The inspiration for Reggie’s unique campaign came after years of public frustration.

“I have neurofibromatosis. It’s a disorder that causes tumors to grow along my nervous system,” stated Bibbs. “In my case, it’s fairly disfiguring. When I would go out in public, people would stare or, worse, walk away. So I came up with an idea for a t-shirt and the rest, as they say, is history.”

With the help of a friend at a local advertising agency, Reggie Bibbs created a t-shirt that would invite people to come up and talk to Reggie about his disorder. “I figured the more they knew about my disease, the more they would understand me,” added Bibbs.

Reggie Bibbs was born with Neurofibromatosis. Doctors noticed a tiny tumor on his eye, and then on his heel. Later, they found a small tumor on the roof of his mouth. Reggie’s mother thought nothing of it. But when she tried to put his shoes on, she noticed it was more difficult to put his left shoe on than his right shoe. “I’d cry when she’d try, ” he said.

NF is not a rare disorder, it is the most common neurological disorder caused by a single cell. Neurofibromatosis is a genetically-determined disorder that affects more than 100,000 Americans; this makes NF more prevalent than Cystic Fibrosis, heredity Muscular Dystrophy, Huntington’s Disease and Tay Sachs combined. The mortality rate for people with NF is higher than that of the healthy population because of the increased potential of malignant transformation of diseased tissues and the development of neurofibrosarcoma.

“When Reggie called me with the idea for a t-shirt that read, “Just Ask!” I literally had tears in my eyes,” said long-time friend Lou Congelio, president of STANANDLOU Advertising. “The idea was so simple and so powerful that I immediately offered him a position in the company,” Congelio added.

The t-shirt features on the front an abstract outline of Reggie’s face and, on the back, large type that simply says, “JUST ASK!”. Also included on the back is the url for Reggie’s website, www.reggiebibbs.com.

“We figured he would need a business card to go with the shirt with an explanation of what NF was. Then everything kind of snowballed from there,” said Lou Congelio. “Then we figured a website would be the quickest, most efficient way to get out the information about NF so we designed one of those.”

The project quickly grew to include links to Flickr.com to show Reggie’s photographs, a link to YouTube to show his TV commercials, and most importantly, a link to his blog where Reggie adds daily posts. Soon the website will have an online store so that he can start earning a living while raising awareness of NF.

“I am really excited about the Addy Award nomination. Winning would be a great honor, not just for me, but for everyone else who has NF. People with NF and other disfiguring conditions find it difficult to do everyday tasks, and this site increases public understanding of the hurdles that we have to overcome,” said Bibbs.

“If we win, I will accept the award on behalf of Ronnie, my brother who had NF and cancer. He died in September of 2006, and I miss him a lot,” said Bibbs.

Reggie’s t-shirt, business card and website was recognized and nominated out of 850 entries submitted by 60 different ad agencies, design firms and consultants.

To learn more about NF, visit the Houston Advertising Federation Addy Award nominated website or visit Reggie’s blog. Flickr. MySpace, Facebook or YouTube sites!

Both of the awards were for print work done for Tila’s – a restaurant that specializes in authentic Mexican cuisine. STANANDLOU won in two categories: overall print campaign and single print piece.

The Tila’s print campaign grabs the reader’s attention with a distinctive yellow background and clever headlines. One ad in the campaign promotes the variety of top-shelf tequilas with the directions, “Lick. Suck. Swallow. Repeat.” The second bronze ADDY went to an ad that plays off the restaurant’s authenticity by declaring, “Jesus eats here. So do his brothers Mateo, Marcos, Lucas and Juan.”

The two district awards come on the heels of the 2006 Houston Advertising Federation’s ADDY Awards ceremony, where STANANDLOU won five Gold ADDYS and seven Silver ADDYS in the newspaper, consumer magazine, direct marketing, trade publication, and self-promotion categories.

The HAF judges awarded the work for Tila’s two Gold ADDYS and a Silver ADDY. STANANDLOU’s magazine ads for Houstonian Lite earned two Gold ADDYS and a Silver ADDY as well. The final Gold ADDY was for The Houstonian Golf and Country Club. In addition, the agency took home Silver ADDYS for work done for NOEL Furniture, the Greater Houston Partnership, Aphelion Software, LOGIX Communications, and an agency self promotion piece.

“We are thrilled to be recognized at both the local and district level,” said Lou Congelio, president of STANANDLOU. “Our goal has always been to stay on the cutting edge of creativity and any recognition we get for our efforts is icing on the cake.”

STANANDLOU is a full service communications firm based in Houston, with projected 2006 billings of $31 million and is ranked among Houston’s top five full-service advertising agencies. Clients include Aphelion Software, Barefoot Properties, Buc-ee’s, Christus Spohn Health Sustem, Constellation NewEnergy, The Houstonian, Houstonian Lite, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, KRBE-FM, LOGIX Communications, Monterey’s Little Mexico, NOEL Furniture, Redstone Golf Club, Tortuga Mexican Restaurants and UHY Advisors.

“We’re excited to create an infrastructure for creative talent in Houston,” says Lou of the newly established organization. “As a group we want to remind businesses and agencies that there is creative talent in Houston. We then hope to promote that talent in a way that inspires these entities to utilize their local creative resources.”

The group began as a committee of the Houston Advertising Federation aimed at addressing the issue of local businesses hiring non-local agencies and other out-of-city creative professionals. Since late last year, the groundwork has been in the works for Only in Houston and the initiative was officially kicked off in February of this year.

OnlyinHouston.com is scheduled to launch in July and is billed as a directory and showcase for everyone from graphic artists to on-air talent as well as a resource for those seeking creative services.

“We want to make it easier for talented people – and for people seeking great talent—to work, and to find work in Houston,” says Congelio.

Only in Houston is an initiative of the Houston Advertising Federation (HAF) chaired by the president of STANANDLOU Advertising, Lou Congelio. Plans for filing Only in Houston as a 501(c)(6) organization are in the works.

STANANDLOU is a full-service communication firm based in Houston, with projected 2005 billings of $27 million. Starting as a creative boutique in 1988, the agency has grown to a top-five full service agency that pushes the creative envelope. Clients include Aphelion Software, Constellation NewEnergy, Conoco LNG, The Houstonian, Kelsey-Seybold Clinics, LOGIX Communications, Monterey’s/Little Mexico, The Redstone, and UHY Advisors.