As 2006 came to a close, Ron Lawner, the visionary creative leader behind a decade long series of commercial hits for client Volkswagen and memorable work for Fidelity Investments, American Legacy (“Truth” campaign), Royal Caribbean, Jovan Musk and Kinney Shoes, completed a 25-year career with Arnold Worldwide. Lawner held the position of vice chairman, global chief creative officer, and was based in Boston.
Lawner began his career as a freelance copywriter in New York; after graduating from Adelphi University, he came to Boston and continued his writing career with a number of agencies to gain experience. Lawner joined Humphrey Browning MacDougall in ’81, which went through a number of acquisition and name changes before it emerged as Lawner Reingold Britton & Partners in ’90. This agency was then acquired by Lawner’s friend and agency partner Ed Eskandarian and become Arnold Worldwide.
A member of the Wall Street Journal’s Creative Leaders Series, Lawner has led the agency to international acclaim and creative honors that include the ’98 Cannes Grand Prix for a Volkswagen Beetle print campaign, as well as many awards including The Grand Effie, D&AD, Kelly Awards, One Show Pencils, Clios, London International Awards and ANDYs. Arnold Worldwide has been on the Gunn Report’s top creative agencies list since its inception in ’99. Lawner expects that his life outside of Arnold’s Boston headquarters will involve more time in a consulting capacity and serving on a variety of boards. As a collector of contemporary art, he has been involved with the Institute of Contemporary Art and a Patron of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
He intends to pursue charitable endeavors and continue his participation in MassProduction, a local organization seeking to bring more commercial production to the Boston area.
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: What drove your decision to retire from Arnold?Lawner: I’ve been part of the incredible success of this agency and my identity is closely tied to the agency. Now I’d like a little more flexibility in my schedule for more accomplishments outside of these walls. I’m still surprised and inquisitive about what goes on in the world of communications, but I’m also ready for the next adventure. I’ve been approached to direct independent films and that is something I’d consider as well. My life is quite full. I’m going to see what comes along. There’s a whole world out there, all I’ve done is advertising.
I’ve left some very talented people I’ve known for a long time. I have faith in Arnold and I wish them the best.
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: How would you describe the state of the commercial advertising business?Lawner: I’m seeing less of the craft. By that I mean less of the craft that was to try to make a spot as close to perfect as possible…I’m seeing more disposable work. It’s in, it’s out, and not meant to have a life past its media run.
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: What do you think has driven that change?Lawner: I’m not sure. Corporate culture had changed a bit…there are more outlets for creative. I’m not sure the attention is being placed on what I think is still the most powerful medium, the broadcast medium. The buzzwords today are nontraditional media, but I don’t know why that should take away from the craft. Maybe it’s a distraction.
Arnold was an integrated agency before it was cool to be integrated. Arnold was way ahead of our time on this. One thing that helped was we had one bottom line. So there were not competing disciplines. So we did what was right for the brand. What is the best way to reach the customer? By not having pressure for each department to be a profit center, we could focus on what is right. That makes a big difference.
Alternative media are just more tools in the toolbox.
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: Mobile content delivery is in its infancy in the United States, but is receiving a lot of attention. And, mobile content is also advancing internationally. What are your thoughts on mobile opportunities?Lawner: I honestly believe that it’s just another tool in the toolbox. Where it’s appropriate, it will be great. Where it is not, it won’t. You have to decide what you’re using mobile for. You have to be smart enough to be where they’re looking.
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: What do you think agencies need to focus their attention on, as these changes occur in the advertising industry?Lawner: Agencies need to listen to their clients. Literally see what clients are facing today and respond. I don’t think there is a lot of hand holding. Decisions have to be made faster; content has to be made quickly. You need a strategy, execution…it’s a fairly long process. It has to be faster, and that means changing the model a little. You have to be face to face with the client. You have to streamline service. You need designers [writers, etc.] sitting together to tackle a project. That’s what we did at Arnold. It all boils down to speed. It’s not just speed, it’s being smart so that you can move more quickly. There are production companies cranking out content. They are on the way to becoming the agencies of the future…Agencies need to get on the bandwagon.
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: What is your view on the state of creativity in the business?Lawner: I don’t think creativity is suffering… I think media is creative. Whether it’s mobile or web that has taken the forefront, creativity has been a little overshadowed. But the new creativity is the media. My hope would be that there is no substitute for good creative when it is mobile or the web. I do think the media has taken over a little bit. It [creative and media] really needs to be integrated, but most agencies are not structured that way.
[Great advertising is still about] a good idea, elegantly produced, that taps into the consumers hearts and mind. That’s not going to change.
That takes a lot of talent. It’s not an easy thing to do.
Creativity is subjective. I don’t see our craft changing a lot.
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: Would you reflect on some of your most memorable work at Arnold, including your Volkswagen “Drivers Wanted” campaign?Lawner: I had the luxury of building relationships with client trust, and creating great work.
I’ve had some great clients. Jovan Musk was one of my favorites. It combined color and black and white. I looked at it recently when going through my things at Arnold, and the stuff was 20 year ago and still stands up. It was modern, the casting, the music…and it was effective. I read that sales increased 25 percent. We asked, “What is Sexy?” A look? A glance?…it was a fresh idea, and it worked. That’s the joy of advertising.
For Volkswagen [a decade of highly regarded advertising that include the ’98 Cannes Grand Prix for the Volkswagen Beetle print campaign], we never worked on a car before. We had an interesting audience–educated, interested in life, they were drivers in the sense that they would explore a little… We created work that offered a club for people who didn’t want to join a club, people who see things a little different.
We never changed that voice. “On the road of life there are passengers and drivers. Drivers wanted”–it invited you in.
