A Mad Man’s Look Back on Life as Ad Man

0

Howie Cohen, the writer behind the famous Alka-Seltzer commercial “Try It, You’ll Like It,” has launched a blog to share stories about the 1960s advertising business. It’s called MadMensch.com.

Cohen, a partner in the Phelps Group ad agency in Santa Monica, knows the inside story because he was there. He started working at Dane Doyle Bernbach on Madison Avenue in 1965. He’s best known for the “Try It” ad as well another Alka-Seltzer catch phrase, “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.”

For years, Cohen, 67, told his stories to co-workers, eliciting laughs and suggestions that he write a book.

“A book is an intimidating task,” he said. “I think in 30-second bursts, so the blog format seemed natural.”

Cohen loves the AMC show “Mad Men,” which inspired his site’s title, and his favorite blog post describes how the world as depicted in the show was upended. That post, called “Michelangelo Meets Shecky Greene, ’65,” tells how a group of Italian art directors and Jewish writers suddenly made advertising edgy, funny and socially relevant.

“Until then, it was an extremely WASPy, political and departmentalized business,” he recalled. “And the depictions in the show about alcoholism and smoking and sexual behavior were all true.”

So far, Cohen posts one or two stories a week on MadMensch, but he figures he could put up three or four a week, and wouldn’t run out of stories for 20 years.

Pier Punches

Investors, analysts and executives mixed with boxing fans recently in Santa Monica for a conference hosted by West L.A. investment bank B. Riley & Co.

During the day, local executives made presentations on their companies, and things went smoothly. Well, mostly.

K-Swiss Chief Executive Steven Nichols showed a new line of television commercials for his athletic shoe company to a standing-room audience, but he quickly realized that the sound wasn’t working. Quick on his feet, Nichols joked that these were the silent-film versions. “But they do have talkies today,” he said.

In the evening, the ties came off as many conference attendees walked to the nearby pier for a charity boxing tournament. B. Riley Chairman Bryant Riley and boxer Sugar Ray Leonard welcomed the crowd on a chilly night to watch amateur and professional bouts.

A number of celebrities milled about, including former Major League Baseball slugger Barry Bonds, who kept a low profile from his ringside spot, and Quinton Aaron, co-star of the recent hit film “The Blind Side.”

Landing an Activist

Neville Graham has been a local Realtor and land broker for 20 years. But he’s quickly becoming known as L.A.’s newest activist.

It started in April when some of his clients asked him to look into a high-profile deal to pay owners of land near the Hollywood sign $12.5 million to keep that property as open space.

“I grew up in the bush, so I know a good deal about the value of raw land,” said Graham, a South African native who still retains his accent. “The more I looked into this deal, the angrier I got.”

In a video he posted on YouTube, Graham disputed claims that the sign itself was in jeopardy from any potential development.

Nonetheless, the money to complete the deal was raised in late April when Playboy Enterprises founder Hugh Hefner stepped in with a $900,000 donation.

But Graham, 55, said he’s now got the activist bug. His next target: a city of Los Angeles ordinance that would restrict hillside development.

“Landowners don’t really know what’s about to happen to their properties,” he said.

Graham dismissed any notion that his newfound activism is a marketing ploy.

“I want to call people’s attention to issues that affect landowners,” Graham said. “I’m very determined now. Someone needs to inform the public.”

Staff reporters Joel Russell, Richard Clough and Howard Fine contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].

No posts to display