FM Radio Disc Jocky at 15; Ad Manager on the high-school newspaper at 16; working as a technical writer in the Oklahoma oil patch by 21; then agency jobs in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Dallas and finally Manhattan. Note: It was two years before I stopped greeting people with "Howdy" and three before I stopped wearing shit-kickers. Being hired by NW Ayer to work on AT&T, DeBeers and General Motors as a writer/creative director was amazingly fun. After Ayer merged, I freelanced at BBDO, JMCT (Arnold NY) Y&R, Jugular, McGarry Bowen and other agencies. Advertising, far from being ill-legitimate work as some people call it, is a real passion.
Today, big ideas are still big ideas. The arena is quite different though. Authority isn't coming from a network or studio and I think the age of celebrity-authority may be drawing to an end. Choices are made using the authority of those whom we trust. Lately, more people are trusting each other and thus the stampede to social media. For advertising creators, brand builders, trust manufacturers, experiential set builders and others professing a magic ability to make your advertising dollar return back a buck twenty in profit, it means being quick, connected, flexible and prolific. Oh, and clarity helps. And a great product. And a good week for the working class.
Selling is a good thing. Making people feel good about what they do, what they buy/have bought and about the future are good things. We've all been through some hard times these past 15 years. Seen huge changes in our social and economic soil. But we're still growing. And that's good, too.
My opinion is: the best you've ever done is the next thing you're doing.
With that in mind, I look forward to our future work together.
