REFLECTIONS OF AN, ONCE GREAT, ADVERTISING AGENCY AND THEN SOME

   Compiled by Marten Tonnis 

 December 2024

   

 The Apple creative team at Chiat/Day Biltmore in 1984.

Back row: Steve Beaumont, Lee Clow, Steve Hayden, Stephen Kessler, Richard O’Neill

Middle row: Penny Kapasouz, Christine Donohoe, Elaine Hinton, Laurie Brandalise,

Marc Chiat, Steve Rabosky, Joe Sosa

Bottom row: Diana Barton, Gary Johnston, Marten Tonnis and Harry Ray.

One of the b/w's picked by Lee Clow for a Communication Arts article, May 1985.

The first 8 x10 color polaroid while waiting for Harry Ray and Stephen Kessler.

One day, all the Apple creatives were to meet at Bo Hylen studio for a shoot.

It was for Communication Arts, writing an extensive Apple story.

Since Bo did all my photography for my Apple ads,

CD Lee Clow asked me if he could shoot people.

"Of course" I said, "He shot elephants in South Africa."

January 2, 1984. 

Lee Clow put me with 31 year old Penny Kapasouz as my copywriter.

My very first Apple ad was a newspaper spread. 

The body copy on the left page was translated in morse code. It won many awards.

Chiat/Day received several letters mentioning some errors in the morse code translation.
Nervous as she could be, Penny Kapasouz, a Glen Cove, Long Island native,

 was sweet and wrote copy like a poet.
Before Apple, she'd worked on Yamaha then later on Porsche.

She very much loved her Porsche 914 which broke down several times.

Ironically, she later married John Byrne, VP marketing at Porsche.

Not long after, Penny left the agency.
She'd put on seven years at Chiat/Day Biltmore.

Photography by Bob Randall.

My first breakthrough campaign for the Mac in 1984,
created with copywriter Steve Rabosky.
It ran in newspapers, magazines and as tv ads. The campaign won many awards.
photographer: Bo Hylen

With Steve Rabosky. Of course, for the newspaper it reads 'We interrupt this newspaper.'

Also with Steve Rabosky, one for newspaper and magazine.


And yet another magazine ad. Copy by Steve Rabosky.

We like to handle your breasts.

Copywriter Steve Rabosky turned vegetarian.

The irony was, CD Lee Clow gave us a meat job. Foster Farms.

Pitching their chicken account. I did a rough layout and

penned in Rabosky's headline 'We like to handle your breasts.'

It didn't go over very well with CD Lee Clow and the account guy.

It ended up as a poster with Rabosky's new headline. 

For Mitsubishi Audio, Steve Rabosky and I did a couple of magazine ads in 1986
which made Steve copywriter of the year by that moronic magazine Adweek.
photographer: Bo Hylen

For Apple's re-pitch I created a new look for the print.
This ad even ran in several magazines.
Copy written by Steve Hayden. photographer: Bo Hylen

There's that famous phrase used by headhunters:
'You're only as good as your last award winning ad.'
Well, it wasn't for my very last Chiat/Day ad for Apple.
It was written by Steve Hayden.
Even though I could do it blindfolded, it was an emotional one.
In 1986 two bombs exploded. 
First, in mid May, Chiat/Day lost Apple followed by Nike.
It was John Sculley, then in charge of Apple, asking BBDO to pitch 
the account with Chiat/Day as incumbent.
Steve Rabosky and I were in charge of the print 
while Lee Clow and Steve Hayden handled the problem: television.
Many print ads were created of which one was 'No desk is an island.'
The work was solid and Lee was confident we kept the Apple account at Chiat.

To celebrate the work for the upcoming pitch, I organized a party
and created the invitation cards.
It was at Bo Hylen's house in the Hollywood Hills since my place was too small.
Bo acted not only as the host but also took care of the valet parking.
His lovely wife and her friends were in charge of dinner and drinks. 
Photographer Bo Hylen shot all the Apple, Mitsibishi Audio
and later Infiniti cars for my ads, some Nissan, then a few Yamaha offroad bikes.
The party turned out alright. Even creative director Lee Clow showed up in his Porsche.
Steve Hayden fixed Bo's leaking toilet, Andy Dijak, another art director,
had arguments with his girlfriend who threatened to kill herself.
Steve Rabosky was drinking ice tea and my new girlfriend was kissing somebody else. 
Everybody had fun and the party lasted till three A.M. in the morning.
And Bo, staring at his just refinished, scratched hardwood floors was pissed.
.
The Apple presentation was in Cupertino.
Present were Lee Clow, Steve Hayden, my writer and I, the account guys 
and Diana Barton, the studio assistant in charge of a shitload of comps.
Boring John Sculley seemed to like the print but disliked the tv ads.
The presentation was also boring and we all knew where we were heading. Home.
Apple went to BBDO. And I went freelance.

Again I was working on Apple. With CD Steve Hayden.
This time at BBDO. Steve named it BBDO Slighty Further West.
Also present were ex-Chiat/Day CW Laurie Brandalise and
AD John Morrison, with a Pepsi in one hand, a cigarette in the other.
It's the only print ad I did with Laurie Brandalise before

leaving BBDO for other freelance projects.

Then AD Ivan Horvath followed up.

At the same time, the Biltmore was thinking about renovating their hotel.
Chiat/Day was thinking about checking out of the hotel.
It was searching for a new location. Lee Clow and Jay Chiat had something in mind.

In the meantime, Jay Chiat had send creative director Bill Hamilton to New York. 
To reign the creative department. Bill didn't like the idea at first but took the chance.
Jay told Bill I was freelancing and offered me a stint on Sara Lee.

Watch the :30" commercial
In 1987, CD Bill Hamilton introduced me to copywriter Jamie Seltzer, then Sara Lee.
For a three ads tv campaign. It didn't take long for an idea. 
For the first one, we picked 'Blondie' Debbie Harry as the spokes person.
Debbie demonstrates how easy it is baking a loaf of bread.
As she pops out the loaf and cools it with a fan,
she says, "It doesn't get any hotter than this."

The ad had impact and the slogan 'Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee' became popular.
But according to an Ad Age interview, Bill said otherwise:
"We can all make mistakes. Right from the start, the Sara Lee client 
hated the campaign, but were willing to roll the dice. The brand was connected 
to another product catagory that people were no longer buying.
The tv campaign was not designed to sell products but to change the image of the past."
After only a few months, Sara Lee pulled the plug.
Right after, Lee Clow brought me back to Chiat/Day L.A.

To work on Nissan.

Chiat/Day had an 'in-house' illustrator. Hank Hinton. 
The one who did the '1984' storyboard and most of the drawings at the agency.
I tried to draw like the master but the scheme didn't work.
But Lee Clow very much liked my storyboards.
"They have a soul and attitude." he always said.
Sometimes he colored them himself with color pencils in Amy Miyano's studio.
I found just one which was done for the oversized Prince tennis racquet tv ad,
created with copywriter Dick Sittig.
For the shoot we had a customized racquet made, sized with only the sweet spot,
because "God doesn't need an oversized one. He only needs the sweet spot."
When I started the storyboard, I had a difficult time drawing God.
I ended up drawing Lee Clow.

 Aside from layouts and storyboards, I started painting.
Lee Clow's beard. After a photo by Stephanie Diani for Adage.

In 1987, Chiat/Day N.Y. created a campaign for Arrow Shirts.
A print ad and an award winning tv commercial called 'Higher and higher'.
It was filmed at the city hall of Pasadena, California.
Creative director Bill Hamilton, art director Michael Smitth, copywriter Graham Turner,
director Mary Lambert, production Mark Sitley and Sharon Oreck.
Male choir arrangement of Jackie Wilson's 1967 hit by James Ingram.
Watch the Arrow Shirts 'Higher and higher' tv ad


CHIAT/DAY 
DURING THE VENICE WAREHOUSE DAYS
1988. The agency checked out of the Biltmore Hotel and moved to a war zone.

While I was freelancing, the agency merged with an Aussi one, called Mojo. 
That was in 1989. Now Chiat/Day was officially called Chiat/Day/Mojo.

If I'm right, it was Jay Chiat with the idea becoming a global ad agency.

It didn't last very long though. 

In 1992, the agency unloaded the kangeroo to rival Foote Cone & Belding.

It was early 1988 when I went through an ad magazine with an article about 

Helmut Krone, the art director of the old, but famous VW beetle ads. 

He worked with this young copywriter and I wondered who it was.

Then Jay Chiat hired him at Chiat/Day New York

and creative director Bill Hamilton hired me freelance.

That's how I met this copywriter Marty Cooke. 

Bill had put me with Marty to work on Reebok. After brieving us, he said,

 "Dirty some paper, guys. Let's piss off Nike." 

Marty had an old Remington typewriter. He didn't like computers at the time.

It was the only thing on his desk aside from a stack of white paper. It made

a lot of noise. I didn't mind. It reminded me of my grandfather who had a similar one.

That creative moment came after two days staring at each other when

Marty yelled "I got it!" He handed me the typewritten piece of paper.

There was just a tiny line: Reeboks let U.B.U.

That made our creative juices flowing. 

I blew up the typewritten line on the Xerox copier and showed it to Marty.

"Here Marty. The typeface for Reebok."

We created four tv ads, including a :60" and I added five billboards.

Bill loved it and the client went hysterical.

Marty picked David Bailey to direct the tv ads and we hired 

photographer Max Vadukul to shoot the print.

Max and I picked regular people we met on the streets of New York,

like the dancing 'chicken man' and even some farmers nearby.

All shot in black and white. 

The client showed up one day while shooting and freaked out.

"This is a color campaign." he yelled.

"Don't worry" I quipped, "We'll color it afterwards."

The work got noticed and became well-known.

We'd put Reebok back on the map and... it won tons of awards.

The One Show, D&AD and even a Cannes Lion.

The zany, albeit short lived campaign

helped Chiat/Day become Ad Age agency of the year 1988.

It's 1991 in Canada. Marty Cooke, now a creative director at Chiat/Day/Mojo Toronto,

needed me for a 'Manifesto' print and tv campaign to put Nissan back on the map.

Marty and I worked well together and we came up with a total of  

five print ads and four tv ads. A kind of social focused campaign.

The tagline 'Built for the human race' which was used

in the U.S. finally meant something. This spread was for the Nissan Sentra.

Nancy Moran, from New York, was the photographer.

Art director Preuit Holland finished my ads for production 

as I was called back to Chiat/Day L.A.

Another Nancy Moran shot. For the Nissan Pathfinder magazine spread.

Nancy was a well-known photo journalist in the 1970' and '80's.

Thanks Marty !

The Nissan campaign ended up winning the Canadian Bessies Award,

the Cassies and Best of Show award

And with the Labatt Dry Beer tv ads it made Chiat/Day/Mojo agency of the year.

The Manifesto print ad. Part of the Nissan Canada campaign. Photography Nancy Moran.

   

The 1991 Nissan Pathfinder and the Manifesto tv ads for Nissan Canada.

CD copywriter Marty Cooke, art director Marten Tonnis, director Jim Sonzero,

agency producer Bette Minott, music by John Trivers of Trivers, Myers Music,

camera by Christoph Lanzenberg, film editors Igor Kovalik and Bert Kish.

The tv ads were signed of with 'Built for the human race',

but in Quebec they used the tagline 'Le moteur d'une generation'

Watch the Pathfinder :30" tv ad

Watch the Manifesto :60" tv ad

There were two proofs floating around the agency. This is the one I signed off on. The wrong one got published after I left the warehouse.

Photography by Robert Grigg.

Right after finishing the Nissan Canada and Labatt Dry Beer Canada job,

Lee Clow asked me to come back on staff at Chiat/Day Venice

to work with copywriter and CD Rob Siltanen.

Lee liked my stuff I did with Marty Cooke for Nissan and Labatt.

Reluctantly I accepted and again was working on Nissan, but this time for the U.S.

Aside from the '180° from anything.' ad for the 300ZX,

Rob and I did a branding ad showing the Nissan Le Mans car.

While I worked on the layout, Rob handed me the final headline:

'The only thing ahead of us are the bugs on the grill.' I thought it genial.

We showed the ad to Lee Clow but after that it never saw the light of day.

Another one for the drawer. One of the many concepts ended up with fingerprints

all over. By account morons, focus groups and nervous lawyers.

Lee was getting too much involved and I was getting irritated.

There was no real direction for Nissan. I mentioned to Rob that, 

aside from the 300ZX, their cars sucked and were ugly as hell.

After five months I dropped my notice on Lee's desk.

It was October 1991. I quitted Chiat/Day for the second time.

While I was on a shoot, Jay Chiat was in town, dropped by Lee Clow

and left a note on a layout pad on my desk regarding the Nissan Canada campaign.

Thanks Jay.

Nissan Pathfinder tv ad 'Her Fantasy' :30"

Watch the tv :30" tv ad

In 1992, while freelancing, Lee Clow needed me for a Nissan tv ad. 

It was for the Pathfinder and part of the 'Fantasy' tv campaign.

With only one concept I choose a cool opera music piece.

Richard O'Neill was the producer.

We're in Utah, near the Grand Canyon, shooting a black Nissan Pathfinder.

Actually filmed in Dead Horse Point State Park near Moab. 

Lots of running footage and dust. The last scene was at the exact location where 

Thelma and Louise drove off the cliff in that famous movie. The tv ad turned out ok.
It was directed by South African born Peter Smillie who had a production company
in Johannesburg. In 1984, he left the country for Hollywood during the Apartheid.
The famed director won numerous awards.
Peter even filmed the hood of the Pathfinder in a tent to keep the desert dust out.

Lee Clow wanted to use the chrome Nissan badge in all new print and tv ads.

The creative director and I were lying on our stomachs on the carpeted

floor in a Warehouse meeting room called the Boathouse. I had turned the lights off.  

We were both staring at my silver-grey Jaguar 1/18 toy car I had brought in. 
The car was lit by a candle which I had glued on a large piece of cardboard. 

The effect was amazing. The front of the toy car was only half lit and 

the shimmering light of the candle casted an enormous long drop shadow. 

“Very cool.” Lee Clow said. 

An Art Direction article from November 1993 about the :30" tv ad called 'Beam'. 

                 1993. For the third time, Lee offered me a staff job at Chiat/Day. He’d also 

    hired copywriter/CD John Stingley who'd left Fallon McElligott in Minneapolis. 

It was to revive the shrinking image of Infiniti.

Chiat/Day got the account, thanks to its work for Nissan.

John was one of the best writers I’ve worked with and it didn’t take long 

coming up with a print and tv campaign. A simple straight-forward one.

After an awkward screen test with tv actor David McCallum, 

we picked British actor Jonathan Pryce, who'd starred in the movie ‘Brazil’,

as the spokesperson. He could memorize a script by reading it only once.

With Mark Coppos directing, we shot a dozen commercials at the largest stage

at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. It was the biggest lighting job during his career.
The editing was done in an office above the stage by Tim Anderson from King Cut.
Nowadays, Anderson is a big film editor at Banzai West. 

The print ads turned out great. Photographer Bo Hylen 

rented a Hollywood studio and shot the cars just the way I wanted,

although they weren’t lit by a candle. I enjoyed shooting with Bo,

especially when he passed me the 8x10 Polaroids. Before looking at them, 

I sniffed the chemicals. I love the smell of Polaroids.

The Infiniti campaign got mixed reviews and won a few awards. 
The campaign got a lot of awareness and was even parodied by the popular
tv show ‘Saturday Night Live’. They replaced the car with a toilet.

In late 1987, Lee Clow called me in for a Yamaha brochure cover idea.

He mentioned the client liked to see something happy. 

I always liked the Arrow shirt shot done at Chiat/Day N.Y. I did something similar.

The client went for it and so did Bo Hylen.

The casting was done at his studio and shot the next day in a two hours time.

A few weeks later, I drove to the desert for a new Yamaha motocross bike shoot.
This time with photographer Gill Smith.

Knowing Gill, he wanted that magic light, meaning I had to kill four hours 

in a 110° heat until shooting time. I went insane.
The shot turned out great. I mean, for the motocross bike.

   

 In 1986, art director Rick Boyko and copywriter Bill Hamilton

created a series of print ads for Mitsubishi's 35" tv.

With Martin Scorsese, John Huston,

Jim Henson, Bob Fosse, Ridley Scott and Billy Wilder.

Photography by Norman Seeff

The measuring tape. The great newspaper ad for the Mitsubishi 35" tv.
By AD Rick Boyko and CW Bill Hamilton. It won several awards.

CHIAT/DAY 

FROM THE SILLY BINOCULARS DAYS

1994. The agency checked out of the Warehouse.

At the end of 1993, the suits were the first ones to move into the much ballyhooed
virtual office building. You know, that one with the stupid binoculars.
We creatives were still working in the warehouse, thanks to ally Bob Kuperman.

But nothing is forever and in early 1994, Lee Clow kicked us out and,

as hostages, taken into the new building across the street.

I have to be honest. I hated the place. Thank you, Jay. 

If you came in a bit late, you couldn't find a desk.

If you couldn't find a desk, you couldn't use a computer.

If you were coming in very late, you couldn't even find a chair and 

no place to leave your stuff. (I disliked the lockers.)

You had to work either inside one of the binoculars 'wigwams' or 

the very noisy cafeteria where it was impossible to concentrate.

Often I used the patio chairs on the balcony just to be able to do my layouts.

The advantage was, there, I could smoke.

A month later, it was the fourth time I went to Lee Clow's office.

This time not to give him my notice, but with a proposition. To take me off Infiniti.

"I'll think about it" he said, "In the meantime, work with Dick Sittg for awhile."

1994. Dick Sittig was on his way back from N.Y. with his tails between his legs.

He couldn't face the pressures of a creative director. I totally agreed.

Together we launched the Airtouch Cellular tv campaign.
I even designed a morphing treatment of the Airtouch logo.

Then a tv ad and print magazine spread for Prince's oversized tennis racquet,

with a little help from God. 

(For the shoot, the tennis racquet was customized to the size of the sweet spot.)

'God doesn't need a big racquet, all he needs is the sweet spot' was the idea.

The print ad turned out ok. The commercial won a few awards.

Then I got restless again. 

Some time mid 1994, it was the third time I quitted Chiat/Day.

Some reflections from the Chiat/Day Venice Warehouse and the Biltmore days.

Before Ken Segal wrote 'i' for iMac,

it was an art director who was doodling one day in his sketchbook.

Variations on Keith Haring and Rene Magritte's 'Ceci n'est pas une pipe.'

followed by a billboard showing the boxy Macintosh with the copy 'This is not a box'.

Then he did a cartoon box and wrote the line 'Think different.'

It was Craig Tanimoto. A new Apple campaign was born.

Copywriter Rob Siltanen then wrote the salute 'To the crazy ones.'

  

Chiat/Day New York.

Dumbwaiters and Rock drills.

With Bill Hamilton at the reign of the creative department,

great work was done at Chiat/Day New York.

One was the outstanding print and tv campaign for Nynex Yellow Pages.

Copywriter Robin Raj and art director Marty Weiss created stuff

which was way up there with Apple's '1984' commercial.

These ads were simple, clever and very entertaining.

That was in 1987, in the age of landline telephones and phone books.

The campaign won numerous awards.

Great stuff was done at the Biltmore.The California Cooler billboard 
by copywriter David Woodside and art director Marvin Rich
and the superb Porsche newspaper ad series
by copywriter Mark Monteiro and art directors Yvonne Smith and Jeff Roll.
They were both award winners.

In 1988, Rick Boyko and Bill Hamilton created a great :30" tv ad 
for the Mitsubishi Home Theater System. 

A year before the Mitsubishi campaign, Rick Boyko and Bill Hamilton
worked on a Home Savings campaign. One of the tv ads was called 'The Cortez's'.
Directed by Lesli Dektor and (in-house) edited by Gayle Grant.
Other creatives on Mitsubishi were art director Miles Turpin
and copywriter Elisabeth Hayes. The campaign won several awards.

CHIAT/DAY, OOPS, TBWA\CHIAT\DAY 

FROM THE GROSVENOR DAYS

In 1995, Omnicom bought Chiat/Day. The agency merged
with TBWA and it was now called TBWA/Chiat/Day.
 In early 1999, the agency settled in the new 'architecturally innovative'

and 'absolutely amazing, wow' complex in Playa del Rey,
changed the / to \ : TBWA\Chiat\Day and... 

everybody was happy as a clam.

When freelancing, Lee Clow invited me one day to meet with 

Executive Creative Chief Lee Clow. 

I was welcomed by a valet parking guy yelling, "Hey, you can't park there !!!"

At the front desk, this young girl had trouble with my name. 

I searched for Lee Clow. Nobody could tell me.

I saw Rob Siltanen, one of the so many creative directors. I think he saw me.

Production Chief Amy Miyano asked for my portfolio! Say what? 

You don't remember me?

Is it always this noisy?, I asked some girl on roller skates. 

I met some creatives but they barely spoke with me. We're too busy, they'd said.

After 20 minutes walking around like a zombie I exited and searched for my car. 

The valet guy was on a coffee break. I waited.

Driving slowly towards the exit, I noticed Lee Clow in the rearview mirror.

He was playing with his dog. I left the goddamn place.

The Pearlstein Project.

Among the many freelance jobs, copywriter Tim Braybrooks and I 

created a 24 page mailer for Leonard Pearlstein, to promote 

a new way of conducting advertising.
The cover pic is by British photographer Martin Parr (Magnum)

APRIL 23, 2002. A SAD DAY

  Dear Jay, 

Once you've mentioned a phrase: 

'Your mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work unless it's open.'

Somehow it sounded familiar.

But it were the other, touching words, 

spoken right in my face, in your New York office.

Yes, Jay, you were right. I am a fly, flying around, searching for poop.

But, I got to see the world.

Being freelance took me to many places.

To Canada, Mexico and Europe,

in Curitiba, Brazil, in Amsterdam, Lyon, London,

Paris and Kampala, in Uganda.

A reminiscense of all the work I've done.

But more important were all the creative people I've met.

As a fly, I've said it several times: Same shit, different piles.

But it wasn't the same shit, different country.

Thank you Jay, it was fun to have been in the same decades with you.

AFTER CHIAT DAYS

And so a new life began. A thrill in the romantic, exiting, creatively 

fulfilling life of a freelance art director. 

 In N.Y. I worked with Bill Hamilton, on Merrill Lynch and The Wall Street Journal.

For Wieden & Kennedy on Microsoft. At Publicis for Boeing.
 For Hitachi Laptops with Robert Chandler at Seiniger.
At Suissa Miller on Skytel. In New York with Marty Cooke on N.Y. Life.

In Holland, for the Amsterdam Police.

Billboard for Coca Cola, art and copy by me.

For the U.K., an Eminem billboard for Coca Cola. 
For Tom Cordner at Team One, an America West Airlines tv campaign. 
A National Car Rental campaign for The Pearlstein Group. 

For Mark Monteiro at DDB, three tv ads for Arizona Public Service. 
For Size, Inc., a Toyota Europe campaign for their hybrid cars.
In Curitiba, Brazil for Damasco Café, 
for Jesa Butter in Kampala, Uganda.

Concept and copy by me for National Car Rental magazine ads.

With copywriter Jean Claude for Aston Martin France 

and a poster for an art museum, Lyon.

Amsterdam Police magazine ad, art and copy by me.
The ad got a lot of response.

 With copywriter Norman Durkee for Publicis, Seattle.

Ads for Skytel. With copywriter Tim Braybrooks

for Suissa Miller, L.A..

With copywriter Jed Alger for Microsoft, Wieden & Kennedy, Portland.

Small space magazine ad Mothers for Mothers, Pasadena, art and copy by me.

Magazine ad for Toyota Hybrid Europe, art and copy by me.

 

The last time I worked with CD Bill Hamilton, at JWT N.Y.,
was for the Wall Street Journal pitch.
The best part of the ad is the tagline 'The truth is complicated.'
The copywriter's name has left my brain.
  Also with Bill Hamilton, a Merrill Lynch print campaign.
Both concepts ended up in a drawer. 



PENNY AND PORSCHE

During the time I worked with Penny Kapasouz at Chiat/Day Biltmore
she drove a Porsche. A grey 914. It broke down several times.
Penny knew stuff about Porsche.

The great 12 page Porsche insert.

Written by Penny Kapasouz and art directed by Steve Beaumont

with some help from CW Brent Bouchez and CD Lee Clow. 

Photography by Mark Coppos.

The insert ran in Newsweek, Time and car magazines in 1985.

For big version click on image and open in new tab.

A few words from AD Steve Beaumont:

Every creative person in the agency was contributing 

ideas and having them killed week after week as 

we learned more about the Porsche brand.

I worked with both Penny Kapousouz and Brent Bouchez 

presenting ideas. I was named art director probably through attrition. 

Ultimately it was Penny who started to craft the story by simply writing, 

not spreads or even ads, just by writing and writing and writing which 

we divided into spread ads later. Type design was as important at 

Chiat/Day as the photography and writing. Amy Miyano 

and the studio hand-kerned almost every word.

I was especially proud of the Franklin/Times Roman combination using 

a single Porsche badge as the logo. That font/logo combination remained 

through the future Chiat/Day ads and subsequent agency changes at 

Goodby and Fallon. When I presented the proposed photography 

recommendations using scrap like calendars, magazines and book 

references, the client marketing team seemed uninterested and hardly 

looked up. Finally, the client said "Our cars look good at any angle.

Shoot them any way you want."

BEFORE THE BILTMORE DAYS

Very old stuff I did while at DFS Saatchi & Saatchi.

A Bridgestone Tires print campaign with floating cars.

A Toyota brochure before I got into Cunningham & Walsh

(shot by photographer Marshall Lefferts)

and, during my last ten minutes at Cunningham & Walsh, an ad for UTA.

My Copywriter shot me, all propped up for another
boring Toyota client meeting at DFS Saatchi & Saatchi.
And me in Lyon, France, working at Euro Advertising.
The agency occupied the top floor
of a large apartment building. It had a great view of the
Rhone River from the large balcony,
used for parties and as an ashtray. 
Euro Advertising is no more. It got gobbled up by Eurocom.
Later it became EuroRSCG.
Photo by agency photographer Yves Orecchioni.

 

While working in France, way back then, print advertising was more visually
focused than copy. It seemed art directors were more popular than copywriters. 
One of my favorite French ads, done for Woolmark in 1974, was created by
Bruno Suter and Dominique Gausson at agency FCA in Paris 

and photographed by Daniel Aron.
Shot somewhere in the French country side, we see a shepherd and his dog
watching over a flock of sheep forming the Woolmark logo. It was so simple,
on the mark and visually strong, it was just signed with 'Real wool'.

For the shoot, the Wool logo was constructed out of steel wire.
Aron then attached the sheep and applied low voltage electricity to keep
the sheep from moving. Try that today. No way, José.

DURING THE CHIAT/DAY DAYS

They were drinking buddies, creating great ads. For the farmers in Iowa. 

who were struggling in order to make a living. That was in 1986. 

It were art director Cabell Harris and copywriter Luke Sullivan 

at Drinking Buddies Advertising, in Richmond, who created some powerful stuff. 

These two ads are some of my favorites. Not only for the ads but also for 

the very strong messages directed at the government. And nothing has changed. 

A great tv ad called 'Bridge' for Pioneer Audio.

After having worked two years at Stein, Robaire, Helm,
Kirk Souder and Court Crandall created the tv ad before starting their own 
ad agency Ground Zero, Santa Monica in 1994.

For the tv ad they took old stock footage of the bridge in Tacoma, Washington.
A dazed slacker at the wheel, played by 
ex Chiat/Day N.Y. copywriter Bob Rice, says just one word.

A surprise for Kirk and Court: It won the Grand Clio for the best tv ad of the year.
director: Meirt Avis
actor: Bob Rice
ad agency: BBDO West

Bad press.

The ad that never should have seen the light of day.

Comparing 2004 Asian's tsunami with 9/11.

The Press ad was created in Brazil by ad agency DDB. Yes, It's powerful, but shocking.

I did stuff like this before but most of the time it ended up in a drawer.

Concepts that are way out there have an advantage. 

You can always tone it down, but you can't improve a bad one. 

     

A nice Nissan spread done in 1987

by art director Pam Cunningham and copywriters Steve Bassett and Steve Silver.

Another great Mitsubishi tv magazine ad from 1988.

One of a series created by art director Rick Boyko and copy by Bill Hamilton and Rob Feakins.

Photography by Dennis Manarchy

One more Infiniti ad found in a drawer. Actually, ripped from a magazine.

Dating the same year, 1993. It was one of the last spreads John Stingley and I did..

 We used a bowling ball, painted by photographer Bo Hylen.

Rick Boyko and Bill Hamilton were a busy team from '86 to '88.

Aside from Mitsubishi and Home Savings, they also worked on Nike.

From a series of ads, here's Rick's favorite, called 'Pier' done in '86.

Photography by Dennis Manarchy

Watch the Penn tennis balls tv ad

 

A 1982 billboard for Yamaha's snowmobile.

Proof art directors can write. In this case a headline. 

That according to the book 'Chiat/Day the first twenty years'.

Penny Kapasouz told me it was Jeff Roll who wrote it,

for the billboard and it was used as Yamaha's tagline in 1979

in response to Honda's tagline 'Follow the leader.'

Penny also mentioned: 
"We made Honda very angry by buying billboards all over the country
next to theirs, so bikers got the message. It was a hugely successful campaign."

Randy Newman's 'I love L.A., the city's anthem, 

well, for Nike, in 1984.

art directors: Gary Johns and Lee Clow

copywriter: Jeff Gorman

directors: Tim Newman and Mark Coppos

producer: Morty Baran

Editor: Gayle Grant

Randy Newman:

"Rollin' down the Imperial Highway;

 A big nasty red-head at my side.

Santa Ana winds blowin' hot from the north.

We was born to ride. From the South Bay, to the Valley.

From the West Side, to the East Side.

Everybody's very happy 'cause the sun is shining all the time.

It's like another perfect day. I love L.A.

Super: Nike. This summer

While at Chiat/Day Biltmore, stuff happened in the U.K.

This superb tv ad from 1986 was done for The Guardian, a British newspaper.

It demonstrates journalism from all angles. Genial.

The paper got thousands of supporting letters.

ad agency: BMP

copywriter: Frank Budgers

art director: John Webster

director: Paul Weiland

Some controversal, but great stuff was done at TBWA/Chiat Grosvenor.

The 1997 ABC tv posters and billboards, splashed throughout L.A..

The campaign gotten a lot of press coverage.

Another headline, on concrete seats at bus stops, reads, 

'Wouldn't you rather be sitting on your couch.'

copywriter: Rich Siegel

art director: John Shirley

Two ads made it on one page in Ads Magazine from May 1984.
The Spruce Goose newspaper spread from 1983,
done with copywriter Audrey Schiff at Cunningham & Walsh,
part of the print and billboard campaign 
that got me into Chiat/Day.
And a great 1983 Nike magazine spread from Chiat/Day
by copywriter Brent Bouchez and art director Houman Pirdavari.

Before joining Chiat/Day, I worked on my last Spruce Goose ad

with a great copywriter towards the end of 1983. Steve Kaplan.

He wasn't a fast writer but a smart thinker. 

Sometimes, great headlines just rolled off his tongue 

before I could say "Shit, that's fucking great."

It was Steve Kaplan who wrote this ad.

Ironically, Chiat/Day/Mojo held their 1989 Christmas party at the Spruce Goose.
The invitation reads: 'This year, we're going to celebrate Christmas 
a bit more traditionally. With a really big goose.'

Four more great Nike magazine ads from the Biltmore days

created by Jeff Gorman and Gary Johns in 1985.
photographers: Mark Coppos, Carl Furuta and Dennis Manarchy.

Production manager: Joe Sosa

MORE FROM THE BILTMORE

A hotel review by a young English woman who has waited a long time

to write this due to various reasons.

    "The Staff was good, the hotel is haunted."

I came here about 6 years ago with my friend because it was 
about 100 dollars per night, which was a steal in downtown LA.

The hall was pretty. The room was a bit dated. 

My friend had to change rooms a few times because she didn't like the vibe. 
The staff who took us to our room was very friendly.

He took us to see different rooms so we could pick the best one we like. 

It was my first night in LA, and I had nightmares after fallen asleep. 
My friend woke me up in the middle of the night telling me I was 
shouting in my sleep. I told her I had a terrible nightmare, 

then we went back to sleep again. 

But this time my friend insisted to leave the light on...

The morning after, we left the hotel to meet other friends. 
My friend told me a shocking thing that freaked me out, 
she said she was awaken by my scream and saw a person on top of me. 

She then turned on the light and woke me up. 

She didn't want to scare me by telling me what happened when we were 
in the hotel. She knew I wouldn't be able to sleep if she told me that, she was brave. 

After learning what really happened that night, I was really freaking out. 
I wanted to find out if the hotel is haunted and I googled. 
Apparently, there were two mysterious unresolved murder cases 

that happened in the hotel. 

One was the famous Black Delilah case and another one was 
the wife of an American Idol's contestant. 

No wonder Hollywood shot 'True Blood' (vampire) 
and the original 'Ghostbusters' at the Biltmore. 

I did find quite a few people's reviews in TripAdvisor at that time regarding 
the super natural phenomenon - hearing furnitures 
moving around or seeing shadows etc. 

I also read somewhere that the staff or people who work 

nearby all knew it's haunted. But now I think 

these reviews all got taken down.

After learning all the facts, we both agreed that we should change hotels. 
Hence we sweetly went back to the hotel and explained to the staff 
that we would like to leave due to the supernatural phenomenon. 

They didn't deny what we said nor agree with us 

and simply refunded us the remain of the hotel fees. We were really grateful. 
I was so spooked when I packed my stuff, I literally threw 
everything into the suitcase and left the room in 3 minutes. 

We ended up in another random motel for the remaining of our LA trip. 
The bed in the motel wasn't comfortable or even clean but neither of us 

cared after all that drama. We were just so tired and spooked. 

I am sure many people have stayed at the Biltmore 
and didn't feel a thing. But not for us. 

But we still feel grateful for the helpful hotel staff.

A young Stephen Kessler was flourishing as a copywriter at 

Chiat/Day Biltmore and teamed up with art director Harry Ray. 

In 1985, they worked on a campaign for the Apple II 

and wanted to use Alan Greenspan. Sure, good luck, guys. But they got him.

Alan Greenspan (People in high places always asked him 

'Where does all the money go?') accepted being a spokesman for Apple.

Two years later, Greenspan became Chairman of the 

Federal Reserve in the Reagan Administration.

Kessler and Ray ended up with a tv commercial and the magazine shown, 

with some help from copywriter Laurie Brandalise. 

The ad left a buzz in the financial world.

Photography by Gill Smith.

The irony was, Greenspan didn't own an Apple computer
before the tv ad aired. Apple gave him one afterward.
In 1990, Stephen Kessler ended up writing the book 
'Chiat/Day: The first twenty years'
and has become a big time Hollywood guy, 
directing features and documentaries.

 "IF YOU CAN POINT, YOU CAN CLICK."
- Penny Kapasouz

It's getting more and more difficult to trace back info about Penny Kapasouz.

This copywriter I've worked with for about two years.

She did an incredible job on this 20 page insert for Apple,

especially for the short time she had to write it.

The insert has received high marks for the sublime written language.

But more important, it has had major impact on consumers.

The insert won praise for the easy and understandable workings of the Macintosh.
Steve Hayden wrote the cover headline

but it was Penny writing the whole insert by herself. She said,

"I was writing to people who know little or nothing about computers.

It was easy for me since I knew little or nothing myself."

The insert first ran in Time magazine, then in Business Week,

Forbes, Newsweek, Fortune and Inc. Magazine. The price tag: $2.6 million. 

Read Apple's insert here

"I love print." Penny Kapasouz once said. 

She also worked on Porsche and wrote 'Porsche is working on your car.' 

for the account pitch poster 

and wrote the copy for the Porsche insert.   

Apple IIc

Shown is a spread version of the eight page magazine insert.

It was beautifully written by copywriter Laurie Brandalise

and art directed by Gary Johnston.

On another spread, Laurie's headline reads,

'It gets bigger when you plug it in.'

I wonder why the insert was omitted

from the book 'Chiat/Day: The first twenty years'

See spread 'It gets bigger when you plug it in.'

Chiat/Day opened an office in San Francisco in 1978, led by Fred Goldberg. 

In 1982, the agency created a series of small space ads 

for U.C. Berkeley. They all had an attitude. These two are my favorites,

done by copywriter Brian O'Neill and art director Mike Moser.

For the Russia ad, which ran in Time Magazine, a Berkeley professor

happened to be going to Russia.

When he got there and going through customs, 

they found the magazine with the ad in his suitcase.

They didn't let the professor in the country.

1985 was the year of Porsche.

At Chiat/Day many great Porsche ads left the Biltmore.

Aside from the tv ad 'If you were a car, what would you be'

another ad never left my brain.

It was shot in Stuttgart at the Porsche Museum with Dr. Ferdinand Porsche.

Together with copywriter Brent Bouchez, Penny Kapasouz wrote the script

with the phrase 'We believe any car that nearly got you

from here to there, just didn't go far enough.'

copywriters: Brent Bouchez, Penny Kapasouz

art director: Steve Beaumont

director: Mark Coppos

producer: Morty Baran

in-house editor: Gayle Grant

DOG DAYS

Te quiero

For three years we were entertained by a dog. A Chihuahua.

Taco Bell landed their account at TBWA/Chiat/Day in 1997.

Copywriter Clay Williams and art director Chuck Bennett

came up with the Chihuahua concept while eating in a Mexican restaurant.

They spotted one walking down the street. A little dog totally on a mission.

The idea for a tv campaign was born.

Williams and Bennett started with one commercial 

introducing the dog with a Spanish accent.

The spot captured the public and became a popular culture phenomenon.

The 1999 tv ad shown is called 'Drop the Chalupa'.

(The first cop was played by Rick Almada)

The campaign lasted till 2000 when Taco Bell said adios to TBWA/Chiat/Day.

Sunset icon

While at Chiat/Day, during the Biltmore years, 

I went often to this place on Sunset Blvd,

spending my paychecks on records.

Especially rare soul songs on vinyl from the '60's and '70's.

It was the only source to find them.

Russ Solomon started the thing. In 1960, he opened 

his first record store at the Tower building in Sacramento,

then in San Francisco, followed by Hollywood's well-known Sunset Strip.

That one story building with the classic red and yellow signage

became one of L.A.'s biggest icons.

Popular through the '60's, '70's, '80's and the '90's,

reaching over $1 billion of sales.

You always had a chance to bump into somebody famous. 

Rock stars and locals. It became a rituel to go there.

Tower Sunset went out of business in 2006.

Then in 2018, its founder died.

The building has now been leased to Supreme store.

Porsche pitch poster. CW Penny Kapasouz, AD Steve Beaumont, photography Bill Werts.

Do you remember ad agencies house ads?

I came upon this neat site done by Dave Dye, who's posting articles 

about advertising for a while on his 'Stuff from the loft'.

Dave Dye is one of UK's top creatives 

and an award winning creative director at JWT.

His page about 'House Ads' is very interesting.

It proves some of the big ego of many ad agencies, including Chiat/Day.

Clients always ask, 

"Why should I choose or trust your ad agency to do my stuff?"

One comment on the site sums it all up:

"I'd like to buy this new car. Can you tell me about it?"

"Sorry, no I can't. We don't have a brochure or a car you can look at."

"So how do I know if it's right for me?"

"Take my word for it."

"That's not good enough."

"That's all I can offer you."

"What about other people that have bought one?"

"Ask them, if you like."

"But what about a test drive?"

"You can do that after you've bought one."

"But what if I don't like it?"

"Get rid of it."

"Will you buy it back from me?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't know you or trust you."

"Goodbye."

"Oh."

While working at Chiat/Day Toronto on the Nissan Canada campaign,

a young creative team did a neat trade ad.

It won a bronze One Show Award in 1991.

copywriter: Isidoro Debellis

art director: Karen Prince

 A RARE DAY

In 1968, Guy Day merged his ad agency Faust/Day

with Jay Chiat and became Chiat/Day.

While Jay was the tough guy, Guy was the gentleman.

According to Lee Clow, "Guy taught me a lot of things.

He made me sane while Jay drove me crazy."

In 1984, Guy Day staged himself less at the Biltmore

and retired in 1986. He passed away in 2010.

In 1987, at ad agency Della Femina Travisano,

Stephen Batchelor, then an art director, worked together

with copywriter Cameron Day, Guy Day's son.

They created a very neat piece for the 'Los Angeles Creative Club'.

The nice photo of Guy Day is a gift 

since there aren't many floating around.

art director: Stephen Batchelor

copywriter: Cameron Day

photographer: Unknown to date

Typography: Anderson Printing (pro-bono) 

Thanks to Stephen Batchelor for sharing this rare ad.

Before I got into Chiat/Day Biltmore, 

I was following ads wherever I could find them.

Here's another example of a clever print ad from the early 80's, 

found in a British magazine. It won a D&AD award. 

The copy was written by Richard Cook with a funny story behind it.

He wrote the copy in a way that included a hidden message.

Each sentence started with an initial that, 

when isolated and bunched together spelled out: 

RICHARDCOOKWROTETHIS

He just wanted to be sure he got credit as the copywriter

which didn't happen with his previous ad.

No one can remember if the client ever found out.

art director: Tony Riggs

copywriter: Richard Cook

photographer: Bruce Brown

typographer: Terry Smith

ad agency: Colman RSCG 

This 1985 ad was one of the many Wall Street Journal

interviews with well-kown business people.

For Jay, they even used Apple's typeface (Apple Garamond) for the headline

and a great illustration for which the WSJ is famous for.

That same year, after the tv ad 'Lemmings' flopped,

Apple proposed to run a printed apology in the Wall Street Journal.

Jay Chiat shot back, saying that if Apple apologized,

Jay would buy an ad on the next page,

apologizing for the apology. It was a mess.

HARD DAYS

Really!

That famous phrase did turn into a T-shirt.

During the Chiat/Day Biltmore days it happened often creatives 

had to come in on Saturdays and even Sundays.

Jay Chiat had a quote for it:

"If you can't be bothered to work on Saturday, don't bother to come on Sunday."

This T-shirt and the one with 'Good enough is not enough'

started a culture within Chiat/Day.

My writer Steve Rabosky and I were lucky

most of the time since we were dedicated to do good work

and bossed hard during the week, including late nights.

What's a Minneapolis restaurant doing here?

It might be the best print ad created for a restaurant.

Simple and classy.

Created in 1991 by Fallon McElligot.

copywriter: Bob Brihn

art director: Bruce Bildsten

THE PIZZA DAYS

Chiat/Day created a bunch of Pizza Hut tv ads like this one from 1985.

My favorite was the one version with boxer Marvin Hagler which I can't find.

Marvin Hagler:

"Just thinking... I wonder what... 'What's his name'...

is eating tonight... probably soup."

art director: Jean Robaire

copywriters: John Stein, Ed Cole, Bill Hamilton, Marvin Hagler

producer: Elaine Hinton

director: Norman Seeff

The best long copy house ad?

New York advertising agency Erwin, Wasey & Company,

who had offices throughout America and even in Europe,

published this house ad in a magazine of May, 1931.

It was O. B. Winters who wrote the poetic copy.

Note that an art director was then called a layout man.

Five months later, that same year, Jay Chiat was born.

While wandering around at Chiat/Day's binocular building to find a desk, 

a clever series of print ads were created. That was in 1994.

My favorite ad of the three was titled 'Firing squad'.

It wonderfully explains the creative process at ad agencies.

Even at the best and well-known places there were the fingerprints.

Creative teams faced many battles to get their 

'Blow me away' concepts through the agency's mill.

First trying to please the creative director,

then explaining it to the account people and then convincing the client.

Even after a print or tv ad was approved,

it usually went through several tests of incompetence: 

stupid focus groups and nervous lawyers.

The best advertising done in America, or elsewhere,

never have left ad agencies.

All those great concepts are hidden somewhere in drawers,

touched by the so many fingerprints.

art director: Cabell Harris

copywriter: Steve Skibba

ad agency: WORK

client: Smith & Nelson

OLYMPIC DAYS

With all the hoopla that was going on around Apple's '1984',

another creative team was busy on Nike.

A series of billboards for the upcoming Olympic Games.

Adidas and Reebok had the same stint in mind,

but they were way outnumbered by Nike's ad budget

which included deals with several big athletes like Carl Lewis.

Mayor Tom Bradley not only brought the Olympics to L.A.,

he was smart by sending many people out of town.

I've never seen freeways that empty.

Many different billboards were plastered throughout the city.

The one shown is still my favorite.

art director: Gary Johns

copywriter: Jeff Gorman

photographer: Carl Furuta

Hire the Hairy

Bo Hylen shot Lee Clow. Twice. In 1986. On the strand of Venice beach.

Done for a Swedish brochure for Strokirks Printing.

It containes an article about Lee.
Lee Clow started in advertising at N.W. Ayer in 1968, then left and decided

to created his self promotion piece 'Hire the Hairy'

in order to convince creative director Hy Yablonka to get hired.
After the ad, Lee printed some T-shirts, stickers, etc. 

on the 'Hairy' theme.

Hy Yablonka was convinced. This was way back in the early 1970's.
Lee Clow joined Chiat/Day in 1973.

The second spread shows an early ad Lee had done for KNBC,

together with copywriter Blake Hunter.

On the right, a funny ad for Olympia Beer

created by Lee and copywriter David Butler.

The third spread in the brochure shows Apple's insert 

in Newsweek from November 1984.

The art director even added Chiat/Day's Apple creative team.

art director: Tom Roth

copywriter: Tom Roth?

photographer: Bo Hylen (cover and page three)

ad agency: Anderson & Lembke, Connecticut

Client: Strokirks Tryckeri Skövde, Sweden

Good stuff was done in 1980's Great Britain.

Ad agency Collett Dickenson Pearce handled 

the London Metropolitan Police account.

In 1988 they produced an ad campaign for the recruitment of new cops.

Planner Cathy Simmons worked close with the creative team.

This is one of the ads winning several D&AD awards.

copywriter: Jeremy Clarke

art director: Graham Finke

photographer: Don McCullin

ad agency: CDP

Note:  It was planner Cathy Simmons at CDP 

who introduced planning to Jay Chiat who brought it to North America.

Jay hired British Jane Newman in 1982 to work

at Chiat/Day New York. She became the queen of planning.

THE COOLER DAYS

When Chiat/Day was working on California Cooler,
Hal Riney was doing the same. With Bartles & Jaymes.
A battle started. Northern California versus Southern California.
This was in the mid 1980's.
While Lee Clow created beach blanket parties on the Venice strand
talking surfboards and singing 'Louie Louie',
Hal Riney preferred a small porch.
With two gullible guys, Frank Bartles, played by David Rufkahr,
and Ed Jaymes, played by Dick Maugg.
The kind of Hilbillies of advertising.
Hal, who came up with the name Bartles & Jaymes 
wrote and produced about 150 tv ads.
Director Joe Pytka shot most of the original work.
The campaign won many awards.
The question is, who won the Cooler battle?

Hal Riney was known for his ego and taking credit for every ad that left his building.
Of course there were many creatives working on his stuff.
One day I got a phone call from Hal, asking me to meet up north. I declined.
The silent actor, Dick Maugg, died in 2015
and Hal Riney in 2008.

THE FAUST/DAY DAYS

An old ad from 1968 during the Faust/Day years

created by art director Mel Abert and copywriter Mel Newhoff.

Abert was hired in 1966 and became one of the original Chiat/Day

employees with the 1968 merger with Jay Chiat.

In those days, everyone was smoking, wearing suits and ties. 

Secretaries wore dresses with pointy tits.

Copy was typed on typewriters with carbon paper.

Mel Abert teamed up with Mel Newhoff and worked directly under Jay Chiat.

Abert's personal life went something like this:

One day, a beautiful blond walked into his office and,

feeling a bit more creative than usual, he got down on all fours

and barked like a dog. Try that today.

But she married him and later became his business partner. 

Mel Abert, together with Mel Newhoff started their own 

ad agency: Abert, Newhoff, Burr.

It went out off business in 1990.

Mel Newhoff passed away in 2013.

In 1984, photographer Norman Seeff, best known for his great

b/w photos of famous Rock&Roll musicians and many album covers

did a nice photo session at his studio with Lee Clow and Jay Chiat.

Three shots exist of which a second version is shown in the side bar.

 

Steve Hayden wrote it.

I remember seeing this ad in the Los Angeles Times magazine

and thought it funny. The copy was wonderfully written.

It wasn't until much later I found out Steve Hayden was the writer.
It must have been from the mid 1970's.
The ad got noticed by Hy Yablonka who then mentioned
it to Jay Chiat and Lee Clow. That's when Steve joined Chiat/Day.

At the time there were two commercial 

classical radio stations in L.A. of which KFAC was the best.

Starting to suffer from a decline of listeners,

KFAC made several attempts to appeal to a younger audience

and in 1989 it switched the format to rock music.

Not long after, the station got sold.

The ad got into the D&AD Copy book with other ads written by Steve.

Read Life without KFAC by David Colker

A small space ad which ran in Adweek.

It won some awards.
Copywriter: Marc Deschenes and Laurie Brandalise
Art Director: Houman Pirdavari.

Jay Chiat in happier days.

At his Marine del Rey beach apartment in 1985.

Jay had many sharp one liners.

When freelancing at Chiat/Day N.Y., on Fifth Ave,

I visited him often in his office.

He always said something hilarious with some sarcasm.

This is my favorite:

"Don't be afraid of failure, unless you're working for me."

 

THE BEAUTY OF LONG COPY

One ad from 1995, created for Anti-Slavery International

at ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi in London.

copywriter: Michael Campbell

art director: Vanessa Rosser

typographer: Andy Dymock

The second ad, a self promotion one, was written by copywriter Kevin Dunleavy.

He even mentions Mark Fenske who was fond of grumbling 'love the process.'

Another line in his ad is by Kara Goodrich, quoting,

'I still believe print is the most liberating medium of all,

because print is where you are naked.'

Kevin taught how to write great copy at Adcenter

under the tutelage of Mark Fenske and Cabell Harris.

Kevin worked at The Martin Agency in Richmond

and is now a creative director at McGarrah Jessee in Austin, Texas.

THE STEVE JOBS DAYS

The crazy mind of Steve Jobs was at full speed.

He came up with a name

and hired well-known French artist Folon to design

a little man called 'Mr. Macintosh'

A mysterious little man who lives inside a box.

It was 1982.

An extrait from the Apple eBook called Revolution by Andy Hertzfeld.

THE BILL HAMILTON DAYS

A great memory piece about creative director Bill Hamilton

while at Chiat/Day New York.

It appeared in Ad Age, July 1988, written by Ann Cooper.

Note the funny photo with Bill as sheepherder, shot for his bio sheet.

 

THE ADGEEK DAYS

Two creatives from Chiat/Day made it on a page in Adweek

on February 2, 1987, showing work from the year before.

The moronic ad magazine made Steve Rabosky copywriter of the year.

The art director wasn't mentioned.

THE PATHFINDER DAYS

In 1988, a Topanga Canyon couple drove a Nissan Pathfinder

all the way to the Amazon. A roughly 7,000 miles run.

Its cost for the tv and print ads was an estimated $2 million.

The campaign sold lots of Pathfinders and won several awards.

CW Dick Sittig, AD Andy Dijak, producer Richard O'Neill,

director Eric Saarinen.



BEFORE THE ANTI-PLEASURE POLICE DAYS

Two great Camel posters from the good times.

One for France, by Britsh illustrator Nick Price, from 1974.

It also ran as an ad in all major French magazines.

Advertising agency: De Plas-Troost, Paris. 

Concept: Lourette Francfort and Gérard Clerc

The original illustration is owned by the French subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds.

(Trone Advertising in the U.S. completely fucked it up by calling him Joe

and turned him into a horrendous, appalling cartoon character)

The other poster, from 1990, is by Spanish illustrator Fernando Bellver,

who did an unofficial one with Tintin.

Not endorsed by Hergé.

SOME BAD DAYS

       Chiat/Day won the Honda car account in 1971,

two years before Lee Clow joined the agency.

Honda, responsable for half of the billings of Chiat/Day, left in 1975.

Jay Chiat wanted to run an ad

telling the world how the agency lost the account. They did.

And not just to own the situation, they did it because

they acknowledged the agency had lost its course.

It was written by Guy Day.

The following year, Chiat/Day ran a couple of house ads,

targeting the food, airline, pet and motorcycle companies.

These ads paid off. One of the new accounts was Yamaha.

THE EXECUTIVES DAYS

A great photo session with Jay Chiat and Lee Clow.

That's what art director Mike Mazza said.

"I directed these photos with photographer Roxy Rifkin 

early in my career with Chiat/Day.

It was for the company bios back in the days of print.

Lee's bio was titled, 'Lee Clow, ECD, President. Retired?'

Not in the minds of the creatives.

He influenced me, me being one of them.

Thanks Lee. Pirate. Legend. Genius."

Another print ad stuck in a drawer.

One I did with writer Steve Rabosky just before the account left the Biltmore, including me.

This was at the end of 1986 when desktop publishing was a brand new thing.

THE MARK COPPOS DAYS

A rare photo of director Mark Coppos (on the left)

with Lee Clow, during the California Cooler tv ad shoot, 

on a very cold day at Topanga Beach in 1986.

Mark Coppos was a big part of Chiat/Day in the 1980's.

First as a still photographer, then as commercial director.

He shot much of the agency's work and most of the Apple tv ads.

Then in 1993, Coppos directed the Infiniti commercials with Jonathan Pryce.
After more than 20 years as a director, Mark Coppos called it quits
and sold Coppos Films which went out of business in 2004.

Mark enjoys a private life in Malibu. I met him there twice.

One time with art director Yvonne Smith. He'd invited us at his beach home.

Later I bumped into Mark near the newsstand, at a restaurant

which is now, yet another, surf store.

Thanks to John Vitro for sharing.

A 1985 magazine ad created at Chiat/Day Biltmore

for Apple's new LaserWriter Plus

by AD Steve Beaumont and CW David Lubars.

THE MOOCH DAYS

The other day I was searching for this book for a friend in Lyon.

I visited eBay and guess what?

With the original cover, you can get it for $26.28

or for $39.95 or for $49.99

Then I tried Amazon.

You can get a used one for $19.41 or $50.00 or $153.95.

You do the math.

    "I HAVE A DREAM THAT ONE DAY..."

With all the pathetic hoopla and self destruction that's going on in 2020's U.S.A.
between whites and blacks, here's a powerful, intense and 
beautiful photo by photographer Gordon Parks.
A black woman and her child living under segregation in 1956 Alabama.
A strong reminder that not much has changed.
And come to think of it, the majority of advertising created in the 1980's and 1990's
was directed to white America. Even from Chiat/Day.

REFLECTIONS FROM THE CHIAT/DOG DAYS

  Here are some comments from people who work, or having worked 

at the TBWA\Chiat\Day Grosvenor factory in Playa del Rey.

"Location is nice. Nice office perks of free snacks and beverages."

"When you're pissed, you can punch those punching bags."

"The shop is surprisingly disorganized.

Client requests always seems to be granted even if it means

entire teams are stuck working overnight and on weekends."

"You never know what you're gonna get until you get to the office.

Some days are chaotic, other days you have nothing going on."

"Forced to use barcode system to track time on each job.

Became a sweat shop. Cameras everywhere. No loyalty to employees."

"Didn't have a weekend in three years."

"We used to have bagels in the morning but as the numbers

of employees increased, the bagels disappeared."

"Great place to bring your dog."

"The presence of a dog underscores everyday workplace dynamics."

"Some days there are more dogs than creatives."

"More dog friendly than people friendly."

"Even pets with bad behavior can earn a second chance.

At TBWA\Chiat\Day, expulsion is the penalty for biting and too much barking.

However, Mr. Clow has been known to take the pets' side,

undoing dog banishments now and again,

saying it's the result of poor training.

Lee says, "I don't think people raise kids very well either."

Case in point: One office puppy 'Big Papa', a French bulldog owned
by CD Eric Grunbaum, was banished after biting a worker."

"Sometimes it's like a great poem, but a bad one can say more."

"Yesterday, you told me to focus on this.

Today you tell me to do something different."

A former staff member, Rebecca Epstein, said that she found it an
isolating experience. "Because the light is the same all day long,
you have no sense of time. It's a little like a casino."

"I saw people run screaming out of here in three months."

        A confession found somewhere.

JANUARY 1988

When Chiat/Day's 228 employees moved in to 

the Warehouse in January 1988,

Jay Chiat became Venice's largest employer.

A budget of $2.5 million transformed the Warehouse,

a leased 42,000 square-foot structure.

Skylights were cut into the roof, doors were replaced with glass

to bring in light to the windowless space.

Frank Gehry designed a new entrance and added the 

22 by 54 foot steel skinned 'Fish' conference room.

A spread I've found with an article about Frank Gehry,

explaining his redesign for the old Warehouse in Venice.
The photos were taken early 1988.

From German architectural magazine Arch+, issue 136, 1997.

After Chiat/Day lost Porsche, it won the $150 million Nissan account in 1987,
on Lee Clow's birthday, August 3rd. It was his best birthday gift ever.

$100,000 was spent to pitch the Infiniti account

but for the Nissan pitch, Chiat/Day claimed to have spent $1 million.

Jay Chiat said, "We had an unlimited budget and we exceeded it."
Jay then hired Bob Kuperman as EVP and creative director.
Kuperman was creative director at DDB, Los Angeles.

For the pitch poster, about a quarter of the agency's employees

handed over their driver's licences, including Jay Chiat.

 

   

Watch the Nissan 300ZX tv ad

THE SOFTBALL GAMES DAYS

 

Yes, the agency at the Biltmore had a softball team.
It played games against other ad agencies, called ASWS: Ad World Series.

These ads ran in Adweek from around the mid 1980's.

There's nothing I can find about Chiat/Day's team.

I mean the softball team.

And no info about the creative team who did those ads.

AFTER THE U.B.U. DAYS

A crisis struck Chiat/Day's New York office in 1993.

Reebok abruptly fired the agency, handing the $80 million in billings

to Leo Burnett in Chicago.

Although David Ropes, Reebok's vice-president of worlwide marketing,

extolled Chiat/Day's virtues, he found the agency lacking in global terms.

Chiat/Day gained the Reebok business in 1987 but in 1989,

after its controversial "Reebok's let U.B.U." campaign,

resigned most of it, then rebounded it in 1991.

With characteristic aplomb and irreverence, Chiat/Day

took out full-page ads in the Los Angeles Times and New York Times that read,

"Now we know how Dan felt." referring to Dan O'Brien

who had failed to qualify for the Olympics.

O'Brien had been feautured in Chiat/Day's $30 million Reebok campaign

which centered on the rivalry between decathletes O'Brien and Dave Johnson.

I can't find the newspaper ad but it ended with the line,

"You haven't heard the last of us, either."

The irony: Leo Burnett resigned Reebok in 1997.

IT'S STILL 1969 IN ADLAND

An interesting article appeared in Adage from July 21, 1969,

written by Michelle Dopp and Ann Christine-Diaz.

Chiat/Day's effort to combat racism includes a

'Booklet Dashing Rumors Issues of Racial Intolerance'

This piece looks at Chiat/Day's co-founder Jay Chiat's attempt

to fight racism with a campaign for the 

L.A. County Commission on Human Relations.

It includes a pamphlet that highlighted Rumor vs. Reality

when it came to people's perceptions of African Americans

and posters and bumper stckers with copy such as

"Is Your Neighborhood All White or All American?"

Even the creatives are mentioned.

art directors: Hy Yablonka and Kathy Migliore

copywriter: Thomas Groener

creative director: William Tara

A view of the Fish.

An old Nissan van was parked on the aisle on the right called 'Main Street'.

A nice Wall Street Journal article that ran on August 23, 2000

while Rick was working at Ogilvy & Mather, New York,

mentioning his mentors Bill Hamilton, Lee Clow and Jay Chiat.

Awhile back, Rick Boyko had send me a photo 

taken at Chiat/Day Biltmore for his bio sheet.

CD Lee Clow photographed by Ron Krisel.

From 1993.

MORE U.B.U. DAYS

A few more Reebok U.B.U. ads from 1988. 

Shooting with photographer Max Vadukul was an adventure.

With his small entourage, we walked and drove around New York

looking for anything interesting. Including people to use for the shoot.

One was in front of the Twin Towers with some suits,

then an old, rundown public swimming pool.

And another version with the old couple at a farm.

Max even shot a couple of real cops who drove by at one location.

They were willing to pose on sidewalk scooters.

That one was produced as a billboard.

Since I worked freelance and was called back to Chiat/Day L.A.,

art director Marty Weiss put together the ads,

some of them appearing in the 1989 D&AD annual.

THE MAX VADUKUL DAYS

After more than 30 years since U.B.U., I thought contacting Max Vadukul

but wasn't sure he remembered me.

He did and wrote me back, saying, "That was a great shoot like crazy."

He went searching through his contact sheets.

Max Vadukul was so kind to share all his photos from the Reebok U.B.U. shoot

and he added, "I always cast on the go... and photograph 

with the intention of holding the gaze...near impossible in 2019."

These black and white photos are priceless and so rare, 

I hardly remember some of them.

Thank you very much, Max.

Here's my take on the 'Running girl.'

Note that all pictures shown are taken from Max Vadukul's contact sheets.

THE CUBICLE DAYS

 The creative department cubicles at the old warehouse
on Hampton Drive in Venice. I can't find Lee Clow's office.

A great view of the Warehouse on Hampton Drive in Venice.

According to the seating plan, the first cubicle showing was occupied

by art director Laura Della Sala and copywriter Rob Feakins.

Laura worked at Chiat/Day from 1986 till 1992 

and is now a freelance Creative Director.

Rob worked at Chiat from 1986 till 1994

and is now a CD, Content Creator and filmmaker.

A typical cubicle at Chiat/Day Biltmore.

Each one had a hanging divider which creatives used 

to pin down their ads, layouts or whatever they liked.

I shared one with copywriter Steve Rabosky.

When Jay Chiat was in town, often he popped his head in our cubicle, 

stared at the work, then said "Is that all you guys did today?"

Lee Clow did a similar thing. 

Liking an ad concept he got excited but then said, "Keep on thinking."

Another small space ad which ran in Adweek.

From the Biltmore days.

THE BELDING AWARDS DAYS

Three ads which ran in Belding Awards annuals.

The one on top is a nice, honest ad and a great way to mention

all the Chiat/Day employees. I remember most of them.

(Notice the missing dot on one of the i's)

The one, bottom left, was created by Doug Mukai.

The third ad was created by copywriters Carlos Rubio and Jeff Maki,

art directed by Diallo Marvel, creative director, Rob Schwartz.

THE PROMOTION DAYS

Lee Clow in an ad to promote Communication Arts magazine done in 1987.

"This is my complete collection, minus the ones Gorman, Johns and Hayden stole."

art director: Rich Silverstein

copywriter: David Fowler

ad agency: Goodby, Berlin & Silverstein

A silly ad for Workbook by ad agency Mad Dogs and Englishmen in San Francisco,

from the early 1990's. They mentioned,

"We talked famed creative Lee Clow into being a spokesman

for our client. Lee loved the idea so much, he art directed it himself."

Two more great newspaper ads for Porsche 

created at the Biltmore in 1986.

art directors: Yvonne Smith and Jeff Roll

copywriter: Mark Monteiro

photography: Lamb and Hall

THE EARLY DAYS

Hy Yablonka was one of the original Chiat/Day partners

and creative force responsable for its rocket rise from a small L.A.

ad boutique to national presence in the mid 1970s.

It was Hy who hired a young Lee Clow.

Here's an interview with Hy at the Biltmore by a journalist named R.S.C.

A very rare photo showing a young Lee Clow and Dave Butler

at Chiat/Day during the years with CD Hy Yablonka.

From the mid 1970s.

The merger announced in a newspaper from September 16, 1968.

It mentioned the funny story of 

"Flip a coin to see who's going to be president."

Tom Faust flipped the coin. Jay Chiat won.

The ad agency became Chiat/Day and Tom Faust left.

A Chiat/Day spread which ran in the Belding Awards annual from 1994.

This article appeared in Adage on March 29, 1989

announcing Chiat/Day being ad agency of the year 1988.

THE FRANK GEHRY DAYS

Because Chiat/Day had to temporary transfer their head office, 

Gehry planned the interim quarters in an empty industrial warehouse,

4000 square meters, as a temporary city in the desert. 

The warehouse, which is lighted only from above,

Gehry laid out streets and squares, districs and 'bubbles'

under a ceiling 7 meters high.

The Gehry's architecture costing about $3 million

renders the simple wood stud structure and disposable materials

like cardboard as trend decor.

The in-house conference took place in the belly

of a wooden-ribbed fish almost 17 meters in lenght.

Frank Gehry broke almost all the laws of architecture.

Adage cover article from August 10, 1987 announcing 

the $150 million Nissan account win for Chiat/Day Biltmore.

A page from a late 1980's Workbook with Jay Chiat on Venice strand.

Photography: Ken Chernus

THOSE WERE THE DAYS

While I was working on the Nissan Canada campaign

with Marty Cooke at Chiat/Day Toronto in 1991,

supernatural Naomi Campbell strolled the Sunset Strip.

Photography Ellen von Unwerth.

An extensive interview by Sean Riley Mitchell with Jay Chiat 

from September 18, 1988.

A part of the interview is about the Reebok U.B.U. campaign.
Read the story here

THE PORSCHE INSERT DAYS

How a 'turn of phrase' almost cost Chiat/Day the Porsche business.

An edited story from the Biltmore days, late 1984, by Steve Goldman.
Steve was account manager on Porsche.

The concept headline in question

"We settled into our seats on a flight bound for the Bahamas to present 

Porsche Cars North America's first national advertising campaign. 

The Chiat team had worked tirelessly honing the launch strategy, 

creative, media, and couldn't be more excited to showcase our final work 

to Porsche and the entire dealer body.

An hour into the flight the captain came on the intercom asking Guy Day 

to ring his seat location. The flight attendant delivered an urgent message 

from Porsche's marketing director to call immediately upon landing. 

None of us had a clue what this could be about, and were quite 

shocked to receive any kind of message inflight.

Upon arrival we were met by the normally gregarious CMO 

who told us the CEO was boiling mad about the 12-page insert copy 

that didn't reflect his input when concepts were originally presented 

to him in Germany. And he wanted to fire the agency for not listening.

This was not overstated as we listened to the fuming Porsche leader 

call us on the carpet, demanding the insert be changed before the 

national dealer meeting scheduled for the following day. 

During the initial concept review in Germany, the CEO 

questioned the last spread headline, 

And Professor Porsche is still not satisfied. 

Saying Ferry Porsche was indeed satisfied but was always 

striving for more. But it didn't sound like a big issue, 

so we thought ... or wanted to think. 

Rationalizing that it was probably a translation issue.

At Chiat we always fought hard for ideas down to a line of copy. 

Not out of stubbornness or arrogance, but with strong conviction 

that it was best for creating distinctive, relevant and motivating brand stories. 

So we took the input as a suggestion rather then a mandate.

This was pre-digital, using "state-of-the-art" stacked slide projectors, 

choreographed with audio and video projection for the national dealer show. 

So the only way to make the change was to write a new line, 

physically create a revised slide, and get it delivered to 

Paradise Island in time for the presentation.

As if this wasn't a big enough problem, we were on press ... 

printing and shipping millions of inserts to run in the major newsweeklies, 

lifestyle, fashion and car magazines ... as well as the Wall Street Journal, 

New York Times and major metro newspapers.

"Stop the presses" I urgently relayed to my assistant in Los Angeles, 

gave him the new headline, and requested a slide be hand carried 

along with enough revised inserts to hand out to all attendees. 

A local dealer agreed to carry these materials for us. 

Little did we know he had a strange aversion to flying. 

Just before leaving to meet him at Nassau International Airport, 

I was informed this dealer was not a good flyer and would always 

consult his spiritual adviser before taking any flights ... 

many times not showing up at meetings if his guru 

said it was not a good day to fly.

As I anxiously waited for this flight to un-board, our "courier" was 

nowhere to be seen. I'm thinking this just couldn't get any worse. 

But to my relief I see him and his wife casually strolling down the ramp, 

being the very last passengers to deplane. Handing me the package 

he inquired why I was sweating soo much. It was a good day to fly :-)

Fast forward, the show was a huge success. 

Porsche and the dealers were ecstatic about the creative. 

Our favorite marketing director could once again keep down his food. 

And Chiat/Day retained this most coveted account, until we pitched 

and won Nissan, and eventually earned the Infiniti account.

I still get chills reading this insert written by 

the amazingly talented Penny Kapousouz. 

It tells the authentic story of the Porsche brand; the extraordinary 

engineers and designers behind these amazing cars, 

the vision of Professor Porsche. Reminding me of the power of 

great print advertising. Every word worth fighting for."

The final headline

A very rare photo of Jane Newman, Bill Hamilton and Jay Chiat

on the patio of Chiat/Day on Fifth Avenue, New York.

The photo accompanied the L.A. Times Magazine article

'Off the wall on Madison Avenue.'

When freelancing on Reebok with Bill and copywriter Marty Cooke,

I used the patio often due to the no-office-smoking law.

Rutgers University Alumni guide from 2009,

mentioning those who made it in life,

including Jay Chiat who graduated in 1953.

He was inducted as distinguished alumni in 2000.

Where did this come from?

The Sony U-matic tape edit of Apple's '1984' :60" - :30" and the title screen.

A nice bus shelter poster from early 1993 by Chiat/Day Toronto.

It's really a house ad just to show off.

copywriter: Zak Mroueh

art director: Rick Buceta

creative director: Jack Neary

A great public service ad from Chiat/Day/Mojo Toronto for United Way.

A merit winner from 1992.

copywriter: Philippe Garneau

art director: Duncan Bruce

creative director: Jack Neary

    "PEOPLE CONFUSE ME, FOOD DOESN'T."

Anthony Bourdain June 25, 1956 - June 8, 2018.

Celibrity chef, author and travel documentarian of 'No Reservations' tv series.

Haiti: The 2010 earthquake.
The misery, corruption, Graham Greene and Sean Penn.
    Are we part of the problem?

 Watch a clip of the Haiti episode

THE JOHN FANTE DAYS

Aside from a Dutch guy who changed Dutch literature overnight with his 
1964 novel I, Jan Cremer, I admired many other writers, like Charles Bukowski,
Albert Camus and John Fante. Fante became famous after his dead in 1983. 
He wrote short stories and about eleven novels. My favorites are 
'Ask the Dust' (1939) 'Dreams from Bunker Hill' (1982) and 'West of Rome'.
In 2009, an intersection, near Bunker Hill, was named after him. 
John Fante Square.

THE VIRTUAL DAYS

A 1993 article written by Jay Chiat which appeared in Adweek.

New York, April 1985

Lunch at restaurant America with America's adman of the moment, Jay Chiat.

An interview by famed journalist/writer Ron Rosenbaum.

Photography by Deborah Ferngold

(The short-lived Manhattan, Inc. magazine died in 1990)

'There is no excuse for bad work'

Hermann Vaske interviews Jay Chiat. Lurzer's Archive from 1993.

Click for big version.

The 12 page Porsche insert from 1986 with wonderfully written copy.

It should have been included in the 'Chiat/Day The First Twenty Years' book.

CW David Butler, AD Jeff Roll, photography: Lamb & Hall.

Click on the pages for bigger size.

A play on the letter 'Z', this spread won an A&DC silver award in 1990.

Created at Chiat/Day/Mojo in Toronto

which adopted the U.S. tagline 'Built for the human race.'

copywriter/cd: Richard Haddan

art director: Karen Prince

A collection of 1984 and 1985 Apple Macintosh tv ads created at the Biltmore.

Many written by Penny Kapasouz and Steve Rabosky

and the majority directed by Mark Coppos.

A 1969 print campaign for Leach International Corporation.

A California aerospace company.

Created at Chiat/Day and Associates on Olympic Blvd, L.A.

when Hy Yablonka was an AD with CW Hal Pawluk.

The campaign made it into the AD annual.

THE CRAZY JONES DAYS

Remembering her from the 1980's for her songs and wild photos.

"If you really study this 1978 photo, the pose is anatomically impossible."

Jean Paul Goude writes in his 1982 book 'Jungle Fever.

"First, I photographed her in different positions. I cut her legs apart,

lengthened them, then I started painting, joining up all those pieces

to give the illusion that Grace actually posed for the photograph

and that only she was capable of assuming such a position."

This was way before Photoshop.

Goude is credited with launching her career in the 1970's.

In addition to designing her album covers, he also directed her music videos.

Goude calls his technic 'French Correction.'

Goude's image distorsions have been used in service

of the objectification and eroticization of black women.

"Blacks are the premise of my work... I have jungle fever."

he told People Magazine in 1979.

Grace Jones appeared in several print and tv ads

for Citroën and Honda scooters.

A nice clean print ad done by CLM BBDO Paris in 1984.

Telling us it's about time a capitalist started a revolution.

Showing books by Mao, Engels, Lenin, Karl Marx and Trotsky.

copywriter: Hervé Chadenat

art director: Lucie Pardo

photographers: Gary Brian and Marc Gouby

THE SCREAMING DAYS

A short story from 1999.

Jay Chiat Left Chiat/Day after it was sold to Omnicum in 1995.

In 1999, Jay became temporary chief executive of Screaming Media,

a New York media company.

Screaming Media is in a business known as online content streaming,

collecting and distributing to web sites news articles about 

technology, health and business.

Jay wanted to hire an ad agency and asked TBWA/Chiat/Day

to participate for a review.

One day, Jay Chiat met with Bob Kuprman in a restaurant.

"Jay and I had dinner," said Kuperman, "And I told him

he'd be the worst client in the world. 

I worked with Jay for 10 years. I have to have him as a client now?"

Whether Jay Chiat was involved or not,

TBWA/Chiat/Day bowed out of the review gracefully.

Jay had something to say: 

"Now that I'm a client, I understand what a jerk I was."

The photo of Jay was taken in 2001. A year later, Jay passed away.

Watch Jay Chiat on big thinkers interview.

There were moments I wished to have never chosen to go freelance.

The bad side of it is not having control of finishing the print or tv ads.

But some creative directors were good to me and let me have my finger in the soup.

One of these CDs was Robert Chandler who'd worked at

Chiat/Day with Jay Chiat in the early days and with CD Steve Hayden

at BBDO Slightly Further West on the Apple account,

then as a CD on IBM at O&M. Later he started his own gig,

General Levitation LLC in Beverly Hills as an ad strategist.

In the mid 90's he became CD at Seiniger Advertising 

which was on Wilshire Blvd in Beverly Hills.

I was hired for one month, working on the Hitachi Laptops account.

Always having his office door closed, I knocked while entering.

Robert was sitting behind his Apple computer with his feet on the desk

and the keyboard on his lap, staring at naked women.

"Cool" I said, "research for Hitachi?"

He cracked up, "I luv to fuck this one."

"I think I prefer Dolly Parton's tits" I said while pointing at the fake boobs.

Robert turned around and said, "Why don't you get some stockphoto books,

look for some great pictures and I'll write the headlines."

"Say what?!?" I said. But that was Robert Chandler, waiting for the pictures.

In the meantime he was jerking himself off on the internet.

Robert was a good writer and a funny guy.

When he and his wife went to Hawaii for a week, they took separate planes.

"For the kids" he told me when we had lunch one day.

I asked "What do you mean?"

"Say if my wife and I fly together and the plane crashes, we're dead."

I said, "Planes crash once in awhile. It's called population control."

Robert cracked up, "Your macabre humor. No, if we fly separately and

one plane goes down, the kids still have one parent."

"What if both planes crash?" I quipped.

Back to Hitachi. For one of the ads I found a picture of Napoleon.

Robert wrote: 'It's always the little ones taking on the world.'

HOW JAY CHIAT HANDLED DONALD TRUMP

A story by Steve Goldman

"I worked at Chiat/Day for 20 years when Jay Chiat was 

changing the rules of the ad business.

And building, from scratch, one of the greatest creative agencies ever.

Many remembers Jay's natural ability to recognize talent and push people

well beyond their limits. But most don't know how he generated

such exteaordinairy loyalty and dedication.

Earning the agency moniker: 'Chiat/Day and Night'.

Here's a story of Jay's fearless leadership when he dealt with 

Donald Trump and it's major impact on the agency.

When The Donald introduced Trump Airlines

he wanted the 'greatest' ad agency and chose Chiat/Day.

Chiat produced some brilliant advertising for the Trump Shuttle.

But evidently ads not to Trump's 'taste', who sent Jay a very

nasty and threatening letter about the work and the agency,

nicely typed on beautiful gold-laden stationary.

In uniquely Jay fashion, he replied with a hand-written note

attached to Donald's original letter that simply said:

Donald, I thought you should know that some lunatic

has stolen your stationary. Jay

And of course Chiat/Day was summarily fired.

So why is this an example of leadership?

Because Jay had a vision much bigger than keeping any 

one client happy and he wasn't going to let some bully push him around.

But even more important, it was a message from Jay to the Chiat team,

who toiled 'day & night' to live up to the agency's mission,

that he wouldn't compromise.

'Good enough is not enough' as our T-shirts were emblazoned.

Jay's principles of great advertising, and gutsy leadership, 

bred decades of loyalists to this day.

He was the definition of the entrepreneurial, charismatic leader

with a clear sense of purpose, much needed in today's disrupted ad space."

P.S. The Trump Shuttle failed and... was a complete disaster.

A RARE NEW YORK DAY

I'd posted this photo with Jay Chiat and Lee Clow before, in the side bar,

but it's such a neat one, I thought given it more importance.

It might be the last photo of them together.

It was shot in New York on October 14, 1998 by Mary Ellen Mark

and ran with an Adweek article on November 9, 1998 with this blurb:

The mercurial Bronx-born adman and the laid-back Southern California surfer

joined forces more than 25 years ago at Chiat/Day.

While the pair seemed unmatched, the combination was powerful.

The hard-driving Chiat inspired Clow to reach greater creative heights,

while the perfectionist Clow tempered and implemented Chiat's grandiose visions.

The relationship was combatative at times,

but loyalty and respect held them together.

Jay Chiat left in 1995 after he sold the agency, which he founded

with Guy Day, to Omnicom.

Lee Clow has gone on to achieve even more success,

most recently with the 'think Different' campaign for Apple.

"We worked together for 25 year until Jay quit." Clow joked at the photo shoot.

Asked whether he is retired, Chiat responded with

the usual blunt retort: "No, I'm unemployed."

THE LEGENDARY DAYS

A great photo by David Fairchild

An edited story by Bernice Lake and Kevin Cody.

Lee Clow was born in Los Angeles on August 3, 1943,

a product of Southern California's post-war boom and beach culture.

Learning to surf during the sport's golden era

would play a decisive role in his career decisions.

He credits his first-grade teacher Mrs. Rice with recognizing 

his artistic potential after he drew a boat in her class 

with a bow wake and smoke coming out of the smoke stack.

Walt Disney was an early hero.

He was fascinated with how an animator who drew a mouse

was able to create a business empire.

The juxtaposition of art and business along with Disney's passion and focus

sparked Clow's interest in advertising.

When Lee was 19 he worked at a bowling alley

at night and surfed in the day.

More interested in surfing than studying,

he spent a leisurely three years at Santa Monica City College,

a two-year community college and later studied advertising

and graphic design at California State University in Long Beach.

Then Lee started looking for work with an advertising agency 

that was creative and not in New York.

He did not want to give up surfing or wear a Brooks Brother suit.

In 1968, Lee started at N.W. Ayer, then did a self-promotion 'Hire the Hairy' 

for Hy Yablonka and in January 1973 got hired as an art director at Chiat/Day.

It was the only agency in L.A. where "advertising was respectable"

and where ads could be "smart and funny" he said.

All the creatives started calling it "Chiat/Day and Night" 

because of the dedication expected of its employees.

At the time, the agency had 30 employees and $15 million in billings.

50 years later, with Clow as creative chief/chairman worldwide,

TBWA\Chiat\Day had 1,500 employees and $1 billion in billings.

Clow thinks of himself as a 'media artist'.

According to Clow, there is an oppotunity for brands to stand

above the crowd by telling stories in a 'disruptive but artful way'.

This past Valentine's Day, in a 'love note to advertising'

published in Ad Age, Clow announced his retirement.

"I've probably overstayed my welcome. There aren't too many

people my age that are still allowed in the office,"

the 75 year old told Ad Age.

THOSE TEMPTING DAYS

After freelancing for a couple of months at Wieden & Kennedy 

in 1988, on Microsoft, Dave Luhr sent me a nice letter.

I liked Portland and its friendly, open minded and down to earth people.

And I enjoyed working with copywriter Jed Alger and Dave Luhr.

Even though Dave's offer was very tempting, I declined. 

Thank you Dave.

The letter ended up in a drawer.

An ode to Jay Chiat

from the people at TBWA\Chiat\Day Toronto

which ran in a Canadian newspaper, at the end of April, 2002.

It won a One Show Merit award and an ADCC Award in Canada.

copywriter: David Koibusz

art director: Jeff MacEachern

THAT EVENING ON TUES/DAY

A very rare find, hidden in an old portfolio case.

On Wednesday, March 14, 1984, The Los Angeles Herald Examiner

dedicated a whole page and mentioned all the winners 

of the 1984 Belding Award Show from the night before.

I don't remember where it was held.

Either at the Beverly Hilton or at the Century Plaza Hotel.

The event was like a Chiat/Day show.

"Let's go bowling boys and girls."

Bob Kuperman, who was at DDB at that time, was one of the judges.

Click for big version.

(The newspaper which was founded by William Randolph Hearst in 1903,

published its last edition on November 2, 1989.)

"And the 1984 Belding Sweepstakes Award goes to... Chiat/Day."

Steve Hayden, Mike Moser, Richard O'Neill, Brent Thomas, Lee Clow, 

Joanna Hoffman and... Steve Jobs.

Of course, the big bowl was for the Apple '1984' :60" tv ad, directed by 

Ridley Scott. The ad ran only once during the Super Bowl.

Art director Mike Moser wrote a book titled 'Until we brand' in 2003.

THE MCELLIGOTT DAYS

In 1989, Chiat/Day/Mojo held a creative conference in Marina del Rey.

Creative guru Tom McElligott was invited as guest speaker.

In 1990, when Chiat/Day/Mojo in New York saw an unusual loss of clients,

it hired McElligott as creative director.

He was also in charge to oversee the creative work in

the Londen and Toronto offices.

But within nine months Tom McElligott left to start his own agency.

A MO, JO AND JAY DAY

A rare gathering in Los Angeles, 1990.

Jay Chiat with the guys from Mojo.

They invited the ex president from the U.S.A. to open

a conference Jay Chiat hosted.

From left to right: Allan Johnston (Jo) Don Morris, Ronald Reagan,

Alan Morris (Mo) Jay Chiat and Richard Whitington.

THE BILLBOARD DAYS

A 1984 Nike billboard comp on foam board.

One of several concepts by Gorman and Johns that never left the Biltmore Hotel...

...but this one did, with Carl Lewis, and was plastered all over Los Angeles.

Mentioned earlier in the side bar.

The great Nike billboards facing each other on La Cienega Blvd.,

in Los Angeles, from early summer 1984.

It stayed up there during the Summer Olympics, well into 1985.

Creative team: Gary Johns and Jeff Gorman.

THE CRAZY '1984' DAYS 

A clip from the documentary 'The making of '1984';

CD Lee Clow and director Ridley Scott explain the '1984' Apple tv ad. 

Lee had a corner cubicle which overlooked S. Grand Avenue.

I remember the sofa and the giant portraits on the wall.

Watch Lee Clow and Ridley Scott video about the making of '1984' 

Probably the most obscure photo of Jay Chiat.

I stole it from a 2017 article by CD Don Hughes.

And I agree with Dion as he mentions:

"For those who never came into Jay's orbit,

he was a master at locating the soft spot.

He could poke it with a sharp stick,

or soothe it with his own special formula of ego-boosting aloe.

Whatever would work best.

Or, more confusingly, whatever the mood suggested."

Thanks Dion hughes.

  THE BIRTH DAY

One of the rarest pieces posted for this blog.

And the photo of a young Lee Clow is priceless.

The text was handwritten by his mother.

It was August 3, 1958.

The family celebrated Lee's 15th birthday.

He was already interested in advertising.

Paul MacFarlane created this birthday card for Lee in 1988.

Thanks Paul MacFarlane, for sharing it.

THE VAN GOGH DAYS

After years searching for stories, pictures, old print ads, tv ads, 

co-workers and memorabilia from the early 

Chiat/Day Biltmore and the old Warehouse days,

I began seeing reflections of myself

and thought it time to paint a painting. 

THE WAR ZONE DAYS

Chiat/Day/Mojo, when at the binoculars in Venice,

won a One Show merit award for United Way in 1992.

AD Chris Hooper, CW Scott Vincent, photographer Steve Raber.

  THE LA LA LAND DAYS

Ad land Los Angeles by Hyesu Lee (Ad Age)

Sometimes I do miss California. It's climate, palm trees and beaches.
Songs like 'California Dreamin' by the Mamas and Papas
makes me kinda homesick.

And staring at this neat map of Los Angeles, it seems all looks swell.

But if California is such a wonderful place, why are so many people leaving?

In the last few years, nearly 700,000 Californians have left it.

No doubt that California's economy and creativity comes with innovation 

(and I'm not talking about advertising)

but many people are struggling with the high cost of living and ridiculous taxes.

They're thinking if it's worth the hurdles.

According to a poll, 53 percent of Californians are considering leaving the state

due to the high cost of living while the percentage of those with kids is 57 percent.

And more people leaving California than coming in.

L.A. suffers from the worst population outflow: last year almost 99,000 left the city,

many leaving for Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, Texas or Oregon.

Affordable housing is no more. It doesn't exist.

Par exemple, in North Carolina you can buy a whole golf course for around $300,000.

Try to buy a decent home in L.A. for that amount.

Even rentals are now out of reach of many.

I remember from the early eighties you had to make at least $4,000 a month 

in order to live comfortable. Nowadays it's five times that much.
California has around 130,000 homeless people 

while Los Angeles County alone has 60,000 homeless.
That figure is rising each year, excluding those living in their cars.

Also, from the Daily Newspaper:
According to the Census Bureau, 2 out of 10 Californians live in poverty,
meaning, about 15 million Californians are in economic distress.
The nation's highest figure.
There's not much left of that 'California dreamin'.

   À LA MAO

According to Bob Kuperman:

"In honor of Jay Chiat being named one of

the top 25 CEO's of the decade by California Business Magazine,

it's a pleasure to share with you some of his words to live by."

In April, 2002, a little red book with Jay's quotes

was handed out to employees of TBWA\Chiat\Day.

Here are a few:

"Taking risks gives me energy."

"Well, the next time you tell me something, make sure I listen."

"Everything you say is right, but I have a problem with it."

"My real talent was for losing clients."

Also, in 1999, Jay Chiat was inducted

into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame,

the industry's greatest honor.

A great house ad which could run today, and tomorrow and...

It also could have been a Chiat/Day ad.

Created by agency Abbott Mead Vickers-BBDO London.

Copywriter: Richard Foster.

THE WSJ DAYS

Two great interviews by the Wall Street journal 

from the Creative Leaders Series from around 1990.

Bill Hamilton and Steve Hayden were great writers

at Chiat/Day and both became creative directors.

Bill left for O&M while Steve was at BBDO.

Jay Chiat had something to say about copywriters:

"Good writers come in all shapes and sizes.

What they seem to have in common is an ability

to hear, to listen, to understand- 

and to distil what they hear and learn 

into something that's human and persuasive."

       An earlier Wall Street Journal interview.

(Still searching for the dates of publication of the three ads)



  THE SHOOTING DAYS

Lee having fun.

For those who missed it in the side bar, here's one of Lee Clow's favorites.

The 1986 California Cooler :60" tv ad, one of a series,

shot on the beach of Topanga , slightly further west of Pacific Palisades.

The campaign won several awards.

art directors: Mike Moser and Lee Clow

copywriters: Dave O'Hare and Dave Woodside

agency producer: Francesca Cohn

director: Mark Coppos

Music: 'Gimme Some Loving' - Spencer Davis Group, 1966

California Cooler :60" tv ad

Behind the scene.

A rare and precious photo of the cast and crew
from the 1986 California Cooler tv ad shoot.
Top row: Mike Appel, Dave Woodside, Mike Moser, Dave O'Hare
with on the right director Mark Coppos.
Bottom row: producers Kelly Waltos and Francesca Cohn
and creative director Lee Clow.
Thanks to Kelly Waltos.

 
  THE HUMVEE DAYS

Launched in April 1994, this was the piece of heavy metal to have.

Just like the Hummer and Toyota's Landcruiser at the time,

Apple's Power Mac G5 sold itself. It rarely got advertised.

Macworld Magazine described  it as

"The most important technical evolution of Macintosh since the Mac II."

Showing here is a spread of the 'Tower' from a French brochure: Innovative on all floors.

The G5 was discontinued in August 2006.

The new Mac Pro is here and starts at $6,000. Putting wheels on it costs you $400.
But a Mac Pro for the heavyweights can spiral up to a whopping $53,000.
Tim 'Apple' Cook claimes the Mac Pro is made in the U.S.A.
but for Europeans and the rest of the world, it's made in China.
True borderline scam !!!

The first true laptop from Apple.

It inroduced the Powerbook G3 in November 1997.

Soon it was dubbed the 'Coke laptop' after the Coca Cola bottle 

for its similar rounded shape.

It went through four generations till January 2001.

The G3 was my workhorse when freelancing
and was loaded with photos, QuarkXpress, Photoshop
and of course lots and lots of ad comps.

It was kind of heavy but it fitted nicely in my leather briefcase.

When freelancing at Ogilvy & Mather in New York

with Bill Hamilton, I purchased the Powerbook at Ogilvy's expense.

They never did found out.

     'A Formula One race car in an Armani suit.'

Chiat/Day created only a few G3 print ads in 1997 and 1998 
and to my knowledge, only one tv spot titled 'Steamroller'.
 Like the G5 cheese grater, the Powerbook G3 sold itself.

THE DOODLE DAYS

AD Tom Lichtenheld from Fallon McElligott did some funny drawings of his 

colleagues during retreats at Tom McElligott's river house in Wisconsin.

Doodles of McElligott, W+K guest speaker Dan Wieden, Bob Barrie,

Houman Pirdavari, Dean Hanson, Bruce Bildsten, Pat Burnham, Jarl Olsen,

many others and of course Pat Fallon.

See Tom Lichtenheld doodles

In the '80s and '90s, each ad agency had notepads with their logo.

When freelancing, I stole many. They came in very handy.

 

THE SANTA  ANA DAYS

It's so rare, this stationery might well become a museum piece.
For his first ad agency, Jay Chiat asked Hy Farber to design his letterhead.
I'm not sure why Jay used the F Horn. Was it meant for 'F you'?
Jay got into advertising by writing recruitment ads 
for Aerojet-General, an Air Force contractor.
Then, in 1958, he was hired as a copywriter at Leland Oliver Co.,
a small agency in Orange County, California.
Jay was promoted to creative director but soon after left
to form his own ad agency in Santa Ana with a budget of $4,000.
That was in 1962. He named it Jay Chiat & Associates.
A few years later Jay met Guy Day in Los Angeles.
In 1968, as the story goes, Jay received a phone call from Guy Day
who had just broken with his partner Tom Faust.
After a meeting, Guy and Jay went to a L.A. Dodgers baseball game
where they closed the deal. 
 After a silly toss game with Tom Faust, Jay Chiat merged with Faust/Day.
Faust left and the ad agency became Chiat/Day, Inc.

A déja vu, but here's the complete Nissan 'Manifesto' tv campaign,

created in 1991 at Chiat/Day/Mojo, Toronto, which won several awards.

Marty Cooke wrote some great copy for 

the Nissan Sentra, Maxima and the Pathfinder.

But his masterpiece was the :60" 'Manifesto' tv ad.

Again, the tagline 'Built for the human race'

which was used in the U.S. finally meant something.

The tv and print campaign made Chiat/Day/Mojo agency of the year.



    THE TRUTH IS COMPLICATED

Still my favorite of the so many great ads created at Chiat/Day.

The real story behind this pro bono ad, with the logo
neatly placed within the copy,has been blurred over time 

since 1969, the year it was created.
According to AIGA Design Archive, the credits are:
AD: Hy Yablonka, Designer: Hy Yablonka, CW: Steve Garey: Photo: Greg Booth

But there was another art director at Chiat/Day
who claimed the concept and also designed the ad.
According to him, Hy Yablonka took credit for it.
The name of the art director is Tom Pfahlert.
He joined the agency in 1965 when it was called Faust/Day.
Tom was a big fan of the Futura typeface.

The image was done by a student from Art Center,

dropping by, showing his photographs to Pfahlert and Gary.

The photo was rented and the ad was finished.
The ad won several awards including an Art Directors Gold Medal.

It appeared in the book Chiat/Day, The First 20 Years

and in in Communications Arts - 50 years of creative excellence.

The real credits due:

AD: Tom Pfahlert, CW: Steve Garey, CD: Hy Yablonka, Photo: Greg Booth.

Read the Tom Pfahlert memories

   THE END OF THE WICHITA LINEMAN

The first iPhone teaser tv ad titled 'Hello' from 2007

which aired during the Oscars Academy Awards.

The opening scene  is from Hitchcock's movie 'Dial M for murder',

followed by 31 movie characters.

All fitted nicely into a :30" spot while the list of credits runs like a 60 seconds one:

ad agency: TBWA\Media Arts Lab

chief creative officer: Lee Clow

creative directors: Duncan Milner and Eric Grunbaum

art director: Alain Briere

executive producer: Cheryl Childers

agency producer: Anne Oburgh

Green Dots Films:

directors: Mark Coppos and Virginia Lee

producer: Sharon Lorick

director of photography: Rebecca Baecher

executive producer: Rick Fishbein

Nomad Editing:

editor: Jared Coller

executive producer: Nicole Steel

Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld at Company 3

Sound Mix: John Boland at Play

with producer Pam Doyle

music: 'Inside Your Head' by Eberg

cleaning lady:.......

Watch the iPhone commercial

THE MIGRAINE DAYS

It was 1994. Welcome to Chiat/Day New York. Just follow the red arrow.

It was almost painful to walk the painted floors which were coated 

with layers of melted resin. The Maiden Lane virtual office on the 37th and 38th floor 

was designed by Olafur Thordarson and Italian architect Gaetano Pesce.

I thought, this time Jay Chiat had really lost his mind.

It took some time finding Marty Cooke's office. Somebody told me he didn't have one.

Walking around the funky space felt like being Alice, in Wonderland.

Literally littered with colorful doodles, 
paint dripping doorknobs, crazy doorways and dreamy lightbulbs
which made you feel like being in Amsterdam's red light district.
Stations with 'check out' laptops and Motorola flip phones.
A resin staircase connected the two floors 

Mid 1995, the very last time I've worked with CD Marty Cooke.
Although we did several N.Y. Life print ads, I just wanted to jump from a window.

It lasted not even four days. Lucky me, I was freelance.

I found this condensed but funny article by Stephen Todd

about Jay's Disneyland titled:

'It was like sitting inside a migraine.'

Read Stephen Todd's story

Lee Clow's quote was printed on all the recycling bins

at TBWA\Chiat\Day Grosvenor factory.


   THE RSCG DAYS

Kind of the equivalent of Jay Chiat and the best known adman in France.
He started Axe Publicité, his first agency.
Then, with Bernard Roux, Alain Cayzac and Jean-Michel Goudard,
Séguéla created ad agency RSCG. That was in 1969.
In 1991, RSCG merged with Eurocom who previously bought Euro Advertising.
RSCG became Euro RSCG. Then in 1996 it merged with Havas.
Séguéla wrote numerous books about the ad business 
of which the one shown, written in 1979, is still the most popular.
"Don't tell my mother I'm in advertising...
She thinks I'm a pianist in a whore house."

For those speaking the French language, here's a neat story.

Vanity Fair article about RSCG

A gutsy 1971 VW print ad without showing the car.

I remember this photo from the 1972 New York's Art Directors annual

including the print ad 'It was the only thing to do after the mule died',

a concept by the same creative team, which you can find here:

Print ad: It was the only thing to do after the mule died

agency: DDB New York

art director: Bob Kuperman

copywriter: John Noble

photographer: David Langley

    EGOS

Have you ever noticed that most interviews with creatives,

appearing in ad magazines like Lurzer's Archive and Adage, are with copywriters?

Some of them, with egos, never mentioned the art director they've worked with.

Hey, a copywriter ain't a copywriter without an art director.

Here's a somewhat different interview I came across,

conducted by Josh Sternberg at Digiday from 2012.

Confessions of a copywriter.

The copywriter has a hallowed history in advertising that stretches back

to the dawn of propaganda.

It's a field filled with smart, often wickedly funny and cynical souls.

Here are some confessions of a junior copywriter at a large ad agency,

who is starting his climb up the creative ladder and dealing with

the harsh realities of unimaginative clients, killed ideas and petty account people.

Agencies are often thought of a place of big egos. Is that the case?

Being a junior copywriter at a big agency is a lot like 

Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Pit and The Pendulum.'

You're strapped down on an oak table but instead of an oscillating blade, it's a swinging dick.

Sure, there are egos at a big agency that a young junior has to answer to.

It's just that some of those egos can be nurturing to a junior,

while others suck the ego out of you and feed it to their own,

like Shang Tsung in 'Mortal Kombat.' Your soul is mine. 

Is life at an agency as you expected?

Nothing can prepare you for dealing with account people.

I still have no idea what their job is.

Do you feel like you can do great work, or do clients always kill it?

I do do great work. Every day. But less than one percent of that work

ever makes it in front of a client, and less than .O1 percent of it gets produced.

A lot of great work gets killed before it even makes it out of the building.

Part of the problem is mid-level creative management.

We need more ACDs. When a young junior shows an ECD a dozen scripts

or concepts, they get skimmed through like an email from a cable company.

Every day I have to take good ideas out back behind the barn and shoot them.

We need more ACDs to pay closer attention to the work.

What's the one thing you'd change about agency life?

More free food.

What's the most fun part of your job?

Writing.

What is the worst?

Account people pretending they're creative directors.

Who in agencies gets too much credit and too little?

Credit means nothing to me in the advertising industry.

We're not in the business of art; we are the art of business.

You've never seen an ad with a copywriter's byline or an art director's signature

at the bottom. Advertising has recently become a masturbatory industry.

We're doing work for ourselves instead of the clients

that hired us to sell their products and promote their brands.

There's loads of work these days that is incredibly renowned and respected,

within the industry and yet, Dick and Jane never heard of it. Is that doing our jobs?

We need to stop making work for ourselves and start making it for consumers again.

Who the shit actually uses QR codes?

What is the most frustrating thing about clients?

Fear. Fear of doing ambitious work.

Fear that we know better than they do what's best for their brand.

Fear that we only want to do work that will satisfy our own egos

as opposed to their balance sheets.

Is the focus on metrice leading to bland work?

It takes a village to make bland work. And a whole lot of village idiots.

There's a lot of people that go into the equation that makes a campaign.

To paraphrase the quadratic formula, X equals negative account people

plus or minus the square root of creativity squared minus four times

clients times focus groups divided by two times the budget.

From 2008ne of those variables can make for bland work.

If you left advertising, what would you be doing?

Working as a private detective in Istanbul.


THE PERRIER DAYS

It was in 1990, agency Ogilvy & Mather in Paris 
put Perrier on the world map with a great tv ad. 
It was shot in Africa. A thirsty woman versus a thirsty lioness.
It won numerous awards including a Cannes Lion in 1991.
For the model's stretching face expression,
Jean-Paul Goude used a convincing morphing technique
which was at the time state-of-the-art
and produced by VFX Studio BUF.
concept: Christian Reuilly and Jean-Paul Goude
art direction: Christian Reuilly
copywriter: Patrick Margot
director: Jean-Paul Goude
composer/singer: Screaming Jay Hawkins
music: 'I put a spell on you' from 1956
production: PAC
model: Rosemary McGrotha ?

THE HOUNDSTOOTH CHECKER COUCH

Lee Clow's cubicle at the Biltmore. With the Houndstooth checker couch.
That famous couch Hy Yablonka left behind.
Many people sat on it. For meetings, briefings and interviews.
Like Jay Chiat, Guy Day, Bill Hamilton, Penny Kapasouz, Rick Boyko
and Jane Newman, to name a few.
And of course many other creatives, including me.
The couch survived about 20 years of abuse and made it 

to the old Warehouse, the Binoculars in Venice and Playa del Rey.

   THE PRAD DAYS

A rare house ad from Prad done in the mid 1970's,
Wanted: young copywriter.
Prad, then located on Beethoven street 198 in Amsterdam,  
was at the time one of the best ad agencies in The Netherlands.
The offices were painted white and had pink doors.
Accounts included Dutch Milk, Douwe Egberts Coffee, 7-Up, Bi-Fi,
Walt Disney, Caballero cigarettes, Amstel Beer and Hero Jams.
Creative director and friend Huib Ebbinge got me in there.
Theo Strengers was creative officer
and Paul Mertz was at the helm of Prad.
It was Paul telling me to search for a copywriter myself.
I'd interviewed several at a nearby bar, but it was 
writer Wim Hoffman who could kill more Heinekens than me.
      I'd hired him on the spot.

Read all about ad agency Prad.

Steve Jobs and Lee Clow, pictured together some time mid 1980's.

Lee was Steve Jobs ally for 30 years,
one of the most enduring client-agency relationships in the ad world.
Early 2019, Lee retired and it appears Apple's relationship
with TBWA\Chiat's Media Arts Lab is on the rocks.
Apple has now its own internal ad agency
and even invites outside agencies in on pitches.
Also, in July 2019, Apple creative lead Arnau Bosch
left Media Arts Lab to start his own venture.

WHAT YOUTH

Another Lee Clow interview, from 2015, with What Youth Magazine.

About young creatives and his leisure time, what is surfing.

Read the article

  A DAY WITH JAY.

Jay Chiat in front of Lee Clow's office.
The photo accompanied a 2002 newspaper article in the L.A. Times.
The photo is from early 1988,
the year Chiat/Day moved into the old Warehouse on Hampton Drive in Venice.

A young Steve Hayden as a student in his first year 

at Interlochen Art Academy where he studied cello.

After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles

to study at the University of Southern California.

Hayden graduated in 1968 with a degree in English.

His first copywriting job was in 1969 for General Motors, 

at ad agency MacManus, Johns and Adams in Detroit.

Before joining Chiat/Day, Hayden worked at several

ad agencies and even wrote a script

for the popular tv serie Welcome back, Kotter starring John Travolta,

titled 'The Sweathog Clinic for the cure of smoking.'

It aired on December 16, 1976.


 THE EURO DAYS

Collecting ads I'd worked on wasn't my hobby.
I don't have much to show for the years working in France.
Though I did find a couple shown in Cree, a French creative magazine form 1977.
The issue printed an article about Euro Advertising Lyon trying to compete
with the big agencies in Paris.
One of the print ads was for Montabert jackhammers.
Montabert also manufactured giant pneumatic drilling machines for tunnels.
I did an ad for it in 1974. Depicting the final drilling of the Channel Tunnel
with British and French workers joining together midway.
The client loved it, then telling me the tunnel was just a dream
and would never be build. They killed the ad.
All I answered was, "What's wrong with dreaming?"

Headline: 'In drilling, Montabert is ready. For anything. Even the impossible.'
Copy: Marie-Noëlle Pujebet. llustration by Jean Michel

The construction of the Channel tunnel started in 1988.
A whopping 14 years after my layout.
The English started calling it the Chunnel and the French the Funnel.
The drilling was finished in 1990 without fanfare
and the first train ran through in 1994.
A freight train loaded with English cars for Italy.

Read: Once there was an ad agency called Euro Advertising Lyon.

Same shit, different piles.
It's amazing what you'll find on the internet from the old days.
How many times can you talk about stupid linoleum flooring?
Well, writer Marie-Noëlle Pujebet and I did. For Gerflor.
I even designed the logo. With Letraset.
A print campaign from 1974 while at Euro Advertising in Lyon.
Photography by Yves Orecchioni. 

 

Funny ancient memos, found in an old Kenneth Cole shoebox.
One written by creative director Sean Fitzpatrick
at DFS in Torrance. The agency became part of Saatchi.
The other by Bill Vogel, president at Cunningham & Walsh.
The agency was in one of the twin towers in Century City.
Bill was a great, friendly person, always supporting creative people.
Thinking about it now, I've never thanked them for the memos.


THE HAY DAYS

 Adgeek at its best from the old days. It ran June 27, 1988.

The special 'sweetspot' Prince tennis racquet made for the shoot
and a clip from Art Direction Magazine,1994. One of the funniest tv ads?
Somebody at Chiat/Day had complained that
"God is benevolent and wouldn't give a man a heart."

Chiat/Day on Main street from 1994. With Jay Chiat's 3D painting, the 'wall of fame'

and a creative cubicle Lee Clow used a lot.

John Stingley and I made the 'wall of fame' in 1994 with three of the Infiniti ads.

On the far right the 'Almighty' ad for Prince tennis racquets.

Lee likes yellow.

Lee Clow shot by Stephanie Diani in 2006. It accompanied an article in Adage.

I did a painting of the one on the left, titled 'Lee Clow's beard'.

Just like Jay Chiat, Lee had a way with words:

"It's the little compromises that add up to a giant bucket of suck."

The Chiat/Day 'motorcycle gang' photo from 1976 for the Yamaha pitch print ad:
'Chiat/Day wants to join a motorcycle gang.'

The one person missing is Guy Day.

Guy left the agency twice. Once in 1974, returned in 1982 then left again in 1986.

Three of the gang in the photo are unknown to me.

Back row: Hy Yablonka, Tom Patty and Jay Chiat.

Front row: Chuck Silverman and Lee Clow.

I can't find the photographer.

Journalist Greg Farrell interviewed several big shot creatives
and ended up with an interesting article about Chiat/Day called

Chiat's End Game

It appeared in Adweek, July 12, 1993.

THE MARTINE HUNTER DAYS

A very neat homage to the trio who've made Chiat/Day a great ad agency.

Martine Hunter wrote the piece in February 2010.

She was a member of the production department during the Biltmore days.

(posted before in the side bar)

GUY DAY

Guy, born in Chicago on July 30, 1930, was an army veteran
who launched his career in the mailroom of McCann/Erickson in New York.
In the 1950's he moved to L.A. and in 1955 studied at Art Center of Design.
He has worked six years at agency Hixson & Jorgenson, 
then at Carson & Roberts before starting his own ad agency with Tom Faust in 1962.
Guy Day passes away January 16, 2010.
According to his wife Annette, Guy died in his sleep of natural causes
at his home in Pflugerville, Texas.

Posted earlier in the side bar, here's an encore.

A rare photo of co-founder Guy Day in his cubicle at Chiat/Day Biltmore. 

It must be from the early 1980's. Guy left the agency in 1986.

Thanks to its work done in the U.S.A., 

Nissan handed the Canadian account to Chiat/Day.

In 1987, it opened an office in Toronto.

Not long after, Chiat/Day pitched Labatt Beer and the Toronto Zoo.

The Chiat/Day/Mojo Toronto executives posing around a tree stem holding up the building. 
Back row: Jay Bertram, Marty Cooke, Steve Hancock, Jack Neary
Front row: Duncan Milner and Ira Matathia
The photo appeared in Strategy, the Canadian ad magazine, from 1991.

The midnight sign-off for 1970's French tv channel Antenne 2.
The animation was done by Jean Michel Folon
with a soundtrack composition by Michel Colombier, who was inspired 
by the 1708 oboe concerto Adagio in D minor by Alessandro Marcello.
For the sign-on, the animation was played in reverse.
The theme ran from 1974 till 1983.
This was French television at its best compared to the crap of today.
(In 1992, Antenne 2 became France 2)



A FEW MORE BILTMORE DAYS

Two newspaper ads from 1984.
A teaser for the release of the Macintosh
by art director Mike Moser and copywriter Brian O'Neill
and one for the Macintosh (shrink wrapped) manual which most of us never used.
By copywriter Steve Rabosky and me.
Both ads made it into the Andy Awards annual.

A lesser known three pager from 1984 which I did with copywriter Steve Rabosky.
It ran in newspapers and business magazines and won an Andy award.
Photography by Bo Hylen.

Yet another version of Chiat/Day Biltmore's Apple creative team.

This is the one that was used for the extensive Apple article

printed in the May/June 1985 issue of Communication Arts.

"Not tonight, dear, I have a headline."
Young copywriter Steve Hayden in his cubicle at Chiat/Day Biltmore.

On the left, a 1984 print ad done at Chiat/Day Biltmore

by art director Gary Johns and copywriter Jeff Gorman. Photography by Carl Furuta.

The second print ad, from 1981, was not created at Chiat/Day.

Created by a student team at the now-long-dead British ad agency

called French Cruttenden Osborn.

The team was AD Ian Potter and CW Chris Herring.

Potter later joined Chiat/Day at the Warehouse

for a couple of years and worked with CW Steve Rabosky.

Nike ran this ad poking fun at John McEnroe's tendency to curse on the court.

Another version of the ad reads 'McEnroe's favorite four-letter word.'

McEnroe won that year at Wimbledon.

THE CENSORED DAYS

The 'Air Jordan' tv ad from 1985.

The NBA banned shoes made them even more popular.

Before Nike's Air Jordan shoes were released, 

NBA players wore bland shoes in black or white with perhaps a splash of color.

The league's idea was to emphasize team unity over individual stars.

It was kind of a rule.

But at a Madison Square Garden preseason game,

Nike put star Michael Jordan into a pair of black and red shoes anyway.

The NBA informed Nike that, because the shoes clashed with those

of his teammates, Jordan couldn't wear them in games.

Chiat/Day promptly produced a :30" ad to capitalize on the infamy:

"On September 15th, Nike created a revolutionary new basketball shoe.

On October 18th, the NBA threw them out of the game.

Fortunately, the NBA can't stop you from wearing them. Air Jordans. From Nike."

Created in 1985 at Chiat/Day Biltmore.

Director: Jeff Gorman

producers: Richard O'Neill and Susan Ashmore

LOST IN TIME

Ancient photos from my Euro Advertising years in Lyon.
Mechanical artist Frankie at work. You can see my Afghan coat in the foreground.
And me, creating an ad for Black & Decker.
The photos were taken by in-house photographer Yves Orecchioni.
Euro Advertising occupied the top floor of a big, luxury apartment building
nestled along the Rhone river.

In 1976, famous photographer Helmut Newton

did a photo session of women for French magazine Vogue. The issue was a hit.

A Paris ad agency jumped on it and used one of the photos for a perfume ad.

It appeared in either Elle or Vogue magazine at the end of 1976.

It shows a maitresse kissing her chauffeur at the service entrance of a classy hotel.

I wonder why this Geminesse Perfume ad got ignored by the French art directors club.

It's one of the best perfume ads ever.

Visit the French Art Directors Club

More video clips from the 1985 documentary

'Advertising. The fastest game in town.' filmed at the Biltmore.

Lee Clow and Steve Hayden with copywriters Brent Bouchez and Penny Kapasouz.

Lee in Amy Miyano's office and Lee explaining the Porsche insert.

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

Jay Chiat reveals that the 'real lie in advertising' involves the way

the media shapes audiences' perceptions of reality.

His short essay 'Illusions are forever' appeared in the 

2006 book 'Mirror on America' by Joan Mims and Elizabeth M. Nollen.

Read the essay here

A funny story about Jay Chiat.

Jay visits Chiat/Day/Mojo in San Francisco, some time early 1990's.

A story written by ATX-Rider who worked at the agency and got to know Jay.

Read the story here

Mid 1988, Herman Vaske from Lurzer's Archive

met with creative directors Lee Clow and Bill Hamilton

at the Chiat/Day office on 5th Ave in New York.

Read the interview

Producer Richard O'Neill and his wife Regina. A rare moment from the early 1980's 

during a Yamaha print ad shoot for Chiat/Day Biltmore. Photography by Mark Coppos.

This 1987 house ad appeared in Adweek. Posted before in the side bar, the bare 

feet didn't show well. All the agency's big shots were mentioned. Like Jay Chiat,

CD Lee Clow, planner Jane Newman and CD Bill Hamilton.

REMEMBRANCE DAY

Bill Hamilton

One of the best creative directors of our time. He had a few words about Jay Chiat.

"Look what Jay has done in his career. He had an innate sense of what opens consumers'

minds and how to overcome their resistance.

I don't think anybody has been quite the visionary Jay has been" says Bill Hamilton.

"Jay is a great organisation man. He hates smugness and complacency

and led the league in forward thinking. Jay set the context

and it was CD Lee Clow who manifested it day-to-day.

We once worked 39 days in a row on a Yamaha project.

Nobody but Lee Clow could get everyone to stay up 39 days in a row.

And the moral to this biblical tale of non-stop exertion in the creative department:

Jay came in and threw it all out on the 40th day!"

Hamilton's copywriting career started at age 20 at ad agency Marchalk in Cleveland 

and included stops at Ketchum in Pittsburg, N.W. Ayer in Chicago and Chiat/Day in L.A.

In 1986, Jay Chiat convinced Bill Hamilton to move to N.Y.

where he became creative chief at Chiat/Day.

He left Chiat for an eight year position at O&M, then left in 1998 for JWT.

After about 40 years in advertising, Hamilton quietly retired

to spend time in Colorado.

He remained as a consultant for JWT until his death at his home  

in Pennsylvania, November 8, 2017. He was 74.

Love came from everywhere

An evening for Bill Hamilton.

The tribute was held at Ogilvy in New York, on Nov. 11, 2017.
Rick Boyko wrote a neat story about Bill:
"Fourteen years. That is how long Bill Hamilton and I were partners.
And over those 14 years, I received a private master course at the seat of
one of the most brilliant and talented advertising/marketing/leadership professions ever.
With a head full of white hair, he was driven by a passion, and insatiable quest
for knowledge that made his 'hurts my hair' expression all the more meaningful.
Bill impacted my life from the day I was lucky enough to become his partner at Chiat/Day.
He was a terrific writer who, like most creatives, 
did not believe I was any good as well.
Both born of middle class families, we shared a similar work ethic,
constantly pushing each other to never settle, 
and in doing so succeeded beyond our wildest dreams."

Read the tribute

Similar stories about Bill Hamilton were covered by Adage, Adweek and The Drum.

MORE FROM THE WAREHOUSE DAYS

Some more photos from the Warehouse on Hampton Drive in Venice.

Lee Clow in his cubicle, the cubicles of the suits and another shot of the Fish.

Read: Chiat/Day packs up and moves out of the Warehouse

The logo at the entrance of the old warehouse on Hampton Drive in Venice.

Four Jays. From the 1970's, 1980's, 1990's and 2000.

A nice pic of Jay Chiat signed by Jay from 1993.

Jay posed for a photo session by photographer Ron Krisel.

Jay Chiat at his beach apartment in Playa del Rey. He liked blue.
Photos by Jay's friend Fernando Stickel, November 1985.

The queen of planning.

In 2015, Jane Newman, planner and ceo at Chiat/Day N.Y.

for many years and co-founder of ad agency

Merkley Newman Hartley, was inducted into

the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame.

Watch the video about Jane Newman.

The 20th annual Belding Awards was held 
at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City on April 1, 1985.
Present were Jay Chiat and Keith Bright with friends.
And Lee Clow, accepting one of Chiat/Day's 13 Belding bowls
from Philip Joanou, chairman-ceo of Dailey & Associates
and actor William Shatner.

An old stationary, designed by Tibor Kalman at M&Co, from the late 1960's
when Jay Chiat worked with photographer Donatella Brun in New York.
Jay married her in July of 1991. He was 60 years old.
Jay spent his honeymoon on the Riviera while his bride stayed home in New York.
Five hours after marrying Donatella Brun,
Jay hopped on a plane for an important meeting with top executives of American Express.
As Donatella waited, Jay successfully sold the executives
on a new Chiat/Day/Mojo ad campaign to revive the lagging Green Card.
"The meeting was planned." Chiat laughs, "The wedding wasn't."

On Nov. 7, 1991, Chiat/Day/Mojo N.Y. won the $65 million Amex account
which was previously at Ogilvy & Mather.

  THE GREAT KUPE

Bob Kuperman was one of the great art directors at DDB

during the era of famous Volkswagen ads.

He became creative director at DDB Los Angeles,

then landed a big Chiat/Day position at the old Warehouse in Venice.

He was a tough but smart guy and loved to be around creatives.

Being retired, he picked up painting.

See Bob Kuperman's paintings

THE INFLIGHT MAGAZINES DAYS

Precious photos taken in early 1985, 

published in the May issue of Trans World Airlines inflight magazine.

One, shot at Chiat/Day Biltmore with Lee Clow and Guy Day

in Lee's big corner cubicle, sitting on that famous couch.

The second photo was taken on the roof of the Biltmore Hotel.

Thanks to Paul MacFarlane for sharing.

TWA filed for Chapter 11 in 2001.

In August 1985, Jay Chiat made the cover of 

Pacific Southwest Airlines inflight magazine

which includes an interview.

PSA merged in 1986 with USAir. 

The 'second motorcycle gang' from 1980.

I remember the color version framed in Lee Clow's office at the Biltmore. 

Not knowing much about this photo, Penny Kapasouz corrected me:
"What a treasure. I used to have a huge print of this photo.
The guy behind Amy Miyano is none other than a mustacheo'd Brent Bouchez.
The two cops are actually L.A. Police officers who were supervising
a Yamaha shoot where we had to block L.A. traffic.
It was taken against a graffiti covered wall. I think in the 6th Street tunnel downtown L.A.
Tom Cordner is seated on the bike, I'm next to him 
and Brent Thomas is slightly behind me. What a classic."
Photography by Mark Coppos.
Mark Coppos does remember Bob Wheeler, the cop on the left.
Mark also remarked: 
"I can't remember Amy being there. Maybe just to give us all a good natured hard time.
But it seems she was always too busy for that."

No, I'm not talking about Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq.

A half page newspaper ad I created in 1982 while at Wells, Rich, Greene

in Century City before joining Cunningham & Walsh.

Wells did special projects for Continental Airlines.

Aside from stupid low fare ads, for this one I rewrote an old Australian proverb

due to the lack of copywriters. It's the only decent ad I did at Wells.

Illustration by Elwin.

Probably the only photo of Jay Chiat and Guy Day seen together. 

In Guy Day's office of Chiat/Day at 1300 W. Olympic Boulevard

during the summer of 1968.

Some obscure photos of Chiat/Day at the Biltmore Hotel.

A view near the lobby, the cubicles and Lee Clow's corner office.

Jay had his own cubicle at Chiat/Day Biltmore. He used it rarely.

The opening spread of a nice article written by John Peer Nugent

appeared in the Los Angeles Times magazine, February 1988.

Photography by Deborah Feingold.

Thanks to Paul MacFarlane for sharing.

Lee Clow and Jay Chiat at the office of Chiat/Day New York. October 14, 1998.

Photography by Mary Ellen Mark.

Grandpa Jay. Lee Clow never liked children that much. But Jay Chiat did.

Penny and John Byrne on Butterfly Beach, Santa Barbara.

It's 1987
Copywriter Penny Kapasouz was freelancing at Chiat/Day New York
when Jay Chiat asked her to meet him in his office.
Jay wanted to write a book. About the agency, the ad business and... himself.
A publisher already had paid him an advance. Jay asked Penny for help.
"When is it due?" she asked.
"Last year." Jay quipped.
Penny agreed, then spent many months with Jay, wherever he was,
while recording and taking notes.
She already had an idea for a title, but Penny got interrupted so often
by the ringing of Jay's phone, she thought the title should be 'Between phone calls'.
After several difficult meetings with the publisher in New York,
the book was never completed or published.
It's 2015
Penny started to write her own book about Chiat/Day.
A book, titled 'Knowing Jay'.
It's 2017
In December, the Montecito home of Penny and John got destroyed
by the horrific Thomas Fire.
They lost everything, including the chapters of Jay Chiat's book,
along with hours and hours of taped interviews with Jay.
All that survived was Penny's foreword.
It's 2020
After so many 'lost' years I've found Penny.
She and her husband are doing well, temporarely living in their guesthouse.
Their daughter Niki makes films and paints and son Julian is a helicopter flight instructor.

The last interview.

Michael Wolff spoke with Jay Chiat just a couple of weeks before his death.

The article appeared in New York magazine, dated April 8, 2012.

Jay was asked about his deconstruction of the traditional office.

"Well," Jay said, "I mostly thought of it as a way to get people to quit."

Read the interview

Adweek geek.

Jay Chiat wrote several columns for Adweek Magazine

during the 1980s, advising us how to avoid doing bad advertising.

Chiat/Day had reprints made.

Steve Hayden made newspaper headlines on June 6, 1985,

followed by Adweek.

CD Hayden, who had supervised Apple creative at Chiat/Day Biltmore,

left for a top postition at Tracy-Locke L.A. after Chiat/Day lost Apple.

Tracy-Locke was a unit of BBDO.

The gig didn't last though. When the Apple account landed at BBDO L.A.,

Apple lured Steve Hayden away for the CD position.

With Hayden at the helm, he named it BBDO Slightly Further West.

Mucho thanks to Ivan Horvath for sharing.

Again, Steve Hayden made the cover of Adweek on August 18, 1986.

And Steve Hayden's move to Ogilvy. An article in Adweek from 1994,

which also announces Rick Boyko as CD.

(In the far right column, David Lubars is mentioned as CD at BBDO, L.A.)

Rare, undated photos. Copywriters Steve Hayden, Ken Segal

and Robert Chandler during a tv ad shoot.

And Steve Hayden in Lee Clow's cubicle at Chiat/Day Biltmore.

Friends of Steve Hayden. The book pdf.

Thanks to George Tannenbaum for sharing.

 

Before the politically correct days.

A 1985 'postcard' house ad from the Biltmore days.

Was this meant for CD Steve Hayden after he left

for Tracy-Locke, then BBDO?

A superb photo of CD Bill Hamilton in 1998.

Photography by Mark Bryan-Brown, Manhattan, N.Y.

A big thanks to Ivan Horvath for sharing.

Jay Chiat business card from the Binoculars days

and an ancient one from the Biltmore days found in my old Filofax.

       'It's the hottest, fastest growing ad agency in California.' 

An article in the Communication Arts magazine from 1970, vol.12.

A young Chiat/Day in Los Angeles

existing just two years after Jay Chiat joined Guy Day.

Jay already had a way with words:

"If you keep busy making ads, it's amazing how little

you have to be bothered with administrative problems."

Click for big version.

Jay Chiat at the office of Chiat/Day Los Angeles

on 1300 West Olympic Blvd. in 1970.

One more Guy.

An article written by Guy Day, VP Chiat/Day Biltmore, L.A. which 

appeared in Broadcasting Magazine, December 31, 1984.

Click for big version.

1985 Porsche four page magazine ad created at Chiat/Day Biltmore.

Written by copywriters Penny Kapasouz and Brent Bouchez.

Art directed by Steve Beaumont.

Photography by Mark Copos.

Rare photos of the old Warehouse.

The Fish near the entrance and with the old Nissan.

And two views of 'Main Street'.

Steve Rabosky

A Bull Dog Alumni from Columbus, Indiana.

Steve graduated from Columbia High with an English major in 1971.

After graduation, Steve spent some time in Bloomington, Indiana where

he came across a newspaper ad 'Copywriter Wanted. Will Train.'

The job was at a tiny ad agency in Clay City, Indiana.

He got the job and for a small tv repair shop created and also produced

his first tv ad for less than $2,000.

He moved to California and worked as a CW at several L.A. ad agencies,

including Cochrane Chase Livingston in Orange County, working on

Carl's Jr, before landing at Chiat/Day, at the Biltmore in L.A. at the end of 1983.

That's where I met Steve in January 1984 when CD Lee Clow made us a

creative team to work on Apple. It lasted three years until Apple left

the building. We also created ads for Mitsubishi Electric and Pizza Hut

and a new business poster for Foster Farms to pitch their chicken account.

As I went freelance in 1987, Steve was working with other ADs on

Porsche, Nissan, Sunkist and Energizer batteries. Steve got promoted to CD.

In 1997 he joined Ammirati/Puris in London as Creative Chief Officer,

in 2000 at Saatchi and Saatchi in L.A. on Toyota and in 2006

as President CCO at Dailey & Associates, L.A. till 2010.

Steve recently retired and enjoys it. He lives in Newport Beach.

L.A. Reader Magazine article from Friday, May 25, 1984.
CW Jeff Gorman and AD Gary Johns posing with their 
Carl Lewis billboard for Nike, plastered all over L.A. 
Article written by Rob Roe. Photo by Joshua Touster.

An Adweek article from early 1987 written by Dottie Enrico with Betsy Sharkey.

At the end of 1986, five of Chiat/Day’s creatives packed their awards 

and went elsewhere. They were creative director Steve Hayden, 

copywriter Brent Bouchez, Jeff Gorman and art director Gary Johns, including me. 

After the agency lost Apple, Nike, then Porsche, I went freelance. 

Lee Clow became president and things started to change.

Click for big version.

THE DAVID BAILEY DAYS

A clip from an interview by Sven Shumann

with the great U.K. photographer and filmmaker.

David Bailey directed the ‘Reeboks let U.B.U.’ tv ad 

campaign which Marty Cooke and I created at Chiat/Day

in N.Y. and which was edited by Larry Bridges in L.A..

1988 Chiat/Day N.Y.. After the finished 'Reeboks let U.B.U.' 

tv and print ad campaign, two simple :15” tv ads were 

created which aired during NBC's tv coverage of the 

Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, S. Korea.

Title: 'The Summer Games, Baltimore, MD.'

Watch the tv ad.

After just 100 days of introduction.

Apple Macintosh newspaper ad from 1984.

AD: Steve Beaumont, who also wrote the headline.

CW: Penny Kapasouz.

1984 was a very busy year at Chiat/Day Biltmore and 

several creative teams worked on Apple. 

Shown are two of the many Apple print ads created by 

CW Penny Kapasouz and AD Steve Beaumont.

They also created the Apple ‘Insert’ which ran in 

November’s edition of Newsweek. It was the first time that 

an advertiser purchased all the ad space in a magazine.

Click for Apple's insert.

The lobby at Chiat/Day, L.A. at 1300 W. Olympic Blvd.

with the beautiful but uncomfortable Wassily chairs

by designer Breuer.

“The day I walked in the lobby with my portfolio, 

it felt like I had died and gone to heaven.

Hy Yablonka, Jay’s creative director, forgot 

my appointment and went to lunch. 

So, when he got back, he was extra nice to me.

A year later he gave me a job.

I’ve been there ever since.” - Lee Clow

THE ICING ON THE CAKE

CW Penny Kapasouz at Chiat/Day Biltmore in 1985.

A rare KOCE tv program which aired in 1985.

'Advertising. The fastest game in town.’

A :30' documentary filmed at Chiat/Day Biltmore

directed by John Joseph.

Presented by Coast Community College District,

Costa Mesa in Orange County.

With CD Lee Clow, CD Steve Hayden, CW Penny Kapasouz,

CW Brent Bouchez, AD Steve Beaumont and many more

while working on the launch of Porsche.

Great and unforgettable moments from the Biltmore days.

Mucho thanks, Paul MacFarlane, for sharing this gem.

Watch 'Advertising. The fastest game in town.'

( KOCE became PBS in 2011. The major station for S. California.)

Another 1985 video clip from 'Advertising. The fastest game in town.’

CD Steve Hayden joins copywriters Brent Bouchez and Penny Kapasouz 

with art director Steve Beaumont while working on Porsche.

One of Chiat/Day Biltmore’s ‘creative gang’ 

from probably early 1980s. From left: 

Art director Jean Robaire, producer Richard O’Neill,

producer Kelly Waltos, an unknown, and copywriter John Stein

seated in O’Neill’s 1955 Chevy Bel Air convertible.

Thanks to Kelly Waltos for this very rare photo.

AD Jean Robaire had his own ad agency in Venice

called Robaire and Hogshead.

CD Lee Clow made the cover of Adweek on June 24, 2013.

A rare photo of planner Jane Newman, colleagues, and CD Lee Clow.

Mucho thanks to Ivan Horvath for sharing this late 1980s gem.

During the wild and crazy print shoot with photographer Max Vadukul, 

and searching for locations for the 1988 Reeboks let U.B.U. print 

campaign, real N.Y. State Highway cops were following us to block traffic. 

After shooting some farmers outside New York city, we landed in the 

small town of Warwick where we stopped for a pizza break.

Max and I asked the cops if they were willing to pose with Reebok shoes. 

Surprisingly, they did. One of the cops was George R. Arnott. 

Shown are two takes from Max Vadukul’s many contact sheets and 

a photo of cop ‘Mr. Warwick’ George R. Arnott who made it on a 

busstop poster and a billboard in New York city.

By pure chance, I stumbled upon the Village of Warwick website with 

an eulogy by Mayor Michael J. Newhard for cop George R. Arnott 

who passed away at 83 on February 3, 2023.

Read the eulogy here

A different version of Chiat/Day's Apple creative team,

framed and hanging on the wall in Lee Clow's office at the Biltmore.

It survived the Biltmore, the old Warehouse, the Binoculars and Grosvenor factory.

A scene from the 2009 documentary Art & Copy about the greats in advertising.

With George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Hal Riney,

Cliff Freeman, Jeff Goodby, some others and of course Lee Clow.

Director: Doug Pray

Writers: Gregory Beauchamp and Kirk Souder

Narrative consultant: Timothy J. Sexton

Producer: David Baldwin

Watch the video

  THE FINAL DAYS

2018

2019

Lee Clow's farewell note, February 14, 2019. 

A farewell to advertising.

JAY CHIAT SAW THE FUTURE

"My real talent was for losing Clients"

Monday Memo from 1972 by Jay Chiat.

At the time Jay was principal and creative director

of Chiat/Day, Inc., Los Angeles.

The article appeared in Broadcasting Magazine, February 14, 1972.

For a big version click here.

For those who are unable to buy the book Chiat/Day The First 50 Years,
here's a 'flipbook'. You can freeze the pages by clicking. 

 My painting of Jay.

      This blog is dedicated to Jay Chiat, Bill Hamilton and Lee Clow.

Many people whom I've worked with

at Chiat/Day Biltmore, the old Warehouse, then the Binoculars,

aren't mentioned.

They must have left my brain and is done unintentionally.

A sincere apology to everybody who've made

all those years working in advertising worth living.

      "I like to draw people with cigarettes, they're just a good prop."

- Tom Lichtenheld, AD (Fallon McElligott)

"Not to be confused.

TBWA is a bank. Chiat/Day is an ad agency."

- Marten Tonnis

"Today's ad agencies remind me of my mother's cooking.

For decades, nothing but leftovers."

- George Tannenbaum, copywriter, LLC, a Delaware company

"Paperclips are the cockroaches of the virtual office."

- Jay Chiat

"This blog beats Lee Clow's book 50 years of Chiat/Dog."

- Marten Tonnis

"We are never gonna sell this fucker."

- Dan Wieden, W+K

“It wasn’t perfect and it wasn’t Perrier.”

- Ivan Horvath, CD/AD

 

“I expect Chiat/Day to continue. At some point, someone 

is going to become a Lee Clow. Maybe one of his dogs.”

- Gary Johns, AD

"All those corporate people want to see

the commercial before you've made it."

- David Bailey

"It's the little compromises that add up

to a giant bucket of suck."

- Lee Clow

“Let's dirty some paper." 

- Bill Hamilton, CD

“What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.”

- Charles Bukowski

”Don’t worry, things will get worse.”

- Jay Chiat

Other ramblings:

In search of female soul grooves 

In search of male soul grooves

  

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Please note, even though I've double checked all available sources,

some errors may have occurred or passed by unnoticed.