jay/day

I have a log cabin in the Catskill Mountains near Phoenicia. One of my neighbors does voice-over work and somebody at Ogilvy was smart enough to cast his voice for a national Kodak commercial, which you can see here.

The point is that those of you who are involved in the creation of commercials should join the Brett Barry bandwagon. (By the way, he and his wife produced an audio book this year which has been named one of the Top 10 audio books of the year!)

Here's how to contact Brett.

Posted by alburty at 09:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The name Ari Schwartz is indelibly etched in my memory.

Hey Steve, I don’t know if you remember me but I worked at Chiat/ Day from 1984 (?) or 1985 thru 1987 or 1988. I started as Bob Wolf’s assistant and then moved to media. I found your website while strolling down memory lane (through google). Backer Spielvogel (the agency I went to after c/d) is having a reunion which got me thinking about c/d.

I am now Ari Antonelli. I moved to DC after I got married. I have two girls ages 10 and 7. I started my own media buying shop in 2000.

Since I have contacted you my memories of Chiat/Day and Jay have flooded my mind. I remember interviewing with Jay and afterwards going home and eating about 30 dollars of Chinese food and sitting in the dark (or it least it felt like the dark). I remember getting a call from Valerie the next day or so and she recommended that I interview with Bob Wolf (something like I was too energetic for Jay???). Working at 79 Fifth Avenue when there were only about 30 of us was an incredible time. At that time, we were just on one floor…

Best,

Ari

Posted by alburty at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just love when people write to me and include photos and miniature bios which help me (and everyone) add another little fragment to the history of the Jay years. Here's a great email from Mary Beth Neal Garber ....

I suppose there are thousands and thousands of us, really. People who ricochet through C/D, people who thrived there. Did you know that John Amos, the actor, once did a stint at Chiat/Day as a writer? It was in the days of Mel and Mel (Mel Newhoff, Mel Abert, and Tom Burr -- Abert/Newhoff/Burr of the 70s and 80s). Paul Keye and Mario Donna peopled the Olympic Blvd offices -- of Keye/Donna/Perlstein fame in the 70s and 80s.

I was one of the founding group of employees (as were Mel & Mel, Tom, Paul and Mario, and Hy Yablonka). We opened the doors in October 1968 with the merger of Faust/Day and Jay Chiat & Assoc.

I was, at one point, the entire media department. We actually won the American Honda Car account with a three person media department and a computer (one of the first of its kind -- would you expect anything less from Jay?).

Penny Wright (now Cunningham) and I were most of the media department until I left in mid 1971. Mike Zuckerman replaced me, then Dave Platt. Penny stayed for some time, then transferred to San Francisco when Chuck Phillips opened the office there.

Jay stayed in touch with me over the years. I probably have some of the last video ever shot of him. I won one of those industry award things in 2000 and he sent me some footage to be included in the "ain't she great" reel. It was full of Jay zingers, as expected. Jay always could deliver insults that felt like hugs.

Thank you for being the collector.

Another fun aside -- when I left C/D, my husband's and my best friends were Lee and Ilene Clow. Lee was my husband's partner (they were juniors) at a local ad agency. I kept telling him he'd love working at C/D, and i kept telling Hy he'd love Lee, but that Lee's book was not really reflective of how good he was.

Hy finally agreed to see him, called me and said he saw the promise in the guy, but he just wasn't ready for C/D. So Lee, his friend Blake Hunter and my husband created a campaign called "Hire the Hairy". Eventually Hy capitulated and hired the hairy Lee (must have been the cake shaped like a TV set with Lee's picture on it that Ilene baked that did it).

Here's a picture of me from a series done by one of the trade mags on me. (I'm president of the Southern CA Broadcasters Assn.

Posted by alburty at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

And welcome to Stuart Freedman ...

I ran the Art Studio for Chiat/Day in Toronto from opening until 1992 or so. Was a very rich time in my working life. Heaven, Hell and just about all points in between.

Posted by alburty at 08:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A lost alum has been found. Jennifer Wilson!

I've been bouncing around the bandwidth but have landed here, in the climate change carbon emissions market. Still in Toronto, but any who remember us from C/D Toronto, my son, Cameron, who was 3 when we left for Weiss Whitten Stagliano in '94, just finished his first season as a model in Milan.

Posted by alburty at 08:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

inter national est (yes, that's how they spell it) is a trade magazine that is dedicated to "the business needs and challenges of international marketing and media professionals as they participate in multinational branding and campaign building."

Every year, they have their own "Oscars," announcing a list of international marketers who are truly the people behind the year’s outstanding marketing achievements.

Paul Greenberg, former media director at C/D NY is on this year's list for his work promoting the Big Apple throughout the world. Read all about it here!

Posted by alburty at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tom Harbeck has been at Applegate Farms for a year. They produce all those sausage products that are nitrate-free and heatlhy. [Shudder. I'm a Jimmy Dean fan.] His one-year contract is up and he's looking for something new ...

My year appointment at Applegate Farms will end mid February ‘08, so I’m looking for my next challenge. Applegate is ready to hire someone with deeper CPG/retail background with natural to grocery channel experience. This has been a great experience – I made the right impact on Applegate at the right time – and Steve McDonnell, Applegate’s owner/founder, promises to be a strong reference.

I established an authentic, competitive and penetrating brand position now being translated into stories for the web and for Sales as the brand moves to mass market. (I wrote a Manifesto entitled We Take the Mystery Out of Meat that I guarantee will get you to stand up and salute something.)

I overhauled lines of packaging, developed consistent product claims integrated across all product lines, found the perfect resource to define/design our new website, and trained a solid and inspired Marketing & Design team now strategically focused on Applegate's Sales Force.

So I’m putting myself on your radar should you know brands/companies seeking help with:

§ Indistinct or poorly positioned brands

§ Strategically unfocused and un-prioritized marketing activity

§ Sluggish but capable teams

§ A derivative or uninspired look and feel

I can jump start any and all of these opportunities.

Thanks for giving this some thought.

Tom

And here is Tom's resume

Posted by alburty at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Received a great email from Karen Vogel ...

Hey Steve, I'm still around. Name now is Karen Cayley (nee Vogel) and I worked for C/D from about 1970-76? (Memory is going fast at this point.) Anyway, I was there when we lost Honda and almost threw in the towel. That's probably when I fell in love with Jay, because he was so smart-assy when he got rejected. Plus, he said to someone that "Karen would throw herself in front of a train for this agency." Finally, somebody appreciated my loyalty.

Anyway, it's been a hundred years. I've lived all over the country, had kids, still have a husband (bless his heart) and am in the process of rebuilding the house we just lost in the California Wildfires of October 2007. I would love to hear from Sandy Lovejoy, Manny Rappaport, Hy Yablonka, Amy Miyano, Barry Wetmore and some others I can't think of names for. I can tell that most of the Jayday site are New Yorkers, but WE WERE THE GROUNDBREAKERS! I would love to hear from anyone who worked on Olympic Blvd., in particular. Or the Biltmore, that was when we got classy and I left. Didn't like the fact that suddenly you had to have an MBA to be anybody, and the competition was too tough. So, see if you can find anybody who remembers me. Here are some first names: Regina, Tom, Gene, Elaine, Pam, Monty McKinney (I already know why he won't respond... I loved that guy).

Well, now you have your work cut out for you. Thanks for doing this website, it could bring a lot of good folks back together. And Jay would be proud. (Although he'd never admit it!)

Karen

If you'd like to write to Karen, her address is

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

Boy, I can remember the name Robin Haggard, but can't form a picture in my brain of what she looked like. Sigh, I believe it's the gradual decline of my left front cerebral cortex due to age.

I was at Chiat/LA from 1988-1992. I was the VP/ senior account planner on Nissan Regional Marketing from 1988-1992. I have been a headhunter for account planners for the past ten years. Until a year ago I lived in Costa Mesa, CA with my husband of 18 years. Last year we moved to Phoenix for his job.

Posted by alburty at 07:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Welcome to Polly Hall, who now goes by the name of Polly Simpkins ...

I don't think you remember me but my name is polly hall, I worked at Chiat/Day in New York for a couple of years with doreen rivituso, jon spurney, peter cline, chris mendola etc... I think it was the late 80's-

I would love to be on the list. Chris mendola married my best friend and they live in amsterdam. I am going to see them in a few days. I often think of the chiat day years and will always be grateful to Jay Chiat for all the good times I had and all the people I met.

Thanks for doing that=just reading the names made me smile. I worked for Mary Maroun and I am sure she is still going strong somewhere!

I hope you are well and peace to you wherever you are:)

Polly Hall

Posted by alburty at 07:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alums pop up in my mailbox on a daily basis. Here's one from Chris W. King.

I just heard about jayday.org from a former co-worker of mine at Chiat/Day in Los Angeles. I used to work there over six years ago. It was one of my first jobs out of college and loved it so much. I started out working the Greeter's Desk and then became the assistant in New Business Development. I worked alongside Laurie Coots and Karin Herz (I believe she is married now) for about a year and a half. It was a fun and crazy time in my life.

I should probably tell all who care what I am doing now. After I left Chiat, I went to work for a reality TV production company..yep, I helped ruin scripted TV as we know it...sorry. I helped develop series and specials for both cable and network television. My biggest show, which is like in its 7th season now is called "Cowboy U" over on CMT...yeeehaaa! I left that company in 2005 and spent time writing scripts on my own. I also went back to my love for acting. While doing this I had to pay the bills so I learned how to make a mean martini. In 2006 I joined a rising new media company called GoTV. There I helped create branded entertainment for Procter and Gamble. Here's where my skills in New Business at Chiat came in handy. My two partners and I created both scripted and realty-type series for a number of P&G brands. Just this January I moved back to my love of film and took a job as Director of Development for Allentown Productions. We are located at the Universal lot - so I love to watch the trams go by my office. We have a number of film and television projects in various stages. It is truly my dream job. Oh, and I also have been acting as well. My latest was playing a high school student and family friend of Rob Lowe's in an episode of "Brothers and Sisters"...the funny thing being that I've attended my 10 year high school reunion a few years back. Next, I will be in a film based on a comic book that goes into production this month. I hope that helped catch everyone up on my escapades. I also attached a picture to help remember who I am.

Cheers,

Chris

Posted by alburty at 07:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have some sad news to report about a beloved alum.

Michael Hollander, who was Product Information Manager on the Nissan account in the Los Angeles offices from 1987-1994, has been diagnosed with mesothelioma. It is a form of cancer that affects the linings of the body’s internal organs.

It is most likely caused by exposure to asbestos, and as Michael has written to me …

Yes, I was exposed to asbestos in the U.S. Navy (spent 8 years working for Uncle Sam - three tours to Vietnam included). Very likely the cause.

He starts chemo on Tuesday. We wish him well.

The author and paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould contracted this same disease in 1982 and managed to hang on for 20 years. As Michael has said …

I have plenty of work to do in the next 20 years, including raising my 16-year-old and caring for my wife. May you and yours have all the best.

If you would like to write to Michael, his email address is …

And here is a link to a previous entry on this site about Michael.

Posted by alburty at 09:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)