Follis Advertising; MAD AVE Book Intro

Introduction

There are over 2,000 agencies in New York and in 1993 Follis/DeVito/Verdi won more awards than all but one of them. At only 4 years old we were the hot, new agency on the scene.

At the strong urging of an industry advisor I began writing about my crazy career experiences and struggles which became these essays. Feedback was very positive. One particular essay, 'It's Only Advertising' caught the attention of an editor and was published in a collection of essays on American pop-culture (Mirror On America / St Martin's Press) which included pieces from Dave Barry, Dick Clark, Al Gore, MTV's Kurt Loder and Stephen King. It's an incredible honor to be included among those names.

Motivated by that and the success of HBO's Mad Men, I've created this with all 19 essays. Hope you enjoy.

John Follis
September 2010

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Dear Ann,

I have a problem.

      I have two brothers. One is in advertising, the other was put to death in the electric chair
      for murder. My mother died from insanity when I was three. My two sisters are prostitutes
      and my father sells drugs to junior high school students.

Recently, I met a girl who was just released from a reformatory where she served time
for smothering her illegitimate child to death, and I want to marry her.

My problem is, if I marry this girl should I tell her about my brother who's in advertising?

-- JV

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This creative poke at the ad biz crossed my path one day in the form of an anonymous xerox circulating the agency creative department.

Public cynicism about advertising is well documented. But, what may not be documented (until now) is the cynicism shared by many advertising folks. At a recent trade event a top agency creative director was asked how the business had changed in the past 20 years. His response?

"It used to take a couple years before you got cynical. Now it just takes a couple months."

And yet, these same folks who lament the business will just as quickly boast about their latest ad campaign. There's clearly a love/hate thing that many ad folks have with the business. We love the creativity, glamour and money, but hate the politics, stress, and insecurity. And, some are even bothered by the slick, rose-colored messages they are hired to create.

Studies actually show that almost 90% of the American public ''doesn't believe that advertising tells the truth.'' And, somewhere there was some kind of survey about careers with a ranking of the ones that the public respected most. I'm not sure which ranked the highest, but I know that 'Ad Executive' ranked somewhere at the bottom... I think between 'Lawyer' and 'Used Car Salesman.' All I know is that when I reveal my profession I get varied responses. Many think it's cool and then some react like I'm Satan. A friend who grew up in an intellectual family told me a story about a childhood recollection of her mother's hushed voice when mentioning that her friend's father was (hushed voice) ''in advertising.'' She said it was as if he was afflicted with a form of mental illness.

Clearly, the ad biz has its faults. But, unlike most businesses, it definitely isn't boring.