As we enter the new year, it’s tempting to look ahead, envisioning what might unfold and identifying key areas that will help to determine the course of 2008. To be sure, that brand of forward thinking was sprinkled throughout our first issue of 2008 as reflected in our Agency Creative and Edit & Post surveys, and in our report on “Labor Pains Or Gains?” relative to what might be in store. And this week we report on how the intellectual property (IP) debate is starting to heat up. Clearly IP will be a prime topic of ’08 and beyond.
But our present and future have also been shaped by the past and it’s in this spirit that we pause to pay respects to the contributions of a couple notable ad agency artisans who passed away during the latter stages of ’07 without being duly noticed.
These pioneers from what many regard as being the “Golden Era” were Joseph D. Lamneck and James Carroll. The latter was head of production at Benton & Bowles, New York, for 10 years before becoming an executive at Kenyon & Eckhardt. Under his aegis and guidance at Benton & Bowles, classic campaigns were produced for Crest toothpaste and Charmin bathroom tissue. Carroll also served as the liaison for the advertising industry labor committee.
A native New Yorker, Carroll served in the U.S. Army for the 101st Regiment, 26th Yankee Division, during World War II, after which he studied at Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y. where he earned a Bachelor’s degree and later returned to serve as a trustee on the board of his alma mater.
Meanwhile Lamneck was a trusted friend of New York Giants football team owner and NFL pioneer, the late Wellington Mara. Lamneck rose from live television art director to award-winning commercial producer for Warner Bros., Leo Burnett and Kenyon & Eckhardt. His breakthrough campaign featuring Lee Iacocca telling America, “If you can find a better car, buy it” in the early 1980s proved to be an influential factor in Chrysler’s recovery in the marketplace. The campaign also helped to shape the CEO spokesman genre and turned Iacocca himself into a trusted brand name.
Lamneck also wrote and directed the film Champions of Life featuring many NFL athletes, which led Mara to create Life Athletes Inc., an organization that continues to promote virtuous life values with the help of more than 300 professional and Olympic athletes.
Both Lamneck and Carroll had the ability to tap into the audience zeitgeist, creating enduring pieces of communication in the process. And while we sadly report on their passing–just as we did in our prior column this month on the late great ad industry legend Phil Dusenberry of BBDO–it’s important we remember their contributions and learn from their philosophies, successes and setbacks.
Indeed the lessons learned by Dusenberry over the years yielded relevant advice from him on today’s ever evolving new media landscape. He recently noted that the more things change, some things remain constant. So much, he stressed, still comes down to creativity based on strategy, connecting with an audience and being true to the brand.
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More