The Forgotten Value?

While perusing the advertising column in a Communication Arts Illustration Annual, penned by Luke Sullivan, I was struck - with particular force - by the final sentence. It read, “Being great on paper is never as important as actually being a good person.” His comment was in reference to some famous ad people he knew who were insufferable, arrogant egotists. Luke happens to be one of the most honored ad writers in the world. His refreshing opinion comes with some degree of clout.

One of the more memorable advertising experiences I've had was the opportunity to enjoy a meal with Tom McElligott (co-founder of Fallon McElligott), one of my heroes in the business. It wasn’t so much what he said that was impressive, it was the fact that he brought along his teenaged son and obviously enjoyed being with him. He was quite deferential to the teen while also being very polite and cordial with those of us who surrounded him. Pretty decent, I thought, for someone who was king of the hill.

Luke Sullivan wrote about an art director with whom he worked named Bob Barrie. Bob may be the most decorated A.D. of all time. He had every reason to be a high-falutin’ jerk, but instead, Luke says, he would quietly keep cranking out great ideas even though the client was killing them all. And, according to Sullivan, he never whined. Ever. Instead, he combined unlimited resiliency with class (and a whole lot of talent).

I worked for Bob Love (co-founder of Harris & Love) once upon a time. He had that same kind of decency and class. He was kind and gentle even when he was red-lining my ad copy to smithereens. Maybe that’s one reason why his agency survived and prospered so long. Even when he played the role of "chief judge,” he was a pleasure to work with.

There’s a moral in all of this somewhere. I assume you can figure it out. Whatever it is, it’s probably reminiscent of a beloved corporate value that Richter7, the ad agency at which I'm employed, espouses. It states simply:
--WE VALUE GRACIOUSNESS.

I'm not sure I can think of a corporate, or personal, value that deserves to be ranked higher than that.

Ad Life, Through the Eyes of Cartoonists

Considering the present economic pain we endure, and the resulting doldrums which beset the business world, maybe a smile or two would be in order. To that end, I offer several favorites from my Richter7 vault of advertising-related cartoons. Enjoy. (Click on cartoon to enlarge.)

Keys To Becoming A More Bright, Creative Person

Once upon a time when I was employed by Cole & Weber, an Ogilvy-owned, Seattle-based agency, the firm's president, Hal Newsom, suddenly invited the creative directors at each office to fly to headquarters. No reason or explanation was given.

Hal, since deceased, was a bright guy --the epitomy of a "renaissance man." He ran marathons, climbed major mountains, biked and boated, among other activities. He was also a well-respected creative director -- as witnessed by the fact that he was included in The Wall Street Journal's series of ads featuring national creative leaders.

We arrived in the Seattle office, and gathered in the third floor conference room where Hal said he had something very important to discuss with us. He handed out a list, talked about how valuable it was to our professional progress, then essentially said we were free to fly back home. The expense of our travel was a minor issue to him compared to the importance of that document. I have found the list to be full of unique truths and insights, and have used it to train my creative staffs through the years. It came under the headline above. Here's what it said (slightly edited):

1. Study the pictures in National Geographic as closely as you would those in Sports Illustrated or Cosmopolitan.
2. Spend as many hours with the educational channel as you do with Monday Night Football, The Sopranos or Seinfeld reruns.
3. Talk to as many liberals as you do conservatives.
4. See an Oriental art exhibit, Woody Allen movie, Billy Graham revival, a ballroom dance, a high school stomp, the 6th grade Christmas party, a jury trial.
5. Take in a symphony, a jam session, a light show, the Repertory Dance Theater.
6. Spend a whole afternoon at the track, a day in the woods, a weekend building something. A whole week working your tail off.
7. Get involved in a cause, a purpose, a controversial issue, and fight like the devil to win.
8. Work up a sweat. Jog. Play tennis. Ride a dirt bike. Play handball. Racquetball. Or dig a ditch.
9. Visit skid row, take a garden tour of the best homes in the city. Eat at the Golden Arches some Saturday afternoon, have dinner at "the place" in town some Saturday night.
10. Get acquainted with a four-year-old, a grandma, a street bum, a corporate officer, a high school dropout.
11. Go to the Greyhound bus terminal and take a seat. Watch. Listen and make a mental note of everything your eyes and ears take in.
12. Spend a Saturday morning tuned in to what's happening on the radio. Listen to the Farm Report, the opera from Chicago, an acid rock station, middle-of-the-road music, news.
13. Have a close friend. A wife. A husband. Someone you can confide in. Someone who will listen to you. Someone who needs to be listened to.
14. Read everything you can get your hands on. The in-flight magazine, the newspaper, the Sunday New York Times, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, Indoor Gardening, Outdoor Life, Road and Track, Better Home and Gardens, Sea, Ski, Squint, Squat, The Second Deadly Sin, The Bible, the Sears catalog, the billboards, the menu, matchbooks, the writings on the wall in the restrooms.
15. Let your emotions go. Laugh. Cry. Get angry. And permit yourself to be sad every now and then.
16. Think of your mind as a computer. It's being fed information constantly. Don't put the intake button in neutral and most importantly, don't ever push the OFF button.