Professor/Program Coordinator/Chief Enthusiasm Officer of Creative Advertising at Seneca College in Toronto.
The Creative Advertising program focuses on the strategic planning and creative concept development of advertising.
As a former award winning Creative Director working on national brands in both Canada and the United States helped to develop my personal passion for nurturing and motivating new young talent.
My idea of this comes from Karma and the following quote: “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
I wasn't sure I would ever get into this blogging thing... ever. But the time has come and here is the home of my thoughts, advice, references, tales, passion and feelings on advertising and the life involved within.
When I decided this was to be a "new" method or additional "voice" to my teaching, motivating and inspiring for my students and friends, my first thoughts turned immediately to time.
TIME! Something we all value and never seem to have enough of. That will be my guide. TIME. I will use mine wisely and respect yours, making the post relevant and timely.
So welcome. Spend some of your valuable time here hopefully to learn, share, be inspired, and maybe even entertained.
The Fine Print
The views, opinions, conclusions and other informations expressed in this BlogSpot are not given or endorsed by Seneca College unless otherwise indicated by an authorized representative independent of any of the posted messages.
The contents within are given by Anthony Kalamut for use as inspiration and learning independent of specific subjects, courses or college requirements.
The Ad That Got Me Into This Crazy Bizness - Thanks to you Bill Bernbach
Interesting challenge put to the National Post AdMissions team this past week. We reviewed a spot for the renamed Burger King Whopper Ring Master (formerly known as the Bourbon Whopper). The spot called upon an old school gag of "hide the engagement ring in the food" trick. SO do are two young lovers seal the deal or do we see the girl as a gold-digger"? Overall the spot is simple and sweet. In fact it works but only for the required final shot.
I think Henry Wong of Tanzig Toronto (bonus if you know where the agency name came from without Google) added a great note in his review, "... there are two versions: A 30-second and a 15-second. Thirty-second ads are a good length to tell such a story. Fifteen-second ads – no. The shortened version lacks the time needed for the action and reaction of two funny actors. As well as to show the requisite mouth-watering product shot". Take a look at the :15sec version and you see it exactly how this spot fails and the :30sec wins.
Here's my AdMissions Review:
You know you might have a great spot when it can make you laugh, cry and then turn to prayer. Well after seeing the Burger King Ring Master Whopper spot I did laugh at how Taxi 2 managed to pull out the old school gag of “hide the ring” in the food. Sheesh, 1974 called and wants its gag back.
But after seeing the spot a couple more times that laughter turned to tears of disappointment when I thought about the audience that was likely hoping (if not encouraging) for the perky blonde gold-digger to not check the burger, eat the ring, choke and be forever silenced. All that was left was a few prayers for the poor chump left thinking he was a little more original.
Yup, I laughed, I cried and now a couple of Bloody Marys er … Hail Marys … will ensure that I will never forget the BK Ring Master Whopper. Success, I guess, since I never remembered this Whopper was originally known as the Bourbon Whopper. Bartender..
Red Urban Toronto created an new campaign called "Drive Until" for the Volkswagen Golf and it has been generating great attention. Created as a series of spots or chapters titled "Courage" and "Time". Chapters one and two each drew upon memorable soundtracks, emotional and thoughtful story lines leading to the potential of endless chapters. But VW and Red Urban created even greater intrigue when it offered up the opportunity for followers of the VW Facebook page to help bring to life Chapter 3, the next part of the story. It has finally been launched and is titled "Talk".
For the final chapter of the trilogy, Red Urban asked Facebook fans of Volkswagen to collaborate and create the script, choose a cast and pick the music. "Talk" is by far my favorite. Red Urban posted the :45sec spot as part of 2 minute film version that gives credit to all the "fans" that offered their thoughts and contributions.
Christina Yu the EVP, Executive Creative Director noted, "Volkswagen translates as "The People's Car" and was is founded on the democratization of mobility, so its seems fitting to open up the 'Drive Until' Campaign and invite people to help create the next commercial in the series. We like to call the initiative the "Volks ad".
Das Smart.
Very cool wrap on the trilogy.
Here's my AdMissions Review
It's taught at every level of film and ad schools that to be a great storyteller you need the right mix of ingredients. Two of these are great images to capture the viewer's eye, the other is adopting the right soundtrack to evoke emotion.
These two vignette spots fully captured the view and emotions of real life through beautiful photography and direction by Jean-Michel Ravon and Red Urban Toronto.
If the two spots "Courage" and "Time" are the start to the campaign, which will unfold in a series of chapters, it will be a best seller. And now calling upon the very loyal and deeply passionate Volkswagen nation to come along for the ride by writing the next chapters via Facebook will add the authenticity too often missing in serial ad campaigns.
Curious to see how the next chapters will unfold bringing together the user content, the agency filters and the client bravery.
Be brave Volkswagen. Be brave. Wish there was a LOVE+ button.
Note: Since the posting of the original AdMissions review Chapter Three was released see below.
Rethink Vancouver has won more awards for the Vancouver amusement park Playland then you can shake a stick at... and rightfully so. This latest spot features the latest ride addition, "Atmosfear".
I have always loved the creative for Playland because they generally creates a big buzz, amuse and give the viewer an understanding of the actual ride experience without actually experiencing it.
Here's my review of the spot for AdMissions.
"Sie sind verrückt!" (That means, "You must be crazy," in German).
You must be crazy if you don't love a great cliché either, and here we have one of the best subtly at work: "Only an awesome feat of engineering and thrill can be delivered if the Germans are behind it" (insert snicker or snooze).
Great tease, and it may be crazy, but what is it? What is Atmosfear? A coaster? A thrill ride? I guess I wanted a bit more of an idea of what I was in for, especially if it's designed by Germans (again, insert a snicker or snooze).
A simple, subtle hint - a model at the desk, a blueprint during the presentation - because after all, it's "only" a chair attached to chains spinning 200 feet above the earth at 70 kilometres an hour that would likely have you revisiting the pound of fudge or half-gallon of cola you downed with your deep-fried burrito.
Less tease, more action. Me, I'm staying safely on the ground.
I've been reading The Surfer's Journal now for about 15 years... yup I may be landlocked but I'm passionate about surfing from a very young age during my summer's spent in Ocean City, New Jersey. No big waves, but enough to fuel an young boys interest. Life on the beach can do that.
When I briefly moved to California in 1981 I spent many a weekend admiring and watching the surfers off the Manhattan Beach Pier, Santa Monica Pier and countless beaches along the PCH.
This story features the 68 year-old Lee Clow from his many complex sides. Creative genius, hardcore surfer and passionate life-liver (okay I made that word up) and every piece of Lee in between. From his early days at Santa Monica College to his army stint at Fort Bliss, Texas (okay that name is just too cool) to being landlocked in New Mexico (he notes "I never understood how people can live out there or anywhere in the middle of the continent) to staring in advertising at NW Ayer and finally hitting full stride when he campaigned Chiat/Day CD Hy Yablonka and landed upright. The rest is history. A brilliant history.
HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY BILL... YOUR LEGACY LIVES ON.
Originally posted this March 28th, 2010 as post to introduce the "legends" or the "original" Mad Men of our business to my students. To date this post has had over 5,800 visits. Enjoy!
Bill Bernbach believed in a simple truth, “In advertising, not to be different is virtual suicide.” From this simple quote he and his legendary colleagues created and made major contributions to what we refer to as the "auteur" of the Creative Revolution. or advertising's "Golden Age".
He was a philosopher, a scientist, a humanitarian. And his influence was felt well beyond the world of advertising.
Bill Bernbach indeed changed the face of advertising forever.
In the rich history of the advertising, there were far more David Oglivy's, Hal Riney's and Shirley Polykoff's than there were Bill Bernbach's.
Hey, he sold a post war America that defeated the Nazi's a German car, the Volkswagen and convinced a the nation "You Don't Have to be Jewish to Love Levy's" rye bread".
When Advertising Age published their "Advertising Century" issue in 1999, they referred to Bernbach's creative revolution as "the most influential" and the Bernbach name was "the hands-down winner" as the number one " Advertising Person of the Century". When defining Bernbach they added he created the "devising creative yardstick by which most advertising today is measured."In the same issue, DDB's included 1959's "Think Small" Volkswagen advertisements, which was voted the No. 1 campaign of all time in Advertising Age’s 1999 “The Century of Advertising.
The Beginning of the Creative Revolution
On June 1, 1949, Bill Bernbach opened Doyle Dane Bernbach. Joined by partners Ned Doyle, Maxwell Dane they started what would become better known as DDB and the creative agency that began a creative revolution with 13 employees, one client and a point of view that was very different from any other agency that existed at the time: that good taste, good art and good writing could be good selling.
DDB opened its spartan offices at 350 Madison Avenue. All 13 employees came from the ranks of Grey Advertising where Bernbach truly established himself as a writer and found his "creative" voice. The exodus from Grey included the cream of its copy and art departments, Phyllis Robinson and Bob Gage. The Grey exodus also included DDB's first client, Orbach's department store. Each principal had his job to do, a division of labor that kept them out of each others hair. "There was no strongest among us," Max Dane once said, "We each had our function and never had to fight the others for authority. Ned handled the clients. Bill produced the product. And I ran the infrastructure and even a little public relations. I never told Bill that for several years I had earned my living as a copywriter with the agency."
DDB invented the "Creative Team", the art and copy team concept, by pairing Bob Gage Hall of Fame Art Director & Phyllis Robinson copywriter. History refers to them as the first "Creative Team", the original art and copy combination. In the early 1960s another Art Director named George Lois would work on the legendary Volkswagen ads "Think small" and "Lemon".
From DDB's founding in 1949, Bernbach played an integral role in the writing of advertising, distancing himself from the administrative and promotional aspects of the business. He served as the creative engine behind DDB helping the company increase its billings from approximately $1 million to more than $40 million by the time he retired. DDB quickly grew to become the 11th largest advertising agency in America by 1976, when Bernbach stepped aside as chief executive officer.
Bernbach the ad man "philosopher" believed to be interesting you have to say things in ways other people don’t—but can still relate to. "To be heard, you have to say interesting things as often and in as many places as possible. To be understood, you have to communicate clearly. And to tell the truth, you have to tell the truth, which can be found in everything. For example, Satan is undeniably “the most evil man in the world,” so if you are ever hired by the devil to sell more immorality, brand him as such in a creatively loud way and you’re gold".
Bernbach's advertising philosophy went contrary to convention. His ads were always fresh, simple, and intelligent, yet exuded energy. He advocated a soft-sell technique to draw in the consumer that resulted in the product not getting lost in the advertising.
Above all he valued innovation and intuition over science and rules. In an interview, he credited his creativity as being the secret of his success, saying, "I think I...had the advantage of not knowing too much about advertising, and therefore I could be fresher and more original about it. As soon as you become a slave to the rules, you’re doing what everybody else does; when you do what everybody else does, you don’t stand out."
Simplicity was another quality exhibited in Bernbach’s work. His copywriting philosophy revolved around the idea that persuasion was the purpose of advertising and that only a simple approach would "make crystal clear and memorable the message of the advertisement." By incorporating creativity, simplicity and humor into his advertisements, Bernbach was able to create some of the most successful campaigns in the history of advertising.
Bernbach believed that copy is more important than market research, graphs, formal presentations and much of the other paraphernalia that dominate many agencies of the era, he said in a 1958 Time Magazine article that, "We get people to look and listen by being good artists and writers. We don't expect of research what it is unable to do. It won't give you a great idea."
Bernbach never believed in à la mode advertising. His creative philosophy was outlined in a guide he once wrote:
“Merely to let your imagination run riot, to dream unrelated dreams, to indulge in graphic acrobatics and verbal gymnastics is not being creative. The creative person has harnessed his imagination. He has disciplined it so that every thought, every idea, every line he draws, every light and shadow in every photograph he takes, makes more vivid, more believable, more persuasive the original theme or product advantage he has decided he must convey.”
If Bernbach believed a product could not live up to its advertising, he would not take on the client.
He strongly believed that advertising success hinged on the quality of the product. One of Bernbach’s most quoted lines is "[N]othing makes a bad product fail faster than a great advertising campaign." This guiding principle led DDB to select only products that could live up to their advertising.
In the book "Ad Land - A Global Advertising History" by Mark Tungate writes
"DDB was more like a hip jazz combo than an advertising agency" and Bernbach once compared its work to that of jazz great Thelonius Monk, founder of bebop (1)As a leader it is clear Bernbach was not afraid to be visible, tap into the culture of the time and break down barriers. He was also very clear about the type of people he wanted to recruit. He insisted the people hired fulfill two requirements: They had to be talented and they had to be nice. “If you were nice but without talent, we were very sorry but you just wouldn’t do,” he observed. “We had to ‘make it,’ and only great talent would help us do that. If you were a great talent but not a nice person, we had no hesitation in saying ‘no.’ Life is too short to sacrifice so much of it to living with a bastard.” (2). True to his beliefs, and borrowing from his mentor, William Weintraub, DDB was the first to hire ethnic minorities and women into visible and decision-making positions.
William (Bill) Bernbach - The Man
Bernbach was born August 13, 1911, in New York City ( he passed away of Leukemia October 2, 1982). As a child he enjoyed reading and writing verse and grew up with an appreciation of art. With the exception of a two-year tour of duty during World War II, Bernbach never strayed far from his roots in New York City.
Bernbach liked to hint that he came from a deprived background, saying that "he had no middle name because his parent’s couldn’t afford one". However, his family was better off than most, his father being described by Bernbach as "an austere but elegant designer of women’s clothes".
He attended New York University, receiving a bachelor's degree in literature in 1933. Bernbach also pursued studies in art, philosophy, and business administration that would serve him well during his career.
Job hunting during the Depression years would be a challenge as he decided upon advertising as his preferred field, he was unable to obtain work.
As many of "legendary", Bernbach started at the bottom of the corporate ladder, the mailroom of Schenley Distillers Company. But he always seemed to have his mind focused on an advertising career, he found himself spending his free hours creating ads, and once submitted one of his ads to Schenley's in-house advertising department but received no response. Soon after his submission he would see his ideas and words appear exactly as he had written them, in the New York Time Sunday Magazine. With some anger in his blood, the young Bernbach in a masterstroke of networking he made the acquaintance and made sure that Lewis Rosenthiel, the president of Schenley knew of the ad's true origin and creator. Rosenthiel appreciated Bernbach's creative spirit, and gave Bernbach a raise and placed him in the advertising department. He had begun his ad "agency" career as a writer with the opening of William Weintraub & Co. in 1942, but the following year he would join the army and spend two years in the army before returning to advertising and taking a job at Grey Advertising.
In 1945 Bernbach, became the Vice President of the Grey Art and Copy departments. There, while working on the account of Ohrbach's, a low-priced Manhattan and Los Angeles department store, he stressed sophistication instead of price with the eye-catching illustration and a minimum of copy that later became his trademark, best scene in Ohrbach's "Cat" ad. But he found his style crimped by conventional ad concepts. He left Grey in early 1949 to form DDB with Grey Vice President Ned Doyle and a friend, Maxwell Dane. To no ones surprise he took the Ohrbach account along as the nucleus of the new agency.
Throughout his career, Bernbach won many awards and honors for his work within the advertising industry. These include induction into the Copywriters Hall of Fame in 1964, The Man of the Year of Advertising Award in 1964 and 1965, and The Pulse Inc., Man of the Year Award in 1966. He was also named "Top Advertising Agency Executive" in 1969 and received the American Academy of Achievement Award in 1976. In addition to receiving countless awards, he also designed the Advertising Hall of Fame "Golden Ladder" trophy.
But no bigger tribute or achievement would be made when he was inducted into the Art Directors Club of New York in 1983. It was said that Bill Bernbach was a discoverer and he was the art director’s first great benefactor. He loved to discover art directors; and he loved to purr and revel at their magical power to conjure images. So there was no way that Bernbach would start the world’s first "creative agency" (having worked with the dazzling Paul Rand) without Bob Gage, Bernbach’s most inspired discovery, and years later George Lois.
The Bernbach Effect
Bernbach stressed a simplicity, but a striking idea, a specific selling point that got across a message without a lot of talk. He had a disdain for the use of gimmicks to lure readers. Said he: "A picture of a man standing on his head would get attention, but the reader would feel tricked by the gimmick-unless, of course, we were trying to sell a gadget to keep change in his pocket."
He got a reputation for being an adman's adman, for putting small accounts on a level with big ones.
He made an once obscure New York bread one of the city's best known with ads showing nibbled slices and the message, "New York is eating it up." Among the agency's other memorable ideas came for Israel's El Al airline's new, faster Britannia plane service, with a picture of the Atlantic Ocean one-fifth torn away ""Starting Dec. 23, the Atlantic Ocean will be 20% smaller".
Great writing and simple visual were his trademark on the breakthrough work created for Volkswagen, other notable campaigns of Bernbach's and DDB are "We Try Harder" for Avis Car Rental", created "Mikey" for Life Cereal, "You Don't Have to be Jewish to Love Levy's" for Levy's Rye Bread and "It's so simple" made Polaroid a household camera.
What Made the Bernbach Effect Different?
What made Bernbach’s vision of how to make advertising work effectively? Take the Volkswagen campaign which was launched in 1959 with the famous “Think Small” ad. If there was one ad that marked the start of the golden era of advertising, “Think Small” was the one. (NOTE: According to Advertising Age, the No. 1 campaign of the 20th century).
But how did the decade of the Sixties differ from the decade of the Fifties? There was a summary that appeared on a blog called The Brand Strategy Insider that analyzed 146 automobile advertisements from the 1950s and compared them with the Volkswagen ad:
Almost all of the 1950s auto ads (137 advertisements, or 94 percent) showed people in the ads. How else was a creative director going to demonstrate the pleasure that car buyers might feel about their new acquisitions?
Almost all of them (135 advertisements, or 92 percent) used artwork, not photography. How else was a creative director going to make the cars look long and low and beautiful?
Most of them (102 or 70 percent) used multiple illustrations. Some single-page advertisements had as many as eight separate illustrations. How else was a creative director going to communicate all of the car’s exciting features except by using a number of different illustrations?
Almost all the ads were in color with hand-lettered headlines, big illustrations and large logotypes. How else was a creative director going to communicate the excitement of buying a new car?
Some typical automobile headlines from the 1950s:
Buick: “You can make your ‘someday’ come true now.
Cadillac: “Maybe this will be the year.”
Oldsmobile: “You’ve got to drive it to believe it!”
Chevrolet: “Filled with grace and great new things.”
Now compare these ads with “Think small.” The Volkswagen ad was in black and white with a small illustration, lots of white space and a headline totally lacking in news value. Everybody knew that Beetles were small cars.
At the time the ad ran, Volkswagen had been in the American market for nine years, had sold more than 350,000 vehicles and had generated a lot of favorable publicity.
As our industry is currently under a new a new "creative revolution", but this one is being lead and influenced by technology first. But it to be compared to the "original revolution", we must remember it was Bernbach's ideas and keen insights into human nature may be more relevant than ever. His timeless words have inspired thousands of creative men and women around the world. They have the power to inspire many more.
The advertising industry worships the creative process. At Cannes and at countless other places, the industry lavishes praise on its creative folks. The people who think up these wonderful ads. But it’s a rare individual who is good at recognizing the power of an idea once it is created. Bill Bernbach was one of those rare masters.
Hmmmmm, I wonder what he might have said about the Press Grand Prix winner at Cannes?
Much to be learned from the masters that came before us.
Below are a series interviews featuring Bill Bernbach and George Lois who at one time was a art director at DDB, plus a series of legendary DDB television ads created during the "Creative Revolution" era.
Bill Bernbach on Advertising ~ Part One Intro
Bill Bernbach on Advertising ~ Part Two
Bill Bernbach on Advertising ~ Part Three
George Lois Talks About Bernbach
George Lois on The Creative Revelution
Retrospective of Bill Bernbach / DDB Work
Volkswagen "Funeral" (The Spot that actually got me into this crazy business)
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