Jest Pilots

In their Annual Report 1—a parody of the corporate report replete with mind-numbing mazes, ridiculous pie charts, and useless questionnaires—Feel Good Anyway (FGA) founders Bill Morrison and Matt Eller helpfully post a graph of their Typical Daily Output. Mapping energy over time at the two-person graphics and animation studio, it clearly shows that Bill is a morning person and Matt is, well, not one. “Very little scientific research went into the making of that chart,” Morrison deadpans.

But then very little scientific research could be said to be FGA’s stock-in-trade. “The strategy of calling ourselves problem solvers and solution providers doesn’t get us very far,” Morrison adds wryly. Following their own strangely off-kilter bliss, the Portland, Oregon-based duo serves up an eclectic assortment of books, posters, catalogs, ads, and animations apparently designed to subvert the linear thinking of lesser minds. How else to explain that squirrel clutching a beer can, Alan Alda’s name in skywriting, or their arguably most winning creation, an imperturbable chain-smoking “scooterbear” that motors through a scene of apocalyptic devastation? (Originally included in FGA’s Summer Vacation reel, a sort of sketchbook for brainstorming, the critter later lost weight and quit smoking to reemerge in FGA’s TV spot for a local burger chain.)

FGA’s one-liners have proven to be catnip for clients like Nike and local advertising heavyweights Wieden + Kennedy. Admittedly most of these projects won’t turn the industrial model on its ear. But one way or another the message is clear: you might as well enjoy.