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After two years at what was deemed the most creative advertising agency at the time (Doyle Dane Bernbach), George Lois stepped out on his own. But as a successful art director, how would one walk away from such a prestigious location? Below is George's description in his own words of how he stepped out on his own. The text below is from an interview with ad veterans Brad Forsythe and Ray Schilens on a June 2003 broadcast of The Advertising Show: BRAD: George you were only at Doyle Dane for two years and then you launched your own company. Somebody piss you off there? What happened? GEORGE: No, God no.
Working for Bill Bernbach was wonderful.
I had a chance to work for him earlier than that but they wanted
to hire me when I was about 24 to run their promotion department but I
said promotion's is great but I want to do all of the advertising, etc.
etc. And they said that's
not the way we do it here. So I waited a couple of years ..
But when I finally went to Doyle Dane in '58 I worked for Bill…
and what was incredible about Doyle Dane Bernbach, not only was it the
only creative agency in the world but Bill Bernbach treated the 3, 4, or
5 top art director's there as if we were gods.
His respect and admiration for the graphics side of advertising is what
made him start Doyle Dane Bernbach and made him start with the concept
probably for the very first time in the ad agency... where he understood
that there had always been great writing in advertising but there had
never been really great graphics people working directly with the
writers and having the power to not just accept copy but to create the
advertising with the writer… and that basically… that's simple
thought… almost an epiphany is what changed the advertising world and
he created Doyle Dane Bernbach and if you were an art director there and
if you were an important one like me. If you were one of those people I
mean you were a god. So
leaving there was insanity. But what happened is I just kind of
got the bug... and said gee I wonder if there could be second creative
agency in the world? In
fact when I told Bernbach that I was leaving, I almost bowled him over
he was in shock but he really seriously looked me in the eye and said,
"George, there can only be one creative agency in the world… in
America." And I said what do you mean? And he really
meant it… it was such… Doyle Dane Bernbach was considered creative
freaks. They came out of
left field and they were doing brilliant work and there was no way to
emulate them. And I left and started with two guys, both writers... in
January of 1960 and we most immediately, very very quickly established a
creative reputation. And in
was in another six months or so everybody was calling us the second
great creative agency in America. (The Advertising Show, June 2003) George would then go on to form Papert Koenig Lois, then 1966 he left to form Lois, Holland, Calloway. All the while, continuing to create memorable advertising (see campaigns page for examples) and in 1978 was inducted into the Art Directors Hall of Fame, and the Advertising Hall of Fame. Advertising Age magazine would go on to report George Lois as one of the 100 most influential advertising practitioners of the twentieth century. George Lois would become famous for what he called "The Big Idea". |