Mary Wells had lured my partner, Bob Pasqualina and I, back to Wells, Rich, Greene to be co-creative directors of the LA office. It was an exciting opportunity, helping to run a fast growing 200-person agency with big accounts like Columbia Pictures, Max Factor and Jack in the Box. But there were problems. Jack in [...]

When we weren’t building our clients’ businesses, we were building our own creative portfolios.  The writers and art directors in this shot were assembled for a spec ad for a non-existent toy company.  The concept was that we were serious about creating fun toys. We shot our stuff in a little studio on the 24th [...]

We were working late at Doyle Dane Bernbach on a VW Bug ad when the lights went out. Not just in the agency or the building. The whole city of New York went pitch black due to a massive power outage. It was shocking and a little scary. But what could have been a disaster [...]

It was just one hour by car followed by a half hour ferry ride to a thin sliver of an island where there were no cars, no shoes and few inhibitions.  Fire Island was our weekend escape from the sweltering summer streets of Manhattan.  Riddle:  How many copywriters and art directors did it take to [...]

Shortly after I got to Wells, Rich, Greene, I became friends with a very talented writer named Harry Gittes.  He often spoke fondly of an actor friend of his from LA. who was a little down on his luck.  Whenever this guy came to New York, Harry was kind enough to let him stay at [...]

People often ask me how Pasqualina and I came up with “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.”  Actually, that was the second Alka Seltzer TV spot that became famous. The first one featured the line, “Try it, you’ll like it.”  Here’s the back-story on how they both came to be.  My art director [...]

After only two and a half years in the business, I was lucky enough to get a job as a senior copywriter at Wells, Rich, Greene, the most creative ad agency on the planet.  I was hired on the basis of a decent creative book, but mostly because some great people put in a good [...]

A new sensibility was emerging on Madison Avenue.  The old hard sell was giving way to a fresh new ethnic cleverness.  Italian art directors were the new Michelangelos and Jewish copywriters were the Arthur Millers (with a little Shecky Greene thrown in.) Their heads were filled with dialog they had overheard around the dinner table [...]