James Durfee
Carl Ally Inc. President, Copy Director
chuukyuu What do you think of the future of advertising?
Mr.Durfee Advertising will get better. Last generation we advertised to 12 years olds. This generation we've been advertising to consumers. Now we're going to have to start advertising to critics. Critics are consumers who grew up on a steady diet of tasteless, boring television commercials. They instinctivelv tune out the bad and tune in the good. As soon as there are more critics than consumers, advertising will get better. Even the old hard line agencies and clients will knuckle under to it.
chuukyuu Do you think that most of the talented writers are working under the circumstances in which they can demonstrate their talents in the United States? If not, what is the obstacle?
Mr.Durfee Yes, there are obstacles in many agencies. That is why so many new agencies are being formed today. I dare say that I could go into anyone of the five biggest agencies today and pull out enough talent to start an agency nearly as good as ours. Most of our people, in fact, came from big agencies.
None of them were as good there as they are here. As for the obstacle, I'd say it's the advertising business itself. It's a hybrid. Part art, part show business and part business business. The big, old agencies are run mostly by business men who became savvy enough in the arts to survive. The newer, smaller agencies are run mostly by artisans who are becoming savvy enough in business to survive. We need more of the latter and fewer of the former. But even that won't bring utopia because there isn't a copywriter alive today who thinks he has enough freedom. Including this one.
chuukyuu Do you have in Carl Ally Inc. a particular system that lets a talented copywriter demonstrate his best?
Mr.Durfee Yes. We make them, along with the account group, responsible for the clients bottom line. Profits. It's amazing how much talent a copywriter can demonstrate when he knows his responsibility goes beyond making ads.
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