From today's New York Times ...

Yahoo Orders Home Workers Back to the Office

Since Marissa Mayer became chief executive of Yahoo, she has been working hard to get the Internet pioneer off its deathbed and make it an innovator once again.

She started with free food and new smartphones for every employee, borrowing from the playbook of Google, her employer until last year. Now, though, Yahoo has made a surprise move: abolishing its work-at-home policy and ordering everyone to work in the office.

Read the entire article here.

Posted by alburty at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Paul Decker, a supremely gifted writer and the second employee at Chiat/Day, died in Portland, Oregon, on February 19th. He is survived by his wife, Kitty O'Keefe.

Here's one of the first emails I received from Paul.

Confirming his C/D hiring memory, I walked in the door after Chuck Phillips as the second new C/D employee. We might have tied for the honor of #1 that day, if I had found a parking place closer to the Olympic Blvd. office.

I was the agency's first broadcast producer/writer, after working as a writer for John Urie & Associates, a highly regarded film and commercial production studio of the 60s. Like Urie, Jay and Guy were a treat to work for, because of their unrelenting demand for kickass creative. The more typical agency standard then was creative expedience.

I would have contacted your fine JayDay site earlier had I not been forced to leave L.A. and resettle in a remote, small town in the northern most tip of Oregon, at least until the repercussions of a certain incident were shelved. It was a sauce and feathering attack that erupted at the British Consulate on Wilshire Blvd., during a black-tie dinner, with serious political/economic implications for both the U.S. and Britain.

The object of the attack was the wife of the chairman of a huge oil concern in Europe. She got sauced and feathered by my companion (whom I'll call Miss X), an otherwise soulful fado singer from Portugal who was quite adept at slinging her boa feathers soaked with bananas Foster when wined and provoked.

As you can imagine, all hell broke loose, especially when the wife attempted to retaliate in kind. But instead of hitting Miss X, she doused a West Coast oil mogul, who was intent on negotiating a deal for North Sea oil reserves.

I will spare you further details.

After C/D and before the S&F humiliation, I had rewarding writing years with Needham, Chickering/Howell, Della Femina, k/d/p and others. Up here, while in exile, I've enjoyed being a jazz dj on the local NPR station and other pursuits in self-entertainment.

Paul Decker

Posted by alburty at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I receive so much mail every day, sometimes important stuff slips through the crack, like this great message I received back in JULY from Ellen LaNicca.

Ellen LaNicca here – former employee of Jessica Dee Communications and part of Chiat/Day for about 3 years when Jay acquired us. While our group never really integrated with the rest of Chiat/Day I have fond memories of Jay and I wanted to thank you for all of your work these past years. I will go on the site and download photos.

One odd memory – I was the one who oversaw the photography of Jay’s apartment in the Village… lower Fifth Avenue, I think. It was a loft. My assignment was to get photographs which we would then place in Architectural Digest. I got to know Jay then. He was already getting sick at that point. They were good years and they helped make ne a better PR person. I still work with Patrice Tanaka … we are last men standing here. We sold what became PT&Co. after we left Chiat/Day to a group called Carter, Ryley Thomas and the new agency is called CRT/tanaka. PT and I are the only ones left from the former agency and we’ve both lasted beyond our contracts. PT has made quite a name for herself in ballroom dancing and recently wrote a book, “Becoming Ginger Rogers,” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcia-g-yerman/becoming-ginger-rogers_b_1174654.html

Posted by alburty at 01:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Every once in a while, a certain alum will pop into my brain and I wonder how they are. Last week, the occupant of my brain was Richard O'Connell. So I wrote to him and asked him for both a photograph and an update on his life. Here is the latest on one of our favorite account executives:

I have been in Los Angeles for 6 years after leaving SF. I spent the last 3 1/2 year at Disney/ABC where I launched various networks apps (ABC, ABCNews and DisneyChannel) and second screen products including the Academy Awards which won an Emmy for outstanding digital innovation.

Currently, I am consulting with small to medium size digital companies to help grow their audience and define their social media strategy. I am enjoying being in a more start up environment. Additionally, I am helping some agencies with their new business pitches. One of my projects is working with Gary Smith (Chiat/Day LA - 2000) who is the founder of At Play Creative. If anyone is looking for some consulting help, they can reach me on LinkedIn (www.linkedin/in/richardsoconnell)

Here is some other C/D alumni news

Gwen Lipsky has a thriving, strategy consulting business in NY called SoundThinking where she works with many media and entertainment companies

Leslie Engel is the head of HR for William Grant & Sons which coincidentally was my first account at C/D

Charlie Bidwell lives in LA and we recently had lunch. He is expanding his photography business and branching out into merchandise featuring his original photos.

Patty Reis is a realtor at Halstead Property in Darien, CT. Patty hasn't aged at all and is still the nicest person I know.

Elena Salij who was an account planner in the NY office is a whiz at Words with Friends. She has an expansive vocabulary and a competitive streak.

I hope you find some of the news helpful.

All the best,
Richard (aka Dick O'Connell)

Posted by alburty at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This piece came to me via Bill Moreland, who got it from Bob Kuperman.

Hy Abady has been a copywriter for over four decades. This column, written for the East Hampton Star is a spot-on summation of what the industry was like and where it all went:

Doyle Dane ran an ad, a full-page ad in The New York Times. A cartoon, much like the ones that ran in The New Yorker by a cartoonist named Saxon.

The drawing was of the chairman of American Airlines, standing up, fists propped up on his desk, talking to co-workers. The caption/headline read: “We are not looking for another ad agency. We can barely stand the one we have.”

Is there a client today willing to be this clever and irreverent?

Is there an ad agency today willing to be this risky and even show an ad like this?

You watch television. You look at magazines. You tell me.

You can read the entire article here.

Posted by alburty at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm in Seattle (headed to Portland tomorrow) and had a wonderful brunch with one of the original employees of Chiat/Day Seattle, which eventually became Chiat/Day/Livingston. Brian was the senior writer there and remembers when this gutsy kid who had just graduated from the University of Washington showed up on their doorstep. It the late, great John Salvati. He told Brian and Roger that the U of W had this great intern program: they would pay half the cost of an internship. It was a total scam, but endearing in the only way John could tell whoppers. He got the job and a career was made.

Brian and I also spoke about Monty McKinney, who was one of the kindest gentlemen we ever met. Brian said that when Monty and a group of other executives were about to get in an elevator, Monty would always stand back and let the other enter first. He'd even hold the door. And when the elevator reached its destination, Monty would let everyone exit first, again holding the door. Same style at a restaurant: while everybody else was trying to grab the power seats, Monty would quietly sit down last. What manners. Brian said, "Now that's how you show real power."

Posted by alburty at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another wandering alum has returned to the fold.

Posted by alburty at 05:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to Nigel Carr, services for Jackie End will be held on August 22, 2012 at 5:00 PM at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home, 1076 Madison Avenue, NY, NY 10021, at the NW corner 81st Street.

Posted by alburty at 05:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A few days ago, I shut down Jay/Day. I received many nice notes. But one thing that concerned me is that many people though I was ill.

C'mon, people. I'm only 61 and except for arthritis (which you all have if you are over 25) I'm in fine health. Ok, I lost my balance last November and fell off a 50' foot cliff and landed on my tailbone. On asphalt. But that's an exception. (Do I have to count the time I fell out of my bed?)

No, there was something that ticked me off to the point where I said, "Why am I doing this?"

I had sent out a posting a while back about how I was looking for a job. I don't want to do IT/MIS anymore. I'm in love with the web. I'm not a coder. I'm not a graphic artist. I'm a concept guy. I develop website strategies and then collaborate with all of the site's stakeholders to develop a finished product. In fact, one of my collaborative designs won the Silver Award for Interactive Design from ID Magazine.

In my Jay/Day posting fantasy, I would have been flooded with emails about possible job openings. I heard nothing. Hey, I know it's a tough world out there, but I've been producing Jay/Day for over 8 years and I was hoping for some sort of informational payback.

I'm in Seattle right now. And I visit Portland often. Both cities have maple bars, which are emblematic of my Pacific Northwestern youth. I want to live/work in one of those two cities.

I loved maintaining Jay/Day, but if if it's always going to be a one-way street, it really takes the heart out of my dedication. Let's just say I'm "fit as a fiddle" and would like to take the summer off while I search for web concept work in Seattle and Portland. I spend so much of my day hunting down job leads and interviewing and writing cover letters, maintaining JayDay started to feel like a burden. And then when I got zero response, I just felt defeated.

I really don't think it's unfair of me, after running this website for over 8-years, to make this request.

If you'd like to really do something for me (hint, hint) after 8 years, get me a digital interview with someone in Seattle or Portland. As you know, I've never had any real talent except to think big thoughts and implement massive systems. Surely those needs exist somewhere?

Steve Alburty
(917)915-3224

Download resume
Download cover letter
Download portfolio

Posted by alburty at 07:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's a piece of software for the Mac that is supposed to keep all of your contacts and calendars in sync, from Mac to iPhone to iDon't Even Know. I actually run this list off of a PC and when Apple recently upgraded their MobileMe software, it deleted all of my categories, so I can't remember who is on the JayDay mailing list or not. I'd kill Steve Jobs but that would be redundant. So I am piecing together what I can from previous emails. One day, I promise, I'll get it all sorted out.

Posted by alburty at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Franz Kurath worked for me in IT in the Los Angeles office and I believe he swore that he'd never get married. But here he is, with his lovely bride Jenna, on the shore of Lake Como in Italy last autumn. They rented a villa overlooking the lake and invited 25 of their closest friends to join them.

I believe that Franz also swore that if I ever posted a photo of him on Jayday, he'd kill me. But I never paid much mind to that. I was taller than him.

Congratulations, Franz!!!

Posted by alburty at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My favorite Jay/Day emails are the ones from the REALLY good ol' days back on Olympic Boulevard. Here's a great one!

I'm Rose Marie Dorn (Stevenson), at C/D in '76-'78 in Media. Originally at the old Olympic Blvd. building -- the building with the ladies room featuring the art boards broken to a V-shape and hung strategically to funnel the occasional Los Angeles rain into the toilets -- since it was on the top floor and the roof leaked. And if you ever had to go to the bathroom there, you distinctly remember that yes, it does rain in Southern California. Well, you know, art boards are cheaper than a roof. Maybe the men’s room was higher class? Then we moved to the Biltmore. Never quite the same. Oh, the Biltmore -- where Jay was the first ever Advertising Head Honcho to declare that the office would be open cubicles "because it was more open to collaboration." We all knew that the real reason was that it was cheaper than the offices other agencies had -- including us on Olympic Blvd. with the leaking roof. Don't see that anyone told the story of how C/D got into Consumer advertising, being an exclusively trade/retail agency up to that point. I forget which was its first consumer account (do you recall?), but Jay won it by making the presentation, and then ending it with " … and we also do trade advertising." Pure Jay. Maybe Bill Moreland would remember. After Advertising I had a horse ranch for a while in Agua Dulce CA, then moved to Snohomish WA just north of Seattle where I remain with the two best Paso Fino horses I had bred, plus now a 44-year-old rescued old fella. Just started a blog BoomersAndHorses.com for Boomers who love horses and are looking for innovative ways to relocate and/or downsize with their critters. It's interesting how many ex-C/D'ers are in Washington state.

Posted by alburty at 09:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)