If the name Rich Tlapek doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps you may know him as the guy who was reportedly responsible for penning Southwest’s “Ding: You are now free to move about the country” tagline while at GSD&M, where he worked for 14 years. Now, after spending the last several months freelancing for the likes of Sid Lee, Innocean and Saatchi LA (and even starting up what appears to his own operation, Sacred Cow), Tlapek has taken his talents to Boulder and joined up with CP+B as creative director on the Best Buy business.

During his lengthy stay at GSD&M, Tlapek moved up from copywriter to group creative director, leading work on accounts including the aforementioned Southwest as well as Charles Schwab, CBS Sports and Goodyear, which the Austin agency debuted over a year ago.

Here’s a look at the first work from the folks at GSD&M for Goodyear tires since the Austin-based agency won the account in April of last year. Dubbed “More Driven,” this campaign highlights some of the brand’s achievements from being the official tire of NASCAR to the first tires on the moon and the tires that broke the land-speed record while also being the tire of choice for U.S. military vehicles, Southwest Airlines, FedEx, Hollywood stunt drivers, the presidential limo and so on.

With all that said, the whole idea behind this campaign is that Goodyear wants to convey that it’s taking everything it’s learned over the years and applying it to the tires they roll out for you, the consumer. This campaign was completed during the brief Mike Wilson era at GSD&M, which developed a font based on the Goodyear logo that “that allows bold statements to be made over aggressive imagery.” We guess by “aggressive imagery,” they mean the pseudo-heavy metal combined with fast cars that showcase the might of Goodyear tires. Can you just feel the testosterone flowing?

Credits and two more spots from the campaign after the jump.
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