCourt Gallery in Dallas through 1994. He was awarded the 1993 Multi-Ethnic Heritage Foundation Cultural Philanthropy Award. He launched many an artist career including Chris Brown, T. Scott Stromberg, Tom Pribyl, Gregor Landis, Greg Malphurs and James Charles. He also represented Internationally-known artists including George deMerle, Don Sweetland and Betsy Dillard Stroud.

Board Membership: Bret is also a former Board Member of the Arts & Business Board of Northwood University and is the former Vice President of the Dallas Art Dealers Association (DADA).