New book tells funny stories about one man’s successful advertising career
Ron Elgin may be one of the luckiest people who ever lived, and he knows it. He has been fortunate to be surrounded by smart people with brilliant ideas, including his business partner, David Syferd, who first came up with the idea of setting up his own advertising agency. Huckster tells the story of that agency from the womb to the grave and the role Ron played in its success. Established in 1981, Elgin Syferd was a powerful advertising agency in the Pacific Northwest for thirty years. Ron was also lucky enough or smart enough to marry “Beautiful Bonnie” so that she could keep him at bay when she needed it, hire people smarter than him, and have enough common sense not to hire idiots.
Fortunately for us, Ron was also smart enough to write this book and do it well. He didn’t want to write a dry “How To” book, so he wrote this collection of stories about the history of his advertising agency, full of wise words on how to run a business and also a ton of funny stories that will make anyone laugh regardless. of any interest in advertising.
The story begins when Dave first suggests to Ron that they start an agency, saying, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could have a company that’s always as nice as me and you try to be?” I suspect Ron is actually very nice, but he doesn’t take credit for being so. Despite that, and his luck aside, it is clear that he worked very hard to make Elgin Syferd a success from the start. In fact, he worked hard from a very young age. As it tells us:
“I grew up living in a low-income housing project in Seattle that probably played a part in my thirst for wealth throughout my life. As a child, I helped our family where I could by collecting and selling bottles of beer from the neighbors. yards and eventually I graduated to slaying rats at Fisher Flour Mill for fifty cents apiece. I got my first hourly jobs while in high school. The two longest-lasting were the night shift on the railroad as a railroad clerk. playground (also aptly called “grasshopper”) and after school at a service station to pump gasoline and change oil. “
From there, Ron went on to college, interned at a successful advertising agency, spent time in service during the Vietnam War, returned to advertising, and eventually co-founded Elgin Syferd, bringing a wealth of experience with him, along with some arrogance, a soft heart and a great sense of humor.
The stories Ron shares about advertising are that rare combination of true entertainment and education. For example, I loved the story about the airplane advertisement that I was convinced was great. The ad had a picture of a plane taking off and a plane landing; unfortunately the customer told him that it looked like the plane was crashing. Unwilling to change it, Ron went to the airport to show the ad to the plane’s passengers and learn their reactions. When he finished, a man threatened to kick his butt if he didn’t stop scaring people and Ron ended up getting arrested by airport security. The lesson: never be too arrogant to listen to others.
I don’t want to rob you of the pleasure of laughing at the many other antics of Ron and his colleagues, but if you are looking to learn something by reading this book, Ron summarizes his stories with many key points, such as “There are a million ways to solve a particular problem. “,” Doing a good job is not enough to keep good clients. Constant attention, contact, cultivation, and asking the right questions are essential “and” If an employee is reluctant to be replaced in any agency business, such Maybe it’s time to reassess that person’s future at the company. ” Some of these lessons are common sense, some are like lightbulbs lit for Ron, and some were lessons learned from the mistakes he made.
Ron is serious about his business, but he’s not above finding humor in everything, and you’ll only have to read this book to believe the crazy clients and co-workers he used to deal with. One customer invented a shield to prevent brain cancer from cell phones, and another decided to breastfeed his son during a presentation. Then there was the woman who was dying of cancer and wanted to work for the ad agency, without revealing what her full schedule was, and you will never forget Ron’s client and friend who thought he was God. There were plenty of good times at the ad agencies, too: golf outings, boat parties, and some fun business trips where Ron or a colleague occasionally had too many drinks. I swear if I hadn’t known better, I would have thought the writers from NBC’s The Office visited Ron’s agency for material.
Regardless, Ron rarely got into trouble, except with his wife. In fact, Beautiful Bonnie sometimes got Ron in trouble, such as when during a trip to the USSR he decided to help illegally buy baby formula for Jewish mothers, which could have caused the couple to be sent to a gulag. Even so, Ron continued to travel with her, to China, Bangkok, Singapore and the Kentucky Derby, all told in the book, and all hilarious.
Despite the often self-deprecating humor in these pages, I really appreciate the honesty Ron shows about his business, the mistakes he made, what he learned, and the general sense of goodwill about work and life that he presents. Anyone in business will appreciate the stories and lessons. People involved in or seeking a career in advertising will especially enjoy this book; They will even find it revealing and enlightening about how the world of advertising works. Huckster would be a perfect gift for anyone about to enter the business world, as well as anyone who loves a good story.