Bill Bernbach at 100 ~ The Legend That Was Bill Bernbach He Sold A Nazi Car & Jewish Bread. "Not To Be Different Is Virtual Suicide".

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)



Volkswagen "Keeping Up With The Klemplers"



Volkswagen "Snowplow"

McDonalds "Two All Beef Patties" 

Alka Seltzer "Spicy Meatball"

American Tourister "Goes Ape"

Video Retrospective of Print Ads

Alex Bogusky Left CP+B, MDC and Advertising. But Does His Mom Know?

A friend of mine reminded yesterday of a great piece Alex wrote back in early February on his blog titled, "My New Job. Mom, Please Read." The reason this even came up was the interest, class and grace Alex shows to his readers, but specifically how he responded to my "comment" I posted after reading the piece.

The piece was written to address his new position to all his MDC colleagues, but also to explain to his mother who asked him "how I (Alex) planned to run 32 plus agencies". Alex asked how she had come up with the question, Mom explained, “I read it on the internet.” What she read was a piece written in Fast Company about his new position at MDC as Chief Creative Insurgent which he left behind on July 1st.

I urge you to read the piece. 

After I read the piece I realized that often it is difficult to explain what we do to our friends, but most confused often are our own families. I remembered the countless times I tried to explain my job first as an Art Director, then Creative Director and I stopped trying when the business cards said VP ECD, Mom's, shesh...

I directed my comment to Alex's mother to let her know what he has done for me and my students.

Like I said, Alex once again showed his grace, compassion and positivity after he read my comment.

MY POSTED COMMENT:

Dear Alex's Mom...

There's a little something you need to know about your son that might not be on the internet (and g-d knows there is no shortage of Alex Bogusky postings on the internet) and he likely didn't share at Thanksgiving.

When I first met your son I had 20 hungry young AdLanders with me on the side of a stage in NYC @ AdWeek. I introduced myself to Alex and told him that, "I preach the good gospel according to Alex Bogusky"... he quickly told me to "Careful what you preach"... he had me at hello.

Then on a trip he took to Toronto, Alex graciously accept my invite to lunch with 20 other equally hungry future AdLanders... for over an hour he engaged us and told us to, "Follow your bliss" and "Find something you love and you'll never work day in your life". Your son added that "we need to think bigger about the world and not just do ads, make a difference". These maybe old cliche lines but the impact it had changed me and changed my students.

Last fall, your son wrote another amazing book, titled "Baked In". At the book signing Alex hosted my entire class of passionate, dedicated and now highly motivated future AdLanders who all walked away with their very own "Alex story"... but none more then one of my young ones who is visually impaired, and has fear greater then any of us can imagine, again your son politely told her to simply, "follow your dream, your passions and live that dream, because fear is your biggest enemy" and then Alex opened a line of communication with her, you can't imagine the impact that has had.

So I am writing this little note to you to let you know your son is okay. This new thing he's doing... don't worry it gonna work out, probably bigger then we can imagine. Why? Well simply, actually he is amazingly great, honest, passionate,and fun loving guy (and the girls think he's cute too)... it's no wonder the "big company" has given him a new role, a role that will likely motivate, innovate and inspire a whole group of folks as he has my young AdLanders. 

Love and peace,

Anthony

ps. If you have second, please call my mother she still hasn't figured out what I actually do yet... or is this mother thing.

pss. Just wondering if 'The Ivory Cottage" has a fireplace, guitar rack and spare room for a longer visit.

ALEX BOGUSKY'S RESPONSE:

Anthony, 

That has to be the absolute nicest blog response in the history of the internet. Thank you sir. I'm humbled. 

I'll call your mom anytime. 

Much love,
Alex

An update on this comment, that student I mentioned not only followed her dream, but is living her dream. She is currently in the middle of her internship at CP+B in Boulder as a copywriter.

Employee Number 16 Resigns. The Day Alex Bogusky Said Good-Bye To CP+B, MDC and Advertising.

He was known as employee number 16 in early 1989.

He became Creative Director of the agency five years later.

He was named a partner in 1997.

He became Co-Chairman of Crispin Porter + Bogusky in January 2008.

He charted his own future as Chief Creative Insurgent at MDC in early 2010.

Then suddenly, Dr. Alexander M. Bogusky resigned. He resigned from his MDC post and maybe advertising life altogether.

I have had the privilege to meet, chat and exchange ideas with Alex and with each encounter I left feeling smarter, more passionate and humbled, fueled to bring more to my students and to what I love to do. I met Alex for first time during Advertising Week in New York City in the fall of 2007. Since then he has been a mentor, inspiration and friend.

THIS IS NOT AN OBITUARY

Under his and Chuck Porter's direction, the CP+B has grown to over 900+ passionate minds. In Boulder, in Miami, and along with CP+B Europe in Sweden, he and CP+B have become the world’s most awarded agency in history including being named Agency of the Decade by Adweek and Alex being name "Creative Director of The Decade” in one of the most tumultuous times in advertising history. This growth and success showed no signs of stopping - as recent as last week CP+B was named Interactive Agency of the Year at the Cannes Advertising Festival and winning the Titanium Grand Prix for Best Buy Twelpforce.

The "great work" and "awards" earned him many honors, but it also brought some unusual attention along the way. There were fake Facebook pages, fake Twitter accounts and even a curmudgeon who would retweet any reference to @bogusky as "Bogusky Garbage" devoted to him. From time to time many blogs writers gave "play-by-play of his every move. Some would ask, not always kidding, “What would Alex do?” There was even fake merchandise created from decorative "plates" and "WWABD" (What Would Alex Bogusky Do) bracelets.

During his career Alex has been profiled in almost every industry publication from Communication Arts, Adweek, Adage, Business 2.0, Fast Company and Business Week. His work and thinking has has been featured in main stream media such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Newsweek, and TIME, as well as countless appearances on national television and radio. Two honors placed upon to Alex that defined his career, but his personality where his 2002 induction into the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Achievement and the highest of honors for an Art Director, induction into the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame. Pretty cool for guy who really wasn't sure this crazy business was in his cards. He remains humbled by all of this.

I asked him to offer my students some insights on the ADC honor, some advice to help them in their careers. His response to me remains and defines what makes Alex an inspiration to me:

"Thanks. It’s a great honor. Shocking actually".

"A friend of mine reminded me of a conversation we had when Lee Clow went into the (ADC) Hall of Fame. He asked me if I remembered what I said and i didn’t even remember the conversation. But he said I remarked that getting in the Hall of Fame was the ultimate achievement yet totally unattainable. I guess I was wrong. Again".

"But I will quietly admit that this sort of thing doesn’t really sit well with my sense of community and my connection with everybody I’ve ever worked with. I’m obviously not alone in a single thing I ever did. We did it all together and to be singled out isn’t right. I worry too that it continues to perpetuate this idea of singular achievement. Which to me it a potentially destructive way to look at the world. I’ll accept it for CPB but not for myself and I’ll accept it for all the people who supported all the hair brain schemes and plans we’ve had over the years".

Positively,
Alex

WHEN ALEX BOGUSKY KNEW HE COULD BE ALEX BOGUSKY

Last fall Alex posted a great piece on his "posterous blog" on a significant turning point in his career titles "Flip Flopping to Success". This story was told several times over and over in the media and on blogs but Alex wanted to tell the story the way it happened. When he was promoted to art director in his first advertising job he wanted to attend an advertising seminar that he thought would be a good place to get exposer to some thinking and people he didn’t have access to, not like today's world of social media. He asked his boss if he would pay to send his to the seminar figuring it was win-win for the agency and Alex. "He seemed really impressed with me and my initiative and he carefully explained to me that the more I learned like this the more valuable I would become and finally he turned to me and said, “Never be afraid to invest in yourself." Alex found this to be the best and most "beautiful and true advice". Invest in yourself, true then true today.

What Alex learned during that seminar (he still can't recall if it was two days or a week) was to "be yourself". He noticed a tall lanky character strolling through the halls. This guy seemed out of place with all the suits and leather briefcases. Alex himself felt out of place. Who was this guy? Turned out to be the last speaker, a gentleman named Lee Clow. Alex recalls he was really excited to hear him speak because he recognized his name from the annuals and connected to a lot of his favorite things. "But by this point in the seminar I was pretty beaten down and didn’t really care to hear any more about how tough and confrontational you had to be to do good work" Alex recalls. "So I took a seat way in the back to make my ultimate escape from his presentation and advertising in general a little easier".

That curious guy walking the halls was introduced, "Lee Clow you can probably imagine how surprised I was to see the freak walk up and take the podium. This guy wasn’t faking it. He clearly didn’t have time for a lot of the bullshit or the false trappings of business". It was at that moment that Alex Bogusky discovered he could belong in advertising and make a difference. "Do great work and believe in your work".  Alex has told this story many times over (including a lunch I hosted with Alex and several of my students in Toronto) that day "Lee Clow kept me in advertising. I’m so thankful that I had the chance to see through his example I didn’t have to pretend to be anything. I could just be Alex Bogusky. A guy who works in advertising and does the best he can. In spite of the fact that he’s a freak, too".

He has remained true to the epiphany he had that day.


Remaining true to who what matter most to him he relocated from Miami to Boulder with his family when Crispin Porter & Bogusky opened its office there and since then he has been taking full advantage of the qualities of life style that Colorado offers.

In fact, Alex was on bike ride when he found out that MDC released its "official" statement on Thursday morning.

ALEX BOGUSKY - A CAREER IN REVIEW


It what legends are made of.

Alex Bogusky, became one of the most-heralded creative executives in advertising for his work for brands like Burger King, Best Buy, Dominos and the BMW Mini Cooper. Not bad.

Just pick up a copy of Hoopla. This brilliant retrospective complied by CP+B and edited by Warren Berger chronicles the revolution with insider emails, emails between creative thinkers and illustrations, plenty of illustration of the great work.

What he leaves behind is a business that will never be the same. Not the business that shifts and changes like the weather. What he left behind is a business he and all those creative minds he worked with was a second "Golden Creative Age" and "Creative Revolution" (the Bernbach/Lois era being the first). Always creating messages that specialized in risk-taking, rule-breaking campaigns was the genius part is that defines his work. He persuaded clients to run ads that changed culture and their status, not simple companies peddling products and services. How interactive media would be used and defined happened under his watch.

Most significant was what CP+B did for a fading brand Burger King who at the time had advertising that was generally seen as boring, irrelevant and unimaginative. Think back to the "Subserviant Chicken" to see how that became the game changer and cultural movement. With 15 million hits the first 5 days and an average time spent on the site at an astounding 5 minutes and 44 seconds, word spread completely virally. Once the site and chicken were seeded mainstream they added more branding, commercials and easter egg commands to keep people talking and passing the site around. Now there have been well over 450 million hits to Subservient Chicken.

Creativity Online has a feature of the work that CP+B created under Alex's watch. (CLICK TO VIEW)

JULY 1st, 2010 - THE DAY MY "TWITTER" WENT CRAZY and ALEX SAID GOOD-BYE

At 8:57am I received an email containing details of the MDC Media Release of Alex Bogusky resigning for MDC Partners and by 9:15am Advertising Age website posted the "news" that Alex Bogusky has indeed resigned as Chief Insurgent Officer of MDC Partners. By 9:16 the TweetDeck on my iPhone was vibrating every second. Timing is everything, the stock market opening (MDCA - Nasdaq) within the hour and the news was a shocker.

The tweets ranged from just people sending links to the adage.com story to "thanks Alex you're a legend" to speculation that is was a directive from Miles Nadal and his concerns from clients like Burger King who may be feeling that Alex had crossed the line with his personal view points he posted recently on his blog on the subjects of child obesity and even the concept of advertising to children.

Alex Bogusky, who will be 47 later this month, maintained his bright whit and sense of humor when he wouldn't characterize his decision to as a midlife crisis, jokingly he said, “I’ve had so many.” (Fast Company magazine is currently working on a profile of Alex is described as “a midlife crisis story,” focused on his personal interests the beyond advertising world.)

When I had the pleasure of hosting Alex for a lunch with a small group my students and alumni in the Spring of 2008, he was sure to remind us that what we are doing is art and craft, but be passioante and true to yourself. He said, “find and follow your bliss, there will be a time you will start to search for your genuine self”. In an interview with the New York Times shortly after his announcement, he made pretty much the same statement but added, "I'm at that point in my life, and I’m doing that. I’m exploring and figuring out what is that genuine version,” he added, “and it’s not really consistent with corporate life” because in that realm “you’re kind of in the ‘get yours’ mode.”

So what should Alex Bogusky’s next move be? Many think he will continue be a voice of reason for the many causes he keeps near and dear to his heart. He answered the New York Times with the honesty we have come to understand and respect:

“I don’t think I’ll do much advertising” moving forward, Mr. Bogusky said, because “I’ve done plenty of it; I’m not able to find challenges in it.”

“Mostly, what I want to do is participate in this cultural revolution that’s happening,” he added, “happening mostly outside of advertising.”

“The more interesting stuff is coming from the fringes,” Mr. Bogusky said, “and that’s where I want to be.”

“My vision of advertising was always sort of culture jamming,” he added, using a term that refers to efforts to upend or disrupt institutions that include advertising, and there are increasingly ways to get people to talk about brands outside of the traditional realm.

“Social media is a fun place,” Mr. Bogusky said, “and an amazing tool that’s making it more possible” to reach consumers “without the budgets” because “you don’t need the money now” that was once required to reach them through ad campaigns.

“I’m very curious about where it’ll go,” he said of social media. He also listed potential interests that include “ideas for TV shows I could be involved with, as a host or in a producer or director capability.”

And “a fair amount of what I will do will not be for profit,” Mr. Bogusky said, citing interests like mentoring.

(Source New York Times ~ Bogusky, Creative Ad Star, Is Leaving Advertising)

 
Among Mr. Bogusky’s recent non-advertising pursuits, he has written a couple of books "9 Inch Diet" and "Baked In", hosted on an online talk show "FearlessQA" and spoken out about the nations food, child obesity, advertising to children and environment.

According to Bogusky, “Miles (Miles Nadal the CEO of MDC) started getting phone calls from some clients that didn’t like things that I had said”. Alex has been know to annoy clients as far back as when he published a book titled “9-Inch Diet” exposed the way America's diet and asses have been supersized.  Of course that didn’t sit well with clients Burger King and Domino’s. Today both his blog and online broadcast (FearlessQA) tackle the issues of genetically-modified food and certainly brings into questions overall "consumerism". Alex is quoted, “Miles (Nadal) was cool about it, but to me I just thought this is going to happen over and over, and I’ve barely begun. It’s like, everyone’s got enough going on, so I don’t want MDC to have to deal with damage control. So Miles and I basically went back to Plan A... retirement.”

Recently he produced a brilliant video message on "global warming". In this simple two minute video, Alex brings to point the current issue of  "global warming" and relating it to pollution. Using the famed "Crying Indian" featuring actor Chief Iron Eyes Cody (he wasn't really a chief or native american) from 1971, using the original spot and his updated message, Alex demonstrated that "pollution is bad, clean is good", so anything that effects global warming is bad. Carbon in the air is bad. Less of it is good. Focus on the problem. Solve the problem. And leave the scientific and political blather out of the room.











(Note: The "Crying Indian" was created by Marsteller Inc. The spot won two Clio awards and the campaign was named one of the top 100 advertising campaigns of the 20th Century by Ad Age Magazine.)

CP+B AND THE FUTURE

He hasn’t said what he’ll do next, but there are several interesting things he’s been exploring. Trust me if he can match his success at CP+B in any other endeavor, the results will be amazing. But that raises another question: What does his departure mean for Crispin Porter + Bogusky?

Crispin Porter + Bogusky has been left in great hands. In early 2008 when Alex and Chuck Porter were named co-chairman, they left the day-to-day creative voice and direction in the hands of great creative thinkers Andrew Keller and Rob Reilly. Together they have lead a brilliant team of inspired and brave "thinkers", Jeff Benjamin, Tiffany Kosel, David Wright, Ari Merkin, Bill Wright, Faris Yakob, Scott Prindle and many others who are rewriting the rule book every day for a stellar list of clients that grows with each new innovation or strategic approach that just makes the industry stop take notice. No just on the creativity, but the influence it has on the media, culture and most importantly the audience.


The current client list includes Burger King, Microsoft, Domino’s Pizza, Coke Zero, Guitar Hero, Old Navy, Gap, AMEX, Kraft, Best Buy and Geek Squad and remain one of the most awarded agencies in the world with the unprecedented distinction of winning the Grand Prix at the Cannes International Advertising Festival in five separate categories. The agency has been named Agency of the Year twelve times in the advertising trade press, as well as being named Interactive Agency of the Year at Cannes three times.

There is no sign of this stopping as they attract the top talent from around the world. They draw deep from the well of all the advertising schools were the work of CP+B is featured at the top of every case study whether on creativity, strategy and innovation. This year I am proud say that we have our first intern hired in the Boulder office.

THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ALEX BOGUSKY

There is certainly no shortage of content on the internet about Alex Bogusky, including lists of things you would never believe or think to ask.

Yes he loses his wallet way more often than most people. He would be perfectly content eating Tex Mex food every day for the rest of his life. Most Mondays, he will come to work with at least one bloody, puss-oozing injury.

He rarely drinks anymore, but when he does he goes straight for the tequila. He has the attention span of a mating fruit fly.

In grade school, his teacher recommended he be put in a special class.

He owns eleven bicycles, four dirt bikes and one crotch rocket He has a photographic memory, but only for ads.

He has an irrational dislike of St. Louis. Yet many of his favorite people are from St. Louis.

At one time, he was a good enough motocross racer to turn pro. His mom and dad are both designers and more talented that he is.

And he cuts his own hair. With a Flowbie.

One of the best things I stumbled upon was a comment posted on Alex's blog the day of his announcement where he described the day he knew it was time to "stop and smell the flowers". It was posted by a very bright, whity and now obsessed advertising creative former neurologist named Zayra Rubin from New York. After reading his posting Zayra summed things up perfectly, words I couldn't find but felt deeply. Thanks Zayra.

I guess this is all the more poignant after today's news. And I guess we'll be like two ships who pass in the night, both on similar journeys in opposite directions. We've never met but just know that you have inspired me to do courageous, foolish and awesome things.

A few short years ago I was a neurologist. No, really. I literally lived in the hospital, watched people die on a daily basis, and saved some lives along the way. But I certainly didn't smell any flowers. Hell, I barely saw daylight. But I did it because I knew it all mattered and I didn't really see any other way.
It's a long story with a lot of steps in between, but now I'm actually headed towards a career in advertising. I know, I know, crazy, right? But it's exactly like you said earlier this week: it's about knowing who you really are and truly living that.

It's also about a Turkish proverb I came across some years back that got me through the worst of it: "No matter how far you've gone down the wrong road; turn back." I guess sometimes that road can be right for a while, but wrong in the end.

Ironically, I just posted an old entry of yours about meeting Lee Clow as a young creative, almost exiting the business, but being inspired to stay, and I thought to myself: "Shit, Alex Bogusky almost quit advertising before he even started? Now THAT would have been a great loss!"

Now I'm saying advertising's loss is going to be something else's gain; because whatever you pursue you will do it with grace, excellence and awe-inspiring brilliance.

And just know how many of us you have inspired along the way.

Peace out.

So, like I said at start of this posting I wasn't sure how to approach this since almost everything I have read these past few days was reading and sounding like an obituary. I wanted to honor and thank Alex, yet I don't want to be just another "Alex is gone. now what?" Sure I have referred to him as "Jesus of Boulder" for his working mud into miracles. Be it people, clients or causes he has helped build a creative revolution not seen since Bill Bernbach and George Lois both inspired the first "Golden Creative Age" of advertising.

Hopefully this isn't one of those postings.

Good-bye is may be to strong. As the french say " a bientôt pour le prochain".

INTERVIEW WITH ALEX BOGUSKY 

Celebrating The 250th "View From An AdGuy.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW 250th "A View From An AdGuy"

Amazing how quickly both time, inspiration, knowledge and the advertising industry fly.

I am about to post my 250th entry on this "blogspot" in little over 12 months, and most of what has been said here are often my personally rantings, sometimes the thoughts of industry leaders... but mostly just a place where we can gather and share our collective passion for advertising.
What got me started? My passion as an educator to offer my students ever opportunity to find information, to get inspired, to find their own passion. I was an early adapter to technology in the way I delivered information and today that continues.

I offer this site as extended learning outside the classroom and I compliment it with Twitter and Facebook. I gave an interview recently and was asked to describe how I use "social media" in my teaching. The answer was simple, "I offer my blog as place for the detailed learner who wants more, the details and additional links to expand the learning, I use Facebook for the learner to get the information they need delivered quickly and to offer an opportunity to add comment and create discussion and finally I use Twitter for those who have little time but want the basics". I am truly seeing the results in the way my future "AdLanders" are thinking, devouring information and creating their own connections to the industry.

It has been a gift to see the power of all of this.

All of this has also increased the profile of my creative advertising program at Seneca College in Toronto which I lead and coordinate. We have established many new relationships with the creative thinkers, industry leaders and even found that interest in the program has been expanded. The future is bright.

There are days when I have so much to say and others not enough time to keep up. When I started the process originally I promised to use my time wisely, but more importantly your time. I hope the valuable time you have spent here was a combination of useful learning, entertaining, motivating and inspiring.

I thank you for your time. I hope I have added to your passion and all things that make this such an exciting industry.

My 250th entry was a tough one to select in terms of content. Recently I posted an entry about David Ogilvy under the title of "Advertising Legends" (see link under my profile) and it was well received in terms of traffic and feedback. The interest in seeing and learning who are "pioneers" were is critical, so I will feature one of the true original "MadMen" Bill Bernbach.

Bill Bernbach was the reason I got into this crazy business. His Volkswagen ad titled "Funeral" was the one ad I give full credit for inspiring me to see my own creative potential. Later as I learned about the magic of Bernbach, from Volkswagen "Keeping Up With The Kremplers" to the McDonald's "Two All Beef Patties" to American Tourister to Alka Seltzer's "Mama Magadini's Meatballs" a commercial that was later named "World's Best Commercial". Once I was hocked and knee deep in the business I discovered we share the same birthday August 13th, and next year will celebrate his 100th birthday.

He left a great legacy and truly legendary work.

We Sell or Else. David Ogilvy ~ A History of A Pioneer.

 

Will Any Agency Hire This Man?

He is 38, and unemployed. He dropped out of college.

He has been a cook, a salesman, a diplomatist and a farmer.

He knows nothing about marketing and had never written any copy.

He professes to be interested in advertising as a career (at the age of 38!) and is ready to go to work for $5,000 a year.

I doubt if any American agency will hire him.However, a London agency did hire him.

Three years later he became the most famous copywriter in the world, and in due course built the tenth biggest agency in the world.

The moral: it sometimes pays an agency to be imaginative and unorthodox in hiring.

          

            ~ From a memo to one of his partners

There is much to said about the pioneers of our business, but no more then the words and wisdom of the master David Ogilvy.

Was David Ogilvy a genius? In 1965 Fortune magazine concluded that he might be.

David Ogilvy was born in 1911, next year would mark his 100th birthday, yet today his vice and his wisdom ring true.

How he ended up in advertising is still a story that remains legend.

As a young man and finishing his education, Ogilvy went to Paris, where he worked in the kitchen of the Hotel Majestic. He learned discipline, management - and when to move on: "If I stayed at the Majestic I would have faced years of slave wages, fiendish pressure, and perpetual exhaustion." He found his way back to England to sell cooking stoves, door-to-door for Aga Cookers where he crafed his sales skills. He sold stoves to nuns, drunkards, and everyone in between before his calling as a creative writer came to the surface when he wrote a sales guide for Aga salesmen (Fortune magazine called it "probably the best sales manual ever written"). He suggested, "The more prospects you talk to, the more sales you expose yourself to, the more orders you will get. But never mistake quantity of calls for quality of salesmanship."

His American journey began In 1938, when he went to work for George Gallup's Audience Research Institute in New Jersey. Ogilvy gives much of his learning at  Gallup as the one major influence on his thinking, placing emphasis meticulous research methods which would later be the soul of his advertising career and the cornerstone of the success of Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather (which eventually became Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide) which he founded the New York in 1948 at that point he had never written an ad in his life.

In the first twenty years, Ogilvy won assignments from Lever Brothers, General Foods and American Express. Shell gave him their entire account in North America.

"I doubt whether any copywriter has ever had so many winners in such a short period of time," he wrote in his autobiography "Confessions of An Advertising Man". "They made Ogilvy & Mather so hot that getting clients was like shooting fish in a barrel."

In 1965, Ogilvy merged the agency with Mather & Crowther, his London backers, to form a new international company, and a year later he took the company public - one of the first advertising firms to do so. Soon Ogilvy & Mather had expanded around the world and was firmly in place as one of the top agencies in all regions.

Ogilvy retired as Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather in 1973 and moved to Touffou, in France. Legend has it that he was no longer involved in day-to-day operations of the agency, he remained in touch with the agency sending letters and correspondence to the offices worldwide, that he volume of mail handled in the nearby town of Bonnes, the post office was reclassified at a higher status and the postmaster's salary raised.

The retirement was short live when Ogilvy came out of retirement in the 1980 to serve as chairman of Ogilvy & Mather in India. He also spent a year acting as interim chairman of the O&M German office, commuting daily between Touffou and Frankfurt.

He would visited branch offices of the company around the world, and continued to represent Ogilvy & Mather at gatherings of clients and business audiences. In 1989, the Ogilvy Group was bought by WPP which made them the largest marketing communications holding company in the world, and David Ogilvy was named the company's non-executive chairman, a position he held until 1992 until his final retirement.

Ogilvy remains one of the most famous names in advertising and one of the handful of thinkers, Raymond Rubicam (Y&R), Leo Burnett, William Bernbach and Ted Bates. These are the men that shaped and built the advertising business.

David Ogilvy died on July 21, 1999 at his home in Touffou, France.

Quotable Ogilvy:

"A lawyer may be able to defend a murderer whom he knows is guilty, and a surgeon may be able to operate on a man he dislikes, but professional detachment doesn’t work in advertising."

"It’s better to reign in hell than serve in heaven."

"Advertising is a business of words, but advertising agencies are infested with men and women who cannot write. They cannot write advertisements, and they cannot write plans. They are helpless as deaf mutes on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera."

"Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it. Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine".

"Develop your eccentricities while you are young. That way, when you get old, people won't think you're going gaga."

The recently released biography "The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern Advertising" by Ken Roman hit shelves in early 2009. This biography is based on a wealth of material from decades of working alongside the advertising giant, including a large collection of photos, memos, recordings, notes, and extensive archives of Ogilvy’s personal papers. The book describes the creation of some of history's most famous advertising campaigns.

The following video Roman takes us inside Ogilvy's mind and his world and offered some unique insights into the man gained by years working alongside the advertising giant.

The following interview which runs approximately 55 minutes was conducted by John Crichton in 1977. This full interview is full of advertising gems.

Source: Ogilvy Worldwide