What do Hugh Hefner, Jim Henson, and the guy who invented the Egg McMuffin have in common? They all got their start in advertising.
Some of the world's most famous authors, actors, directors, and pornography mavens got their start in advertising. They just didn't stay in the business.
While many approached it with gusto — rising to the C-suite and creating some of the most iconic slogans of all times — and others saw it as a means to an end until they got their first big break in another field.
Salman Rushdie
Salman Rushdie might have received numerous awards for his literature, but he failed a copy test at JWT 40 years ago.
"The only question I remember was they asked you to imagine that you met a Martian who mysteriously spoke English and you had to explain to them in less than 100 words how to make toast," he told the IAPI during the Advertising Effectiveness Awards.
But Rushdie did snag freelance copywriter gigs for a decade at Charles Barker and Ogilvy & Mather, creating the tagline "That'll do nicely" for American Express and "Irresistibubble" for Aero bars.
John Hegarty of BBH critiqued Rushdie for not talking about his ad career during his success as a writer, adding, "He did write crap ads ... admittedly."
Here's an ad for Fresh Cream Cake's "Naughty but Nice" advertisement. Rushdie came up with the tag line.
James Patterson
The thriller writer spent his early career as a bigwig in the ad world.
Patterson worked at J. Walter Thompson and rose from copywriter to become the agency's youngest creative director, and was eventually CEO of JWT North America.
He also came up with famous ad slogans including "I'm a Toys 'R' Us Kid."
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