Wednesday, August 13, 2025

A stroll down Memory Lane (Wilshire Blvd.)


Yesterday, you might remember, OK, maybe only 9 of you will remember, I mentioned how I have been disconnected to today's ad world. With the exception of some straggler assignments for the prince of Saudi Arabia (which I am not allowed to talk about, but might anyway) I haven't done any work in the advertising field. 

Truth is, between the interweb scavenger hunts and the poorly attended experiential experiences -- for lack of a better word -- and the other FFDKK, Frivolous Fuckwadian Digital Knick Knacks™, I  don't have a clue how Omnicom, IPG, and WPP make a damn penny. 

This was discussed at length and with great mockery, at breakfast with the esteemed Jeff Gelberg, a fellow copywriter who has spent the last 35 or so odd years in the same three letter ad agency trenches as yours truly. 

As we gazed into the rear view mirror, we laughed and cried. OK, we didn't really cry, Jeff might have got some tabasco in his eyes. Somehow our reminiscing took us back to lugging around those big black leather portfolios.  Hoping to impress some cynical Creative Director with our misguided ambition and our juvenile wordplay.

For reasons unbeknownst to Jeff or to myself, we still have the laminated remnants of our youth. As we split the tab for our ridiculously expensive breakfast ($65) we hit upon the idea of showcasing these antiquities of a different and now deceased era. 

Jeff called it a crossover. Like they used to do in old network TV shows, which he details at rotationandbalance.blogspot.com You can also see a small sample of his forever hermetically-sealed in thermo-blasted plastics.

Here's some of the stuff I lugged around. Jeff gets points for better photography.



I've always loved the purity and concise nature of outdoor boards.
This meets the 7 word maximum rule. 



Not sure this would fly in today's woke/anti-woke world.
I still think it's funny.



When possible, I always looked for ways to demonstrate the product.
Plus, it was an ad for water without showing water.



A double page magazine spread. 
What's that, you say? Oh nevermind.



And finally, my very first outdoor board.
Not sure it ever ran or if it was spec.
It doesn't matter. In fact, as Jeff and I said,
none of it matters. Not sure it ever did.



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