One of the few great things about being in advertising for 25+ years is that you have a wonderful perspective. You are alternately cynical and optimistic but mostly fearless. It is a great liberator to know that no one dies as a result of a wrong media opinion. And you know that not to experiment, try new things and either succeed or screw up is certain death in our business. My favorite criticism is: “You aren’t failing fast enough.”
Yes, I’ve worked at some pretty good shops like Leo Burnett (right out of college), DMB&B, Tatham and Publicis but it is the people that make the real difference. And they are, more often than not, the unpublicized heroes in the smaller agencies. So – thanks to all the great people I have worked for and with – Bill Hadlock, Charlotte Beers, Rich Hamilton, Phil Jacobs, Ron Scharbo, Chuck Curtis, Mike Murphy, Glenda Martin and more recently, Marty Schwalbe, Kathleen Solon and John Hofmeister.
You all did your best to make me smarter.
I was disappointed that you weren’t overly impressed by AVR.
I’d love to chat with you about it.
Cheers,
Ben