Reprinted from Communication Arts magazine.
If you have a degree in what field is it? I have a BS in marketing from Syracuse University (1989).
If you could choose one person to work with (outside your own agency), who would it be? Scarlett Johansson. Oh wait…work with? Rick Rubin, co-head of Columbia Records; he’s arguably the best producer in the music industry. The music industry is so whacked that it’s going to take radical ideas to save it from itself. Since the ad industry is full of radical thinkers and Rick is the kind of guy who could actually get traction if the right solutions were presented, then maybe....
Who was the client for your first advertising project? Ambassador Tours in San Francisco, a mom-and-pop operation that booked cruise packages. The copywriter quit the day I interviewed at the agency that handled the account. They handed me a direct mail piece and said go write one of these and if we like it, we’ll hire you. They liked it.
If you were to change professions, what would you choose to do? I still hold this romantic notion of becoming an eccentric but wildly successful novelist—you know, living on the beach and having bourbon and eggs for breakfast
What do you consider to be the greatest headline of all time? ”My bologna has a first name...”
From where do your best ideas originate? The early morning. There are a lot of them hidden in the dark over near the cabinet in my family room. And, there’s just something about that time of day that I’m most creative. Or maybe it’s the bourbon and eggs.
How do you overcome a creative block? Change my environment. When ideas don’t come, I get distracted. New surroundings give me different visual cues and get me thinking about my project, and life in general, in new ways. Never stay too long in any one place.
If you could choose any product to create an ad for, what would it be? A presidential candidate. The ads they run are such crap. They have no sense of marketing themselves or creating a brand and the ads all look, feel and sound the same. The irony is they all preach “change.”
Do you have creative outlets other than advertising? I play guitar. I cook. I write. Sometimes I mess with the accounting at the agency.
What’s your approach to balancing work and life? No matter how many hours you put into work, it’s always going to be there; I have three kids who won’t be young forever. Since it’s tough to be productive with a guilty conscience, I try to knock things out when it matters least to them—before they wake up or after they’re in bed.
What product/gadget can you not live without? My laptop. I can get by without talking to people. But not without writing.
What’s your favorite quote? When I was a kid, Paul Molitor was in the midst of a hitting streak that some thought would rival Joe DiMaggio’s. But Paul saw right through that. I carried a quote of his around for years in my wallet: “You have to be realistic enough to enjoy each day, because one day it’s going to be over.” Life is just one big hitting streak.
Do you have any advice for people just entering the profession? Be humble. Try everything. And embrace what your client is trying to do with their business instead of fighting it. Your work will ultimately be better and it will actually get sold.
What’s one thing you wish you knew when you started your career? There’s a lot more money in investment banking.