Gro Frivoll

• Design
  Industry
• About
  Throughout my career I have been successful in building brand focused creative campaigns, building trust with clients and peers, building revenue, and building long lasting brand relationships with consumers.
  
  Currently as s a freelancer, I’ve been working at ad agencies and giving life to new brands by collaborating and consulting with former clients who are now actively involved with start ups. We have created product names, designed logos, packaging, tag-lines, TV, print and digital as well as strategically focusing the brands to the appropriate creative channels.
  
  I joined BBDO in 1999. As the Global SVP Creative Director,
  I primarily ran the Venus account for 13 years. I gave birth to the brand, named her, created her tag line, TV/print campaign’s, and worked with partner agencies in bringing the creative vision holistically across all media including digital, PR, and in-store. With our team, we repositioned the act of shaving from a tedious chore, to a women’s first step in her beauty routine. The insight of “revealing the goddess in every woman,” resonated with consumers globably and built Venus into a $1 billion global mega brand.
  
  Our team worked on repositioning the Orbitz on-line travel booking site and created a new TV, print, and digital campaign so that people could “take vacation back”.
  
  I worked with Helmut Newton on making women “Strong & Beautiful” for the re-launch of Soft & Dri.
  
  At one point, I was “so ready for anything,” that I even proved to the Unilever’s clients that Caress Bodywash helps women feel “so ready for anything”, that I confidently wore a see-through, fish shower curtain and sold a new campaign.
  
  In the meantime, we recruited sexy female space aliens to shave a man’s face, then torched it , slapped it and threw cold water in it and then beat it up some more, for Gillette. We cooked up a feast with GE Appliances and made tomatoes dance in the kitchen for Campbell’s tomato soup. I even designed dresses made from the bags of Frito Lays Chips validating a woman’s love for the new Frito Lay Light Chips. And being green friendly, brought a green crayon to P&G’s greener products program for Future Friendly.
  
  In 1995, I spent several years at D’Arcy, where I was SVP Creative Director responsible for creating “naughty & sexy” campaigns for Phillips International, Men & Women Grooming Products. Partnering with enlightened Dutch clients, who said, “Let’s make things better”, we collaborated creatively with famed photographer Helmut Newton, and launched a provocatively successful international print and TV campaign for the Philishave Quadra Action, Cool Skin, and Reflex Action electric razors. It received international attention, captured the fantasies of young men and maintained business growth even with the challenging competitive launch of Gillette Mack 3 in Europe.
  
  At the same time Phillips Female Body & Beauty also launched a successful Print & TV campaign internationally.
  Yes, ‘it’s getting better”... sales got a lot better. Then I got “kissably close” with Scope, and created the right amount of “sexy” for Always, the right amount of “naughty” for Pampers, and the right amount of relief for Vicks Night Quill & Formula 44 for P&G. Oh, and danced with a few cats for Whiskas.
  
  I began my career at GREY, working as an Art Director. Designed and drew fashion illustrations for Danskin. Shot pigeons (courtesy of Universal Studios) and chased a runaway ostrich for ACLI & HIAA. An insurance lobbyist group that was fighting Washington on the taxation of our employee benefits. That campaign not only got picked up by the media nationwide it also won us an Clio.
  
  I also had a blast, brain storming creative stories with Jim Henson of the Muppets and developing creative for a new calcium fortified cereal called Moopets For General Foods, using the Swedish Chef and his “blunderbuss” for General Foods.
  
  Then played with hair until it was “so healthy it shined” for Pantene. Colored it for Clairol. Curled it with Remington hair curlers, and helped hair from falling out when we pitched and won the Rogaine account.
  
  Or course a baby changes everything so I changed a few diapers and filled bottles for Playtex. As well as working with photographer Debra Turberville, Eric Bowman, and Michel Comte to help make Playtex bras and panties, sexy.
  
  I made full bodied fruit tea that was so full bodied we just had to balance hot cups of tea on a scantly clad man’s muscles for Celestial Seasonings. Gave Cracker Jack a voice by bringing him to life for the first time on his 100th birthday. Set a few tables with Corning plates and cooked dinner with Revere pots and pans. Danced in living rooms designed by Ethan Allen and decorated windows with Levelor. Of course I had to make few B-to-B calls for Sprint. Then found time to help the Museum of Natural History bring attention and fans to the Margaret Mead film festival.
  
  I graduated from Parsons School of Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Illustration with a Liberal Arts Degree, from Rockland Community College, where my creative adventure really started- where I took my first nude drawing class. Little did I know that my passion for strategically solving 3 different creative assignments with one illustration would translate so well into advertising.

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  Added: April 2014 • Updated: April 2014