Doyle Dane Bernbach Inc. Vice President, Copy Supervisor
chuukyuu I have heard that you've traveled to more than fifty different countries, but are those experiences profitable when you write copy?
Mrs. Parker It's true I've done a great deal of traveling-probably more pure pleasure traveling than most of the creative people here. But I believe an observant person can find more copywriting inspiration in his own house---or his own city---than in the Himalayas or on the Amazon River.
There is almost a danger in traveling a great deal to foreign places. You become influenced by exotic things that have nothing to do with the product you're selling. You are tempted to use sophisticated jet-set props and language.
You say to yourself, "What a fantastic place! Wouldn't it be great to shoot a commercial here!"
And you start to assume that the people you arc talking to in your ads arc the Benutiful People---when, in reality they are Brooklyn housewives. So sometimes wide travel can be a drawback, because it removes you from the world of the typical American consumer, within which your advertising must operate.
I think my travel has helped me only in that it has made me a happier, more complete person, because it is my joy and my hobby. In contrast, I can think of another writer---a superb prize~winningwriter---who has never been outside the United States. His hobby is fishing and bowling.
