The Egotist & Ad Club Interview Gerry Graf of Barton F. Graf 9000
By The Denver Egotist / /
Can you imagine advertising without humor? Comedy can transform brands into overnight sensations, but it’s a roll of the dice as to whether or not you’ll hit the funny on the head. Very few do humor as well as Gerry Graf, the creative guru who has spent his career at Goodby Silverstein & Partners, BBDO NY, Saatchi & Saatchi, TBWA Chiat/Day and now his own agency Barton F. Graf 9000. Skittles, Combos, eTrade — you know the work. Now know the man.
Q: You’ve won Lions. You’ve won Pencils. You’ve probably also won for best longest tagline with “What your mom would feed you if you’re mom were a man” for your gut-busting Combos commercial. Tell us about ManMom.
A: That came right from the strategy. Pretzels and cheese are slightly better for you than other snacks, so mom would give you something that’s better for you while dad would give you something that tastes great. Put them together: Combos. The team showed me the tagline with no work behind it and I approved it right away.
Q: In addition to the longest tagline, you have the shortest Super Bowl ad under your belt — the famous one-second spot for Miller High Life. Give us the dirt on that almost subliminal ad.
A: That was in the middle of the recession. Miller stood for blue-collar values. Thirty seconds of Super Bowl time cost three million dollars. In 2009, who would waste that amount of money? We also wanted a PR story the week before the game, a one-second ad was news. It premiered on The Tonight Show two days before the game.
Q: On the subject of Super Bowl advertising, you’ve likely hit double digits on the number of spots on your reel. Does the process get easier with all the surrounding pressures and players getting involved?
A: It’s not easier or harder. You just try to do something great like every other assignment.
Q: The leap from CCO to founder is a gigantic one. Tell us about the trials and tribulations of kicking off Barton F. Graf 9000.
A: I came from the big agency world where everything is all set up for you. Suddenly, I have no clients, no investors, and one employee. I had to scramble for clients, write all the early campaigns myself, recruit people to work with me, and make sure I could pay the rent. I poured everything I had into the agency. I remember going to the ATM and for the first time in 10 years I had no money in checking. That was a great motivator.
Q: Goodby was your first foray into a leadership role. What big lessons did you take away from the transition of creating to managing?
A: I remember Jeff Goodby telling me not to try to become friends with the people who reported to me. To be fair and encouraging, but don’t try to make them your buddies. I asked why and he said because you start approving work that isn’t great because you don’t want to hurt their feelings and then you’re stuck with a bunch of buddies and crappy work.
Q: Your first gig out of college was a stock broker (shocker!). How did you make your way into the ad game?
A: I wrote for a sketch comedy revue at the University of Notre Dame. I was always trying to find a way to make a living doing that. I moved to Hollywood and failed, but someone told me about advertising so I took a class and it finally paid off.
Q: Getting into the biz: Any advice for the youngsters out there?
A: I was horrible when I started but I really wanted to be in advertising. People I met at agencies told me to stay in finance and forget about advertising. But I wanted it so much. Even though I was very shy, I would ask them to be very specific about why I sucked. They would destroy my portfolio, but I was clear on what I had to do to improve. My advice would be never give up, always work on your book, and if someone says you suck, ask them to list out all the reasons for your suckiness.
It would suck if you couldn’t hear from a modern-day legend in our business. Come see Gerry, Thursday April 23, starting at 6pm at CU Boulder. Get more details and register for tickets now at adclubdenver.com.
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