Rockford Advertising Agency Art Director Designs First Lady’s 2020 Commemorative Egg
ROCKFORD, Ill. (April 9, 2020) – For the past 40 years, it’s been an Easter tradition for America’s egg farmers, under the auspices of the American Egg Board (AEB), to present the First Lady of the United States with a commemorative egg. This year’s egg design is the work of local Rockford, creative, Quentin Oliver of Quiet Light Communications (QLC).
Quiet Light is a marketing communications firm, headquartered in Rockford, specializing in business-to-business advertising, marketing and communications for the food industry. AEB is one of their long-standing clients.
Earlier in the year, the AEB requested design options from its advertising agencies serving this U.S. Department of Agriculture check-off program. With dozens of creatives from the Chicago area, and beyond, submitting their proposals, Oliver’s entry was ultimately chosen as this year’s winning design.
“It’s quite an honor to have one of our art director’s work chosen from such a large number of brilliant, world-class creatives associated with AEB,” said Terry Schroff, CEO at Quiet Light. “Quentin’s unique talent is on full display for the whole nation to see, and we are proud to be a part of this historic moment.”
The 2020 egg is painted in royal blue and accented with gold leaf, featuring a carved tree to honor the First Lady’s Be Best initiative. The tree signifies children planting the seeds of personal growth, and three hearts within the foliage represent three values of the Be Best campaign: kindness, community and positivity. All three words also appear in gold leaf, on the back of the egg.
Oliver worked with two other artists to bring this year’s egg to life: award-winning egg artist Brian Baity, who carved and painted the extra-large chicken egg; and Laura J. Schiller who created the polymer clay book that represents the endless potential of America’s children.
“It was an excellent experience, conceptualizing and putting the Be Best initiative into an expression of art,” explained Oliver. “And the amazing children of our egg farmers from around the country were the initial inspiration for this year’s egg. I hope they see the egg and feel pride knowing their spirit and hope were the foundation of the design.”
The egg is housed at the respective presidential library, as administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. And in some cases, these pieces of art become part of the First Lady’s personal collection.
Each year, AEB presents the Commemorative Egg to the First Lady as part of the annual Easter festivities held at the White House, in conjunction with the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. Oliver was scheduled to be at the White House with AEB representatives for this year’s presentation. However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, this year’s Commemorative Egg was unveiled virtually at www.incredibleegg.org.
