The talk of the town in Manhattan’s backstabbing, gossipy advertising business is the extraordinary success of Peter Rogers, 43, who has built a booming business grossing $10 million by breaking almost all the rules of the game. He has never solicited an account, yet the roster of clients he represents—including Bulgari, the famous jewelers, Danskin’s nylon tights, and Fashion Designer Pauline Trigère—has grown from ten to 32 in the past two years.
Rogers avoids Madison Avenue’s incestuous inner circles like the plague because “most people turn out anything to make a buck.” He has dared to fire big accounts like glamorous Gucci (because the Italian company wanted its luggage photographed in a certain style). He despises hard-sell advertising of the Charmin TV variety, and has no intention of growing just for growth’s sake (“Anybody who says you have to branch into other fields is a dope”). All this he has accomplished with a lean, highly paid staff of just ten people. In short, Rogers is proving that the “boutique” ad agency, which flourished mightily in the 1960s but has since been disappearing under cost pressures, can still maintain a place.
Rogers specializes in memorable headlines. Word of mouth recently enticed Vidal Sassoon, Inc., the Los Angeles-based hairstyling and hair-care products business, to offer Rogers a $4 million account if he could come up with a snappy head. Rogers’ creation: “If you don’t look good, we don’t look good.” Some of Rogers’ other sparkling one-liners include “It’s got to be a Maximilian” for Maximilian furs; “When your own initials are enough” for Bottega Veneta, the leather goods company; “You never had it so good for so little” (Gloria Vanderbilt $26 blouses); “There’s a little Blanche in every woman” for Blanche lingerie.
Rogers agency ads for Blackglama mink coats picture celebrities such as Lillian Hellman, Shirley MacLaine, Brigitte Bardot, Beverly Sills and Lena Horne in curious poses, always unidentified, wearing the $7,000 garment, under the head: “What becomes a legend most?” This emphasis on mystery and glamour is characteristic of the agency’s work. And the style pays off. Blackglama sells eight of every ten mink coats marketed in the U.S.
Rogers, who was born in Hattiesburg, Miss., began as a $40-a-week runner, handling practically every job before he became art director at the Trahey Advertising Agency. He bought the Trahey firm in 1974, renamed it Peter Rogers Associates, and has since increased billings by 300%. But he intends to stay small. Says he: “We make just as much money, and still have control over the work.”
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