What a long strange trip it’s been…
Wow. Hard to believe it has been over 25 years since I first walked into JWT Detroit as a wide-eyed B-School grad from Michigan. A lot has happened since then. Cell phones were bigger, then they were smaller, and now they’re bigger again. Oh, and now we have the Internet.
Fortunately, I realized very quickly that there is only so much you can learn about advertising in business school. The art of great advertising is great storytelling, and great storytelling isn’t something you learn in a book. It takes real world observation, experience, hard work, talent, and a bit of luck.
So, with eyes and ears wide open, I embarked on a wild and wonderful career that has taken me to almost all 50 states---still need Hawaii, and Delaware dammit---and blessed me with the opportunity to collaborate with so many talented creative people. All in the pursuit of great stories. I’m one of the only people I know who has ever made the transition from Account Guy to Creative Guy. It just doesn’t happen. But, I’m really glad it did for me.
People say I’m crazy, dreaming my life away…
Anyway, it really all started with the decision to go to graduate film school in the mid-90s. It was the only way to get where I wanted to go…to become an active part of the storytelling process. So, the suit went back in the closet, and the hair got a little longer. I just knew I would never be satisfied as an Account Guy, even though I was making good money, had just gotten promoted, and had even gotten married. But, aside from asking my wife Anne to marry me, it was the best decision I’ve ever made. I learned from the ground up, in a visceral, hands-on way the key ingredients for great storytelling. I learned how hard it is to write a good script, find good actors, design a meaningful storyboard, find good locations, light a scene, operate a camera, edit your own film, and most importantly how to bring ideas to life.
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In short, film school gave me the chops to become a successful agency producer. More importantly, it also provided greater appreciation for the incredibly talented writers, actors, directors, cinematographers, editors, vfx and cg artists, and musicians that we collaborate with every day. I’m very proud that my student films were selected and screened at juried film festivals in Boston and Detroit. But, I’m just as happy that, when I got my first major production assignments as an agency producer, I wasn’t the person operating the camera. You gotta know your limitations.
We started from the bottom now we’re here…
Film school taught me the power of creative collaboration. And, in advertising, effective collaboration is crucial to success. I am proud to have worked with so many great people over the years, at so many great agencies, on so many great brands, for so many great Clients. It has always been a pleasure to work with talented colleagues to bring ideas to life in support of our Client’s business goals. Most of the time, it doesn’t even feel like work.
Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to work on a bunch of cool projects, and I look forward to working on a whole bunch more. One highlight is definitely the Lincoln Mercury Spokesperson Campaign that we developed while I was at Y&R. We selected Jill Wagner to be our Mercury Spokesperson, and then watched her breathe new life into the Mercury brand---becoming a bit of a cultural icon as the “Mercury Girl.”
Most of my production adventures have been with automotive brands like Ford, Lincoln Mercury, Chevrolet, and Mazda. But, some of my favorite creative work was for Ace Hardware, while I was at Mars Advertising. Our small, close-knit team produced a lot of great work for Ace that helped them win the J.D. Power Award for Customer Service Two Years in a Row. Our Ace Branding Campaign tapped into the friendly, helpful spirit of Ace Hardware that really distinguishes it from the big box stores. And, the Holiday Campaign still makes me laugh a bit which is good because it was supposed to.
The best content I ever produced are my twins Matthew and Andrea who have grown up alongside my production career. They are now attending college which seems impossible because I was just coaching their Little League team last summer. Yeah, things do change quickly in this business.
Welcome to the new age, to the new age…
Speaking of change, the thing I’m maybe most proud of is that I have seamlessly made the transition from broadcast producer, to digital producer, to content producer. I’m as comfortable creating digital still images, cgi animations, website content, and OLA as I am TV or Radio commercials. I’ve been producing content in the digital space for almost 10 years now, and what I’ve learned is that the principles of producing great content are the same no matter what the media. Great content is the result of great storytelling. Great storytelling requires insight, hard work, experience, and talented collaborators.
And, my favorite stories, the very best stories, are the ones that haven’t been told yet. So, let’s go tell some more of them.