BEST OF A View From An AdGuy - CP+B's Alex Bogusky Part Two - What Every "Student of Advertising" Should Watch -w/ Alex Bogusky, CP+B Creative Directors Dave Swartz and Bill Wright

Originally posted this February 5th, 2010 as second post simple titled under"What Every Advertising Student Should Watch". There are 2 parts to the posting and was based on the original "portfolio show" episode of the webcast FearlessQA from Alex Bogusky and CP+B. I have had over 17,991 visits to this specific post. Enjoy!

A few months back I posted a piece that I simple titled "What Every Advertising Student Should Watch", the posting was based on the "portfolio show" episode of the recently introduced webcast FearlessQA from Alex Bogusky and CP+B. Much to my surprise between my Blogger and Posterous blogspots I have had over 3,500 visits to that specific topic. Since that original post I also posted a message about finding how you define yourself, are you a "Student of Advertising" or an "Advertising Student".

Yet again, FearlessQA has hit another "Homer Run" with this episode on "Old School" advertising. Odd title on first glimpse, but the as the subject unfolded... WOWzer, it easily became "What Every Student of Advertising Should Watch Part Two - Alex Bogusky with CP+B Creative Directors Dave Swartz and Bill Wright.

The show was promoted on the idea of "Old School", upon first hearing this some of my students suggested we tell Alex to think about "dressing" the role, kinda "Don Draper" like. Well that's not what show delivered (nice hat Alex). Yes, "old school" was the concept... but message was timeless. Timeless because it is truly what every "Student of Advertising" should know. It may even seem that Alex and his guest are "old school" but in fact they are the "bridge" between old school and today as we move forward.

"Old School is not about doing it for a long time... it's more about what we have done and have forgotten... the craft of the business"
"Creative's must blend the craft and the knowledge of what has come before them and what is happening now... if you don't have that perspective, then something will get lost".

                                                       - Alex Bogusky FearlessQA

I remember my first informational and job interviews and being asked, "who did I follow... who inspired me"? Seemed like a trick question, but I knew the answer needed, I needed to demonstrate how I developed my craft. Who inspired me was about the past, while who do I follow was for identifying my knowledge of the moment. Oddly, my response was always quick and simple. The people who created the craft of "the big idea", Bill Bernbach, David Olgilvy, George Lois, Rosser Reeves and Leo Burnett, they inspired me. As an Art Director I studied Herb Lubalin and the art of typography, Helmut Krome, Paul Rand, they inspired the craft of Art Direction. That was my "school", neither "old" or "current"... it was my education. (Note: My Professor Ken Coleman actual inspired me to travel to New York to have my portfolio reviewed by both Herb Lubalin and Milton Glaser who at the time was the Design Director of the Village Voice, today viewed as the "old testiment" of old school.


What makes this episode a "must watch", is the insights of what you should be reading. I take some heat about having a "suggested" reading list that is about 100 books deep, but really where will you find it one place. Sadly, I see too many hours wasted on "Ads of the World", a wonderful site, but the navigation through "real" and "spec" ads can be cumbersome. But, does it really teach you about the craft? No, there is not point of reference, that is why the good old "book" on the shelf can't be beat. Between the covers is the story of "How".

"I'm speaking from a person who has no respect for advertising that has come before because of craft... just blow it up... blow it up... over and over... advertising is supposed to be timely, it's supposed to be about the NOW... but know the people and know the thinking... because they blew it up before you blow it up and before I blew it up... you're not going to be able to blow things up unless you know and understand the thinking behind the idea. Study the masters of the trade".  
                                                      - Alex Bogusky FearlessQA

Bill Wright started at CP+B as a copywriter showed two books that should top everyone's book list. First, "The Book of Gossage" and "The Art of Writing Advertising". Both have been referred to as "the Bible of the Craft of Copywriting". Howard Luck Gossage is commonly referred to as the father of the "Conversational Style" of advertising. The book is more then just a guide to better creative thinking but it displays the thinking any creative needs to understand. "The real fact of the matter is that nobody reads ads. People read what interest them, and sometimes it's an ad” once said to describe what he needed to use as a baseline in any ad he approached. Gossage is often attributed with a line I often quote in lecture, "To explain responsibility to advertising is like trying to convince an eight-year-old that sexual intercourse is more fun than a chocolate ice cream cone", it's what we do, but we never clearly understand that. I guess it comes down to 'know your audience".


David Swartz has his roots is graphic design and joined CP+B as an art director. What brought great joy to me was seeing one of my favorite books appear, Herb Lubalin - Art Director, Graphic Designer and Typographer. This brilliant book was the soul of my development, sadly out of print now (if you can find it, you're looking at $350+ for a copy) it showed why in my book Herb Lubalin was a brilliant art director and designer who, for over forty years, produced a continuous stream of stunning graphic design and in particular expressive typographic ideas. So what makes a great art director? No simple answer was offered but, you need a grand sense of design. You need to study design because you are the backbone of the big idea, the bodygaurd. Understand the concept of "Hierarchy" and "Order", find out and clearly understand what that means, what order does the message need to be delivered. Maybe that's why the best art directors come from art schools and having studied graphic design and typography. Sadly, Dave and Alex do make it clear that maybe technology has ruined the craft of art direction.

I can't express enough why this episode of FearlessQA which could have been a "trip down memory lane" will hopefully remain a "standard" for all "students of advertising" as what you need to know to truly succeed.

BTW... I tried to keep up with the boys and their "bourbon", they drank me under the table.

Required/Suggested Reading:

The Book of Gossage by Howard Luck Gossage; Jeff Goodby and Bruce Bendinger
The Art of Writing Advertising by Denis Higgins
Herb Lubalin - Art Director, Graphic Designer & Typographer by Gertrude Snyder & Alan Peckolick
The Bill Bernbach Book by Bob Levenson
The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy by
When Advertising Tried Harder by Lawrence Dobrow
Creative Advertising by Mario Pricken
The Advertising Concept Book by Pete Barry
Hey Whipple Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan
History of Advertising by Stephane Pincas
Twenty Ads That Shock the World: The Century's Most Groundbreaking Advertising and How it Changes Us All by Bill Twitchell

View the FearLess Episode

CLICK TO READ and WATCH  

Part One - What Every "Student of Advertising" Should Watch -w/ Alex Bogusky and CP+B Creative Director Tiffany Kosel

Maybe The Most Important Thing You'll EVER Read While Putting Your Portfolio Together.

A View From An AdGuy Number 300: Maybe The Most Important Thing You'll EVER Read While Putting Your Portfolio Together.


Originally posted this February 19th, 2011 (and was my 300th Blog Posting) to assist advertising students to better understand what they need to consider to 'build' a better portfolio. To date this post has had over 8,336 visits.  Enjoy!

What better way to celebrate my 300th Blog Posting then to feature a piece from someone I highly respect and admire. Suzanne Pope. Her blog Ad Teachings" is a must follow and can be found on Twitter ad @SuzannePope.

Have you ever read something or come across an article and said to yourself, "damn it, I wish I had written that".

Well here is one of those pieces and it's a story I have told (literally this exact story) a hundred times over the years during both my advertising and teaching careers. But after reading the thoughts and the version that Suzanne Pope a Creative Director at john st. Toronto published on her blog "Ad Teachings", I felt it was something very important to also share here for the future AdLanders putting their portfolios together and to the industry at-large.

Throughout her career she has been dedicate to creating brilliant and innovative communication messages for clients but in recent years she has taught copywriting at Humber College and has been a regular at the various Portfolio Review Nights. Suzanne has also contributed articles to ihaveanidea.org to help in the development of better "creative" idea building.  From those writings she recently launched her blog where she proudly boasts:  

"I STARTED THIS BLOG TO PROVIDE FREE ADVICE AND INSTRUCTION TO YOUNG PEOPLE IN ADVERTISING. I HOPE IT HELPS"

Trust me Suzanne, thus far, mission accomplished and the added bonus... It’s just like school, minus the tuition and text book costs.

I have had the privilege and honor of meeting Suzanne a number of years ago at various industry events and quickly we developed a mutual respect for the development of future "Ad Landers". I have described Suzanne as inspirational, dedicated but most important passionate to the craft of copywriting. Hardly enough to describe what Suzanne brings to her engagement with young aspiring creative thinkers.

There isn't a time that Suzanne wont find time to help a young AdLander with a review of a portfolio or provide information on career direction. Her honesty is not lost, most leave after meeting Suzanne more inspired not only to do better, but are inspired to improve their craft. Her passion is infectious.
As an educator I am proud to have developed a professional and personal relationship with her, and I am honored to call Suzanne an colleague in the development of young talent.

Thank you Suzanne for this great piece, but also for your commitment to future AdLanders by posting inspiring content on your Blog.

Originally published on Suzanne Pope's blog "Ad Teachings"

ON THE SINGLE GREATEST THREAT FACING THE ADVERTISING STUDENT

A number of years ago, I had an advertising student whose thirst for success far outstripped the quality of her work.  I think her work would have improved if she had been willing to listen to me or her other instructors, but that never happened. If I gave her 70% on an ad, she would become annoyed and say that it deserved 80%. I started giving her 72% or something just to avoid the arguments, but my explicit message to her never changed: Unless the quality of your ads improves, you will have a very hard time getting hired.
I don’t know what became of this woman, because I’ve never heard from her since. But I did hear through the grapevine that she ended up being vocally bitter about the instruction she had received from me and my colleagues. Her complaint, surprisingly, was that we ought to have graded her more harshly.  The complaint developed when this woman started taking her portfolio around to interviews.  She heard none of the effusive praise she had expected. Instead, creative directors ripped her book to shreds. Thus, she decided, her instructors were to blame for having failed to prepare her for the tough standards that awaited her in the real world.

If this story has you shaking your head in disbelief, you’re probably okay. You’re probably a very good student, at least in terms of reacting to bad news about your ads. You are open to the possibility that your instructors are right, and that you need to go back and work a little harder. But I have observed that there’s a significant minority of students who cannot tolerate the suggestion that their talent is anything less than exceptional. When their work is criticized, they scarcely seem to hear. It is as if they are listening instead to the fanfare they imagine will play when the team of unicorns pulls their chariot through the front door of Wieden+Kennedy.

If you’re not sure whether you’re vulnerable to this attitudinal threat, there’s one simple question that will reveal all: Have you ever responded to a disappointing mark by questioning the credentials of your instructors? A disgruntled student might say that one professor hasn’t worked in an agency for years, or that another never won any important awards. These comments might be true, but it doesn’t matter, because they actually have nothing to do with the instructors at all. They are actually an expression of the student’s desperate hope that creative directors will judge his work more favourably than his instructors did. But I can tell you that this never happens. I have never seen student work get praised by a creative director after being panned by an instructor. If you are holding on to this faint hope, the time has come to unhitch your unicorns, smack them on the hindquarters and dry your tears as they gallop off into the hills.

Most instructors will be kind in their criticisms. This is because applying professional standards to students isn’t helpful, any more than it would be helpful for a piano teacher to apply professional standards of musicianship to a twelve-year-old. Your instructors are focusing on developing your discernment as an advertising person, to help you build your potential through an understanding of what is or isn’t a good advertising idea. And, actually, that is all that most creative directors are looking for. There’s a famous ad person I know who got his first job on the strength of the one decent idea in his book.  That’s all.  The rest of his book was garbage, but that one good ad let the creative director know that the guy was trainable. And trainability isn’t just about what you show in your book. It’s also about what you show in your attitude.

Advertising is a business that humbles all of us sooner or later.  You will be much happier, personally and professionally, if you choose to humble yourself right now.

© 2011 Suzanne Pope - http://www.adteachings.com/post/3217718212/on-the-single-greatest-threat-faci...

An Art Director Must Watch... Helmut Krone on the "New Page"

Helmut Krone intuitively understood how graphic design could define an institution's personality.

"The page, " he once said, "ought to be a package for the product. It should look like the product, smell like the product...Every company, every product, needs its own package." Without ever designing a logo — often without even using a logo — he created corporate images that endure to this day.

How many companies can be said to "own" a typeface the way that Volkswagen does Futura Bold?

Krone was the backbone and defining visual voice of Doyle Dane Bernbach, then the palace of art directors greatness, all championed by the "creative revolution" genius Bill Bernbach. With the exception of a few years in the early seventies, he would spend his entire career at DDB.

He was admired by many of greats of advertising. George Lois once called him "a complex kraut" and "a fidgety perfectionist who worked with deadly Teutonic patience".

Some of his simplest, clearest, most effortless-looking work was the product of brutal sweat.

Krone’s goal was to create an advertising look that was substantially different than what was being done by his peers. In an interview with the New York Times in 1969, Krone said, “great advertising really has to be talked about by people and become part of the national scene”. The advertisement he created in 1960 for the Volkswagen Beetle did just this. The campaign that Krone created with this simple advertisement “ushered in the era of modern advertising by promoting a ‘position’ or ‘unique selling proposition’ designed to associate each brand with a specific idea in the reader or viewer’s mind”.

A beautifully designed, relentlessly researched, well written and extremely hard to find book written by Clive Challis, Helmut Krone. The book. Graphic Design and Art Direction (concept, form and meaning) after advertising's Creative Revolution (via Amazon) captures his greatness in the book's 268 lavishly illustrated pages.

Krone was addicted to "zigging when everyone else was zagging".

Additional Reading:

Was Helmut Krone a Genius? He Didn't Think So.

The Ad that Changed Advertising.

Alex Bogusky & CP+B Offer Part Two - What Every "Student of Advertising" Should Watch - w/ Alex Bogusky, CP+B Creative Directors Dave Swartz and Bill Wright

A few months back I posted a piece that I simple titled "What Every Advertising Student Should Watch", the posting was based on the "portfolio show" episode of the recently introduced webcast FearlessQA from Alex Bogusky and CP+B. Much to my surprise between my Blogger and Posterous blogspots I have had over 3,500 visits to that specific topic. Since that original post I also posted a message about finding how you define yourself, are you a "Student of Advertising" or an "Advertising Student".

Yet again, FearlessQA has hit another "Homer Run" with this episode on "Old School" advertising. Odd title on first glimpse, but the as the subject unfolded... WOWzer, it easily became "What Every Student of Advertising Should Watch Part Two - Alex Bogusky with CP+B Creative Directors Dave Swartz and Bill Wright.

The show was promoted on the idea of "Old School", upon first hearing this some of my students suggested we tell Alex to think about "dressing" the role, kinda "Don Draper" like. Well that's not what show delivered (nice hat Alex). Yes, "old school" was the concept... but message was timeless. Timeless because it is truly what every "Student of Advertising" should know. It may even seem that Alex and his guest are "old school" but in fact they are the "bridge" between old school and today as we move forward.

"Old School is not about doing it for a long time... it's more about what we have done and have forgotten... the craft of the business"
"Creative's must blend the craft and the knowledge of what has come before them and what is happening now... if you don't have that perspective, then something will get lost".

                                                       - Alex Bogusky FearlessQA

I remember my first informational and job interviews and being asked, "who did I follow... who inspired me"? Seemed like a trick question, but I knew the answer needed, I needed to demonstrate how I developed my craft. Who inspired me was about the past, while who do I follow was for identifying my knowledge of the moment. Oddly, my response was always quick and simple. The people who created the craft of "the big idea", Bill Bernbach, David Olgilvy, George Lois, Rosser Reeves and Leo Burnett, they inspired me. As an Art Director I studied Herb Lubalin and the art of typography, Helmut Krome, Paul Rand, they inspired the craft of Art Direction. That was my "school", neither "old" or "current"... it was my education. (Note: My Professor Ken Coleman actual inspired me to travel to New York to have my portfolio reviewed by both Herb Lubalin and Milton Glaser who at the time was the Design Director of the Village Voice, today viewed as the "old testiment" of old school.


What makes this episode a "must watch", is the insights of what you should be reading. I take some heat about having a "suggested" reading list that is about 100 books deep, but really where will you find it one place. Sadly, I see too many hours wasted on "Ads of the World", a wonderful site, but the navigation through "real" and "spec" ads can be cumbersome. But, does it really teach you about the craft? No, there is not point of reference, that is why the good old "book" on the shelf can't be beat. Between the covers is the story of "How".

"I'm speaking from a person who has no respect for advertising that has come before because of craft... just blow it up... blow it up... over and over... advertising is supposed to be timely, it's supposed to be about the NOW... but know the people and know the thinking... because they blew it up before you blow it up and before I blew it up... you're not going to be able to blow things up unless you know and understand the thinking behind the idea. Study the masters of the trade".  
                                                      - Alex Bogusky FearlessQA

Bill Wright started at CP+B as a copywriter showed two books that should top everyone's book list. First, "The Book of Gossage" and "The Art of Writing Advertising". Both have been referred to as "the Bible of the Craft of Copywriting". Howard Luck Gossage is commonly referred to as the father of the "Conversational Style" of advertising. The book is more then just a guide to better creative thinking but it displays the thinking any creative needs to understand. "The real fact of the matter is that nobody reads ads. People read what interest them, and sometimes it's an ad” once said to describe what he needed to use as a baseline in any ad he approached. Gossage is often attributed with a line I often quote in lecture, "To explain responsibility to advertising is like trying to convince an eight-year-old that sexual intercourse is more fun than a chocolate ice cream cone", it's what we do, but we never clearly understand that. I guess it comes down to 'know your audience".

David Swartz has his roots is graphic design and joined CP+B as an art director. What brought great joy to me was seeing one of my favorite books appear, Herb Lubalin - Art Director, Graphic Designer and Typographer. This brilliant book was the soul of my development, sadly out of print now (if you can find it, you're looking at $350+ for a copy) it showed why in my book Herb Lubalin was a brilliant art director and designer who, for over forty years, produced a continuous stream of stunning graphic design and in particular expressive typographic ideas. So what makes a great art director? No simple answer was offered but, you need a grand sense of design. You need to study design because you are the backbone of the big idea, the bodygaurd. Understand the concept of "Hierarchy" and "Order", find out and clearly understand what that means, what order does the message need to be delivered. Maybe that's why the best art directors come from art schools and having studied graphic design and typography. Sadly, Dave and Alex do make it clear that maybe technology has ruined the craft of art direction.

I can't express enough why this episode of FearlessQA which could have been a "trip down memory lane" will hopefully remain a "standard" for all "students of advertising" as what you need to know to truly succeed.

BTW... I tried to keep up with the boys and their "bourbon", they drank me under the table.

Required/Suggested Reading:

The Book of Gossage by Howard Luck Gossage; Jeff Goodby and Bruce Bendinger
The Art of Writing Advertising by Denis Higgins
Herb Lubalin - Art Director, Graphic Designer & Typographer by Gertrude Snyder & Alan Peckolick
The Bill Bernbach Book by Bob Levenson
The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy by
When Advertising Tried Harder by Lawrence Dobrow
Creative Advertising by Mario Pricken
The Advertising Concept Book by Pete Barry
Hey Whipple Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan
History of Advertising by Stephane Pincas
Twenty Ads That Shock the World: The Century's Most Groundbreaking Advertising and How it Changes Us All by Bill Twitchell

Watch the complete episode of FearlessQ&A

Thats' Dr. Alexander Bogusky, LHD

Congratulations Alex...

Last year when I hosted Alex for lunch with my students here in Toronto, Alex told us about his college professor that would not grant him the opportunity to complete a "real" client project in place of a school project, forcing his hand and deciding that "this college thing just wasn't for me". And look who's got the last hurrah.

I reminded Alex of Jeff Spicolli (1982's Fast Times at Ridgemont High) and his relationship with his teach Mr. Hand, indeed there were similarities.

Today, the University of Colorado at Boulder will hold its spring commencement ceremony beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Folsom Field, where 5,282 degrees will be conferred, but only one really stands out for me, CP+B's Alexander Bogusky (that's how they referred to him in the UCB newsletter) will be awarded an honorary degree, called Doctor of Humane Letters. Here's hoping they didn't expect the Advertising grads to there for that early wake-up call.

The UCB media release makes the understatement of the century, "Bogusky is an influential and creative advertising and marketing innovator and pioneer in the field of social marketing. Time magazine listed him among the "Visionaries of Tomorrow" in 2004. He is chairman of the Crispin Porter + Bogusky advertising agency, an award-winning agency with offices across the globe, including in Boulder. Bogusky will receive the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters."

According to Wikipedia, "The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (Latin: Litterarum humanarum doctor; D.H.L.; or L.H.D.) is always conferred as an honorary degree, usually to those who have distinguished themselves in areas other than science. But advertising is a science, no? So maybe Alex should receive the Doctor of Science. How about the way he has turned the art and craft of writing in creative, certainly it has become some fo the greatest advertising literature, these individuals often receive a Doctor of Letters degree. And least we forget the Church of Alex Bogusky and the Latter-Day Advertising Saints (I am personally a holder of a Cardinalship), Alex has made advertising a religion and should indeed receive a Doctor of Divinity degree.

So I leave you with this; congratulations Alexander Bogusky, Esq. LHD, DS, DL, DD, BFF.

(Okay, the BFF, kinda of... he has been a good friend to my program and has personally helped guide curriculum and added to my teach significantly)

PS: As for the picture, it is a much more fitting look for a college guy!