By the Pollen Story Team

Jason Alley founded Jackalope Studios six years ago with this goal:

“Ad agencies. You can place them anywhere and they’d still be the same. I wanted to create an agency with a sense of place.”

That place is Rapid City, South Dakota.  

“I am from here. I am proud of it. I want that to help me go against the grain.”

The magic behind the Jackalope folklore emboldens that spirit. The studio tagline serves as an underscore:

“Evolve or die.”

Client 1: East of 5th

East of 5th is an up and coming district located in the heart of Rapid City. Jason is part of a team of young, passionate individuals hell-bent on carving into city blocks a space for doers and makers.

Here is Jason’s manifesto for the City:

“Welcome, traveler. We’ve been waiting for you. We’ve been waiting for your hands and your head to join us. Together, we will cut and paste and repurpose everything around us. We’ll dust off the old and weld it to the new. We have everything we need, and just enough ignorance to believe that anything is possible.”

“Yeah, in this neighborhood, there are these people kinda doing their own thing.”

Client 2: Black Hill Ammunition

Jason could probably take on more work. He could maybe have more high profile accounts. But he wants to have the freedom to pick and choose what he does.

“I am very selective. I want to work with people who believe in my process, and believe in the work that we do. We have to share the same values system. We can’t work for people who we don’t believe in either. At the end of the day, we do the work we want to do.We have to believe in the product they are selling. We have to believe in our process. This is very important to what we do.”

“The work is an extension of who we are. Authenticity.”

“Black Hills Ammunition is one of the only manufacturers that hand inspects every single bullet. When developing their marketing, we take a hands on approach. This year we shot with tintype. We packed a bag full of 100 pounds of gear and went into Devil’s Bathtub and the photographer developed the photographs in the field, as we were going.”

On the score for this video:
“I watched a documentary, No More Smoke Signals, on Kili Radio, a station on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Porcupine. It was produced in Switzerland. The soundtrack was absolutely phenomenal. I thought, “Oh my god, I need to talk to this guy, Tomas Korberon. So I found him on the credits and went directly to him. I found his stuff and emailed him. I needed a score for Black Hills Ammunition. It was a cool interaction. I am not afraid of where someone comes from. If I hear or see something great, and if it is a great fit for a project, I reach out. We don’t believe we are better than others, and only stay within the walls we are in. We just find the right partner.”

Client 3: Lakota Voice Project

Jason’s passion lies in trying to tell the stories of those who may not have an opportunity to share their own story to a broad audience. Two years ago, while chair of the local American Advertising Federation, Jason led the annual charge of donating services to a local charity or nonprofit. One year, services were granted to create a logo for local hunters. But this project would be completely different. Jason not only donated his talents towards a group in need, but he also incorporated mentorship with public awareness. Jason met with the faculty at Oglala Lakota College and set out to create a way students could earn credits towards their degree by participating in a marketing program under his leadership.
Working with eight students, Jason started with a whiteboard and asked, “What are some causes that are near and dear to your heart?”
Things like language and the environment emerged. But ultimately, it was an issue of life and death that grabbed their hearts. The teen suicide rate on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is 150% times that of the national average for that age group.
“The students picked this. They directed this entire venture. We decided to create an awareness campaign. We handed out disposable cameras to teens, each with thirty-six exposures. Then we collected photos into a traveling art exhibit and displayed them in a circle, in what looked like a waterfall effect. The circle was connected to Lakota spirituality. We also participated in StoryCorps, and had three students give their story of hope. They are archived in the Library of Congress now.”

“The really great thing and important thing is that we didn’t want to direct or control anything. It was all organic, and happened by chance or connection. Typically, with advertising, there are dates and quotas. We tried to make this an act of communication. There was no expectation, except getting this idea out, and getting this voice to the children.”

Jason prefers to remain untitled. Not a designer. A connector. A maker. A doer.

“I grew up on a farm in southern Iowa. You don’t talk about yourself. You just do the work. It is hard for me to talk about myself. Really hard. I was raised to do the work.”