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More and more, that phrase has come to mean ads with a sense of entertainment and humor. One of Benton & Bowles's most successful TV ads, for example, features the bull-necked Korean who played the karate expert Odd Job in Goldfinger. Seized with a coughing fit, he nearly chops down his house with involuntary hand swipes before a swig of Vick's Formula 44 cough medicine calms him down. Even Ted Bates & Co., perennial champion of the hard sell, is going soft. It has dropped the sledgehammer animations it long used to illustrate (and often give) headache pain, and has turned instead to mildly preposterous household scenes for its Anacin ads.
$50,000 a Minute. Although some admen, like Foote, Cone & Belding's Fairfax Cone, warn that "advertising should never be so much fun that it interferes with selling," the creative men are unquestionably having all the fun. One Madison Avenue recruiter complains that today a hard-up agency may "have to pay $50,000 to get a man worth $18,000." But says Richard Rich, 37, of Wells, Rich, Greene, "a minute on the air costs $50,000, and that is an enormous responsibility."
Despite the risks, it can be immensely profitable. Adman Marion Harper Jr. became head of McCann-Erickson in 1948 at 32, spun the outfit into the vast Interpublic Group (advertising, public relations, market research) and racked up billings of $700 million a year by last fall. When Interpublic went deep into debt, he was eased into a powerless chairmanship (TIME, Dec. 15). But when he was eased out altogether two weeks ago, Harper was not exactly out of pocket. Interpublic was reported to have bought back his 100,000 shares in the company, worth $2,200,000 at book value. Harper also had an employment contract that guaranteed his salary ($250,000 last year) and a percentage of profits until 1985. Because Interpublic's bankers were leery of making any refinancing plans until that contract was settled, it has been the subject of hard negotiations.
At 51, he is not about to retire. Like any self-respecting adman these days, he is not really out of a job; he is simply getting ready to set up shop. "In due course," Harper announced, "I shall make known the program of Marion Harper & Associates Inc."