The Art of Einstein

Heroes of the Internet. The first (and perhaps only one) in a series.

In January I met Deb Chance on line and by chance.  The Dining Stones she invented, and was selling somewhere out in ‘the long tail’ had been reviewed at Springwise, a website any early adopter has to love, and was enthusiastic.     

So, since I don’t already have enough kitchen gadgets gathering dust, I went to her website.   I had a question and fired off an email. 

The First reason Deb is my hero – She did not turn my email over to the automata – that class of machines that responds to my Congressman’s email, the phone company’s email etc.  Deb answered my email herself. 

“Hi Arthur.  Sorry for the delay in response.  Our product was featured on Springwise and a number of other newspapers picked up the story, so my inbox has been overwhelmingly full.  I work full-time for a securities investment firm and run Dining Stones at night and on weekends, so there is a lag time for me…. with the volume lately, I just can't keep up.”  How can you not trust this person, her answer, her product! 

Another question triggered a second email

Second reason Deb is my hero.  She is using the net to make her dreams come true..  “I have an entrepreneurial spirit and have dreamed of having my own business for over 20 years”, she wrote. “ I am a foodie. I make up my own recipes all the time.  I used to name them, I even had a funny one called ‘Back Porch Surprise’ which I made one winter when our fridge went out and we set all our food on the back porch to keep cold until we had a replacement.”

Remember Howard Zieff?

Howard died the other day after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.  I got to know him through my pal of 40 years, Dick Clark who worked for him as an assistant, collaborator, court jester, and sometime actor  (Dick was the voice-over in the unforgettable Alka-Seltzer commercial, “Spicy Meatball’ and ultimately became his rep).

In every one of the half dozen obits I’ve read (they’re all over the Internet) I’ve been struck by the raves for work he did 40 years ago (before inline skates, PC’s, iPods, the internet, or Miller Lite)  The half-life of outstanding advertising never ceases to amaze me.   

The Alka-Seltzer spot dates to 1970.  The Levy’s rye bread posters came earlier.  But none of the articles mentioned the posters he did for The New York Daily News (below) that established his reputation. The Daily News pictures didn’t need a headline - or copy for that matter.  The whole story, including dialog, was wrapped up in a photograph - like a Norman Rockwell illustration on film.  They campaign was done in the ‘50s, years before the ‘creative revolution’ of the ‘60s and ‘70s.  

Today it’s hard to realize how unique Howard’s vision was.  But if you can find an copy of LIFE from that era you'll get some idea.  The models in the advertising are right out of  “The Stepford Wives”.  Their pefect faces are wreathed in perfect smiles.  Their perfect bodies are perfectly groomed and dressed.  Howard broke that mold.  The pictures he took were populated with real people who made the advertising authentic in the same way headlines like “Lemon”  did for VW.  

His pictures had a sense of humor that’s missing in most advertising today.  The light touch, the result of exquisite casting and meticulously set ups - well - the ad just made you smile and feel good.  

There’s a new series about advertising on TNT called “Trust Me” and in last week’s episode the creative heros   

spent the hour scheming to get a high-powered director to film their spot.  In Howard’s prime, when an ordinary director’s job was to ‘shoot the board' as written, he was the first of the directors people schemed to get.  He picked the boards he wanted to shoot, and the fact that he’d take your job (at twice what you’d pay elsewhere) was an affirmation of your concept and a promise that the client was going to get a whole lot more commercial than he’d bargained for.  

Years after the creative revolution was put to bed  a hand full of writers, art directors, and agencies get credit for the work.  Howard left Madison Avenue at the top of his game, and went off to Hollywood and film career.  As a result, I think he gets much less credit than deserved for his influence on the advertising revolution