A Word from Our Sponsors

Making UW television ads is a labor of love for Badgers.

Who better to tell the story of UW–Madison than some of its alumni?

Two firms behind the university’s most recent institutional advertisements, seen during televised Badger sporting events, are headed by UW graduates who jumped at the chance to work for their dream client.

“To be able to apply our professional talents and creativity and passion to a brand that we all love so much is just a fun and unique opportunity,” says Dave Florin ’92, president of the Madison-based marketing firm Hiebing, founded by Roman Hiebing ’65, MA’68.

Courtesy of Hiebing

There was no shortage of ideas for the Hiebing commercial, which features some of the UW’s greatest contributions to the world, since the company’s creative team includes a number of alumni. Hiebing’s ad, the second in a series titled “See the Right Thing,” debuted during the Rose Bowl and contains a musical hint that Badgers were involved: the closing notes of the soundtrack are from “On, Wisconsin!”

The production and design studio behind the UW’s other recent ad — which incorporates images of iconic campus architecture, “Jump Around” at Camp Randall, and the names of prominent alumni — has UW ties, too. Nick Seuser ’90, a Madison native, founded 1 / 29 Films, which wrote, produced, and directed the full-motion graphics ad called “Major in Change.”

Courtesy of 1/29 Films

“It was a labor of love for us, for sure,” Seuser says. “We put in that extra work simply because it was something that was important to me personally, and we just wanted to make it shine for the UW.”

Published in the Spring 2012 issue