About Quantity Breeding Quality

“Nothing is more dangerous than an idea, when it’s the only one we have."
            Emile Auguste Chartier (pseudonym: Alain), 1868-1951

A Relevant Blast From the Past

I keep a file of interesting ADWEEK, CA and AD Age articles that goes back to the late 1970's.  At least I deem them interesting.  I like to review them now and then.  I should do it more often, frankly, as the wisdom of earlier decades often remains very relevant to my efforts today at Richter7. 

In the 80's and early 90's there was a certain "red hot" agency that was frequently written about, much like CP&B is constantly covered now.   One of the agency's founders was my "copywriting mentor from afar," although he never knew it.   His name was Tom McElligott, and his agency was Fallon McElligott & Rice -- now simply known as Fallon.  Perhaps they've lost their way of late, from a creative standpoint -- but they're still a formidable shop.  

One particular article about them appeared in ADWEEK's April 27, 1992 issue, and detailed the attitudes and philosophy that fueled their stratospheric growth. I thought the insights were ever-so-applicable to me, to Richter7, and to our industry as a whole -- an industry that now spends a lot of time talking about new media, rich media, lay-offs and CRM strategies, but not enough time talking about the bottom-line benefits of intelligent creativity. Here are some of Tom's comments:



"Competitors rap our agency for being all creative execution and no strategy. We're delighted with that because we're able to keep an element of surprise. We go in as this creative agency, and then we knock you backwards with our business insight."

"Ads can be powerful and memorable and offend a lot of people. I surely want our stuff to work. But I prefer to do it with charm, and a sense of integrity. I'd rather overestimate the public's intelligence than underestimate it."



"FM considers itself a family in a family-oriented town. Children and dogs are often underfoot; no one blinks when art director Bob Barrie walks into a meeting with Fallon carrying his napping one-year-old son."

"Pat Fallon is one of the few account people who is as insightful and sensitive about creative as the great creatives in the business."


"People pay us not to let them rationalize about their business."


"There are two kinds of research: the kind that tells you what to say, and the kind that tells you how to say it. The kind that tells you what to say is terrific. If you don't do it, you're probably going to regret it. We'll test strategies till the cows come home, but we reserve the right to use disciplined imagination to find extraordinary ways to say it."


"The rule, pretty much, is to break the rules. If you break the rules, you're going to stand a better chance of breaking through the clutter than if you don't. The smaller a company is, and the bigger the competition, the more crucial that advice becomes."

Lose the Fear.

Did you notice the BMW magazine ad that's been appearing of late. It's a two-page spread, nicely designed --although there's nothing stunning about the visuals. Rather, the stunning part of the ad was the copy. (Spoken like a true copywriter, eh?)

The ad's verbiage can just as easily be applied to life as to a car. It's also highly appropo when it comes to creating advertising. Here's what it said:

Lose the fear.

Lose the groupthink.

Lose the yes-people.

Lose the proper channels.

Lose the chain of command.

Lose the safety nets.

Lose consensus.

Lose the happy medium.

Lose the compromises.

Lose Plan B.

Somewhere along the road to success lie the cones of mediocrity, urging you to take the expected route. To this we counter with the counsel to steer clear of the middle of the road.

A fine piece of advice. I will promptly throw away anything that resembles a white flag of surrender. I will perform my duties, as a father and ad man, with more faith, upgraded optimism and a finer finish than ever. Thank you, BMW, for the motivational speech.