Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1962)

Paul Hayes Tampa Bay's official wake-up man. Put this familiar, believable voice to work for ^pur advertising on "Sun-Up" each morning from 6:00 to 9:00. Paul Hayes is one. more of the many reasons why more advertisers are investing more dollars on WSUN Radio than anytime in our 35 year history. WSUN is heard in more counties than any other station on Florida's West Coast. (NCS-'61) FLORIDA'S CLEAR SIGNAL 5KW 620 KC STATION radio 62 Broadcasting 24 hours daily! TAMPA-ST. PETERSBURG Natl. Rep: VENARD, TORBET & McCONNELL S, E. Rep: JAMES S. AYERS I "COMMERCIAL COMMENTARY by John E. McMillin How now, little adman? I thought Time magazine leaned over backwards to be kind, gentle and sympathetic to the ad agency business in its extensive cover story, "The Mammoth Mirror," last week. Considering the well-known abilities of Mr. Luce's inky wretches to snicker, sneer, and slash at almost any aspect of American life (except themselves) , they were surprisingly mild in their treatment of Madison Ave. So much so, in fact, that I couldn't help wondering if C. D. Jackson or maybe even Henry himself had been bending over editorial typewriters. The piece had a genial but unmistakably cautious, "we know where our bread is buttered" touch. But Time did stick at least one slender harpoon into the soft underbelly of the agency carcass which I thought well-deserved. Commenting on the "three bogeymen of Madison Ave.," Schlesinger, Galbraith and Toynbee, Time said that admen, in their outrage at attacks by these three, "conjure up a threat to their industry which does not exist." In Time's opinion, the public views admen as "highly effective salesmen" who perform a pleasantly useful function, even though it is "unlikely that the citizenry will ever take the step some admen seem to yearn for, and pass a national vote of thanks to advertising for its part in enriching U.S. life." To which I, for one, must say both "touche" and "amen." I think it is high time for us in the business to sit back and get a little orderly perspective on all the worrying and futzing around we've been doing about 'advertising's image.' I'm afraid the plain, gritty truth is that 90% of our concern over what "opinion-makers" or "thought-leaders" think of us arises out of our own, deep-dyed, long-term industry inferiority complex, and not out of any clear and present danger. In fact, I'd like to suggest to John Crichton of the 4As and Pete Allport of the ANA that a direct, frontal attack on our group inferiority complex would do more for the business than any Hill & Knowlton survey, or any film for PTA meetings. What do we think of ourselves? In the quiet of his lonely room, in the silent midnight of his tortured, though immortal, soul, what does the average adman think of himself, his work, his life, his fulfillment? Well, in my experience, the average adman over 40 has a hard time not sticking his tongue out at himself when he looks in the mirror. He is — forgive me, ive are about as philosophically insecure as any group in American society, and I suspect that few of us have ever leally faced the causes of our insecurity. Bill Benton once told me, after he left B&B, that "advertising is a young man's game," and both he and Chet Bowles have gone to some pains to sneer publicly at the occupation of their misspent, though highly lucrative, youth. [Please turn to page 46) 24 SPONSOR/22 October 1962