As the newly appointed worldwide creative director at the winning agency for the world's first global hand-held satellite phone, creating and producing Iridium's multi-lingual simultaneous worldwide advertising launch was no easy feat. But, in the summer of 1998 you couldn't travel anywhere without seeing the iconic Iridium campaign, the largest media launch in history. However, it was an inauspicious start for Iridium as the massive infrastructure of 77 satellites, ground control bases across the globe, and United Nations styled company was already underwater financially and just a year into the ad campaign was forced to shut down. When the dust settled, the U.S. government stepped in and refused to let the low-Earth-orbiting satellite network be destroyed, instead ending up owning a piece of the world's largest frontline telecommunications system. In the ensuing 15 years, fiscal responsibility combined with marketing refinements brought Iridium back to profitability and a successful IPO. And of course everyone still remembers the ubiquitous launch campaign of beautiful images from the edges of civilization, including footsteps in the desert.