This advertisement ran only once, and didn’t even mention the brand being advertised (Cadillac). MacManus had so much invested in the Cadillac name that he even helped create the term ‘dependability’ in the early part of the century in order to help build the brand image. However, there was an immediate concern for MacManus when defects were being discovered in the new Cadillac, the 1915 V8 Touring model. In fact, the competition, Packard, was having a field day with this in their own ads, so MacManus realized he had to do something quick. His response to Packard and the critics was the beautifully written "Penalty of Leadership". After this ad ran, his colleagues "criticized him for writing fluff" (Smith ). However, the ad was a huge success. Cadillac salespeople requested copies for themselves as well as their customers, and the sales immediately rebounded. In 1945 (nearly thirty years after it ran), this ad was voted the best ad of all time by those in the industry. According to Advertising Age, this campaign is ranked 49th out of the top 100 ad campaigns of all time (Advertising Age 1998).

"In every field of human endeavor, he that is first must perpetually live in the white light of publicity. Whether the leadership be vested in a man or in a manufactured product, emulation and envy are ever at work. In art, in literature, in music, in industry, the reward and the punishment are always the same. The reward is widespread recognition; the punishment, fierce denial and detraction. When a man's work becomes a standard for the whole world, it also becomes a target for the shafts of the envious few. If his work be mediocre, he will be left severely alone - if he achieves a masterpiece, it will set a million tongues a -wagging. Jealousy does not protrude its forked tongue at the artist who produces a commonplace painting. Whatsoever you write, or paint, or play, or sing, or build, no one will strive to surpass or to slander you unless your work be stamped with the seal of genius. Long, long after a great work or a good work has been done, those who are disappointed or envious, continue to cry out that it cannot be done. Spiteful little voices in the domain of art were raised against our own Whistler as a mountback, long after the big would had acclaimed him its greatest artistic genius. Multitudes flocked to Bayreuth to worship at the musical shrine of Wagner, while the little group of those whom he had dethroned and displaced argued angrily that he was no musician at all. The little world continued to protest that Fulton could never build a steamboat, while the big world flocked to the river banks to see his boat steam by. The leader is assailed because he is a leader, and the effort to equal him is merely added proof of that leadership. Failing to equal or to excel, the follower seeks to depreciate and to destroy - but only confirms once more the superiority of that which he strives to supplant. There is nothing new in this. It is as old as the world and as old as human passions - envy, fear, greed, ambition, and the desire to surpass. And it all avails nothing. If the leader truly leads, he remains - the leader. Master-poet, master-painter, master-workman, each in his turn is assailed, and each holds his laurels through the ages. That which is good or great makes itself known, no matter how loud the clamor of denial. That which deserves to live--lives (Smith, p. 223)."

The big break for MacManus landing the Cadillac account is very interesting and points to belief that successful practitioners know a little about everything. MacManus had been in talks for three days trying to convince Cadillac owner Henry Leland and his son Wilfred to go with his agency as opposed to the "older, larger, richer, and more impressive agencies" (MacManus 19). Wilfred was apparently trying to link the MacManus name with something in his mind, and then asked, "Do you know a poet named Frank MacManus?" After MacManus denied any knowledge of the name, Wilfred went into a recital of the following poem, America, noting that it was both he and his father’s favorite:

"O can't you see her standing at the portals of the world,

With her eager eyes exulting in the flag she's just unfurled,

The favorite of Fortune, and the mistress of the Fates,

The heir of all the ages, flinging back the futile gates,

That frown upon her progress, and dispute the mighty power

Of a goddess come to realize the glory of her dower!"

It just so happened that Mr. Leland was incorrect on the first name. The author of this poem is indeed Theodore MacManus. He states in Men, Money and Motors, "There were six other verses in an effort called "America". I tried, as best I could under the circumstances, to stop him but he had mounted his Pegasus and was off at full gallop."

MacManus then exposed himself as the true author and went on to win the important account.