EVERTISING
Or is your advertising just keeping your agency in business?
Great advertising and OK advertising have one thing in common: there’s no difference in cost.
So why pay for OK when you can get great for the same price?
Let me show you the gap between great and OK in three simple steps. First, let me look at any advertising campaign you’re running. Then, give me a week to come up with another one. And then, compare.
After 30 years in the business, I actually know how to grab, sell, charm and move people -- no matter what the product or service. This knowledge sits where it counts: deep in my bones.
One example: my work for Absolut Vodka (you’ll see some samples soon). It took the brand from nowhere to #1 in four years. Today the campaign is still running after 20 years. Can you think of any other campaign -- ever -- that’s done this?
That’s the difference between great and OK. Between Evertising and Advertising. The difference you get from using me, a seasoned old salt who can make your advertising appetizing again.
Let’s face it, there are no more than a hundred creatives in the U.S. with the talent to cook up a great campaign. So why not hire one of them in person? Contact me at everteden@earthlink.net or 212-673-6386 if you feel any sudden pangs of hunger.
Meanwhile, take a look at my ads. You’ll see ten short paragraphs interwoven between them – the story of my life in advertising. By all means, skip the story and just look at the pictures. Then ask yourself: if this is Evertising, shouldn’t I get myself a taste?
So why pay for OK when you can get great for the same price?
Let me show you the gap between great and OK in three simple steps. First, let me look at any advertising campaign you’re running. Then, give me a week to come up with another one. And then, compare.
After 30 years in the business, I actually know how to grab, sell, charm and move people -- no matter what the product or service. This knowledge sits where it counts: deep in my bones.
One example: my work for Absolut Vodka (you’ll see some samples soon). It took the brand from nowhere to #1 in four years. Today the campaign is still running after 20 years. Can you think of any other campaign -- ever -- that’s done this?
That’s the difference between great and OK. Between Evertising and Advertising. The difference you get from using me, a seasoned old salt who can make your advertising appetizing again.
Let’s face it, there are no more than a hundred creatives in the U.S. with the talent to cook up a great campaign. So why not hire one of them in person? Contact me at everteden@earthlink.net or 212-673-6386 if you feel any sudden pangs of hunger.
Meanwhile, take a look at my ads. You’ll see ten short paragraphs interwoven between them – the story of my life in advertising. By all means, skip the story and just look at the pictures. Then ask yourself: if this is Evertising, shouldn’t I get myself a taste?
I GOT MY START IN APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA.
I joined the ad business in South Africa, working for an agency on the top floor of the tallest building in Johannesburg. Off to an exciting start. You better believe it. One day in 1976 we watched from our high white perch as huge clouds of smoke curled in the distance. It was the Soweto Uprising: cops killing black school children by the hundreds. Welcome to advertising under fascism. You’re in the Wild West, except the bad guys always win.
AN AGENCY WITHOUT ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES?
I discovered the creative joys of advertising at a South African agency started by three art directors. Talk about the Wild West. For two years the business ran without any account executives. They sent secretaries over to the clients to drop off our work. “If I could train a dog to do it, I’d send a dog,” said Creative Director Alan Bunton.
THE MOST MAVERICK MENTOR.
A maverick, Alan Bunton fired any client who rejected our ads; he believed that much in what we did. He pre-timed our work days: you got two hours to write a radio spot, two days for a campaign, and if you couldn’t do it brilliantly in that time, he fired you, too. I learned how to make money from creativity: you can discipline it to be incredibly productive. In five years we became the biggest agency in the land. Alan Bunton was my #1 mentor. I still live by his battle cries: “Creative is king” and “Bullshit baffles brains” (the right approach always sells).
THE INSPIRATION OF TEARGAS.
Sometime later, at my own agency, where we did employ account executives, I saw black cops beat black teenagers while white cops watched smiling. A teargas canister rolled into our front door. A month later I was in New York. Welcome to freedom. I started two decades of work for NY’s most creative agencies: Chiat/Day, DDB, Hal Riney, BBDO, TBWA.
“EVERT, I'LL MAKE YOU A STAR.” - Jay Chiat.
At Chiat/Day NY, my energy galvanized the agency to the point that Jay Chiat quipped we were doing “Evertising.” My #2 mentor said, “I’ll make you a star.” But when I asked him for more money, he started yelling. So did I. Our yelling duel resulted in termination. The mistake of my career? Hey, each of us has to calculate the price of our own success. Meanwhile my work won the Holland America Cruise business, and the Effie for best campaign by measurable results.
ABSOLUT SUCCESS.
At TBWA I teamed up with a terrific art director, Geoff Hayes. In four years our ads for Absolut Vodka propelled it from nowhere to #1. Yes, I put Absolut Vodka on the map. What can I do for you?
SAVING LIVES.
Back in Africa, the Ethiopians were starving. Our pro bono campaign for Unicef Cards got two awards from The One Show, but saving lives felt better.
TWELVE WINS IN TWO YEARS.
After ten years in New York, I went freelance. I've been my own boss ever since, except for a staff job in the late nineties at Long Haymes Carr, NC. For our new business pitches, our Creative Director invented a Gulf War strategy: “Overwhelming Onslaught.” In two years we won every account we pitched. Twelve in a row. I ended up knowing exactly how to run a winning pitch, from the first question to the final leave-behind. My #3 mentor was Jim White, now CD, Doe Anderson, Louisville, KY.
ONE FOOT IN THE ARTS.
I’m one of those creatives whose energy spills over into other worlds, which then spices up my ad work. I did my one-man show, “How to Cook a Man,” in New York, London, Germany and South Africa. I toured with Lollapalooza as a slam poet. The UN asked me to perform for world leaders on Aids Day 2001. These work-the-audience experiences have enriched my advertising. Today, when I write a commercial, I see the audience react in front of me. When I present, I put on a performance, to weave a spell that makes clients buy.
YOUR VISION.
On 9/11, I watched from my rooftop as smoke curled from the WTC. Shades of being back in South Africa again. And much food for thought. Now I’m hungry to join a team again -- and inspire an agency or a client on a daily basis. If you have a vision for a high-intensity workplace that sells award-winning work, or if you’re a client whose vision calls for great instead of OK, think about doing some Evertising. Let’s talk -- and share war stories.
RESUME
EVERT CILLIERS
CREATIVE DIRECTOR/COPYWRITER
233 East 3rd St #5-D NYC 10009 evertcilliers@yahoo.com
See my print portfolio at http://evertising.blogspot.com
Freelance Advertising Copywriter, NYC 1998--present:
Freelance copywriter for King & Cabouli Direct (Pharmaceuticals), Puckett & Associates (CBS), McCann-Erickson (B2B), Blur (urban market), Doe-Anderson, White/Baldacci, Doremus, Quantum Leap.
Long Haymes Carr, NC, Associate Creative Director & VP 1996--1997:
Developed and supervised advertising for BellSouth; Hanes; Thomasville Furniture; Wachovia Bank; Nascar.
Freelance Copywriter and Proofreader, NYC 1988--1995:
BBDO, Hal Riney, Levine Huntley, Chiat/Day. Legal proofreading.
DDB: Needham, NYC, Associate Creative Director 1987:
Developed and supervised advertising for Excedrin, VW, Michelin, GTE, Cigna, Seagram.
TBWA, NYC, Vice-President 1984--1987:
Developed and supervised advertising for Absolut Vodka, Eagle Snacks, Goldstar TV, Carlsberg Beer, Elephant Malt Liquor, Bombay Gin.
Chiat/Day, NYC, Copy Chief 1982--1984:
Developed and supervised advertising for GE Corporate, Suntory Liquors, Holland America Cruises, Psychology Today.
Advertising Awards: One Show, Clio, Effie, Athena, Andy, Kelly finalist.
Advertising Career Highlights:
I. Mentored by legendary Advertising Hall-of-Famer Jay Chiat.
2. In the 90s, I helped an agency win 12 pieces of new business in 2 years, doubling its size.
3. In the 80s, my Absolut Vodka campaign work took the brand in 4 years from nowhere to #1.
References:
To speak to someone who's employed me, call Pauline Cabouli at 914-238-6581 or Bill Puckett at 703-328-9192.
Education:
B.A. (University of S.A.). Diploma London School of Film Technique (taught by Mike Leigh who directed "Secrets and Lies," "Naked," "Topsy-Turvy," "Vera Drake").
CREATIVE DIRECTOR/COPYWRITER
233 East 3rd St #5-D NYC 10009 evertcilliers@yahoo.com
See my print portfolio at http://evertising.blogspot.com
Freelance Advertising Copywriter, NYC 1998--present:
Freelance copywriter for King & Cabouli Direct (Pharmaceuticals), Puckett & Associates (CBS), McCann-Erickson (B2B), Blur (urban market), Doe-Anderson, White/Baldacci, Doremus, Quantum Leap.
Long Haymes Carr, NC, Associate Creative Director & VP 1996--1997:
Developed and supervised advertising for BellSouth; Hanes; Thomasville Furniture; Wachovia Bank; Nascar.
Freelance Copywriter and Proofreader, NYC 1988--1995:
BBDO, Hal Riney, Levine Huntley, Chiat/Day. Legal proofreading.
DDB: Needham, NYC, Associate Creative Director 1987:
Developed and supervised advertising for Excedrin, VW, Michelin, GTE, Cigna, Seagram.
TBWA, NYC, Vice-President 1984--1987:
Developed and supervised advertising for Absolut Vodka, Eagle Snacks, Goldstar TV, Carlsberg Beer, Elephant Malt Liquor, Bombay Gin.
Chiat/Day, NYC, Copy Chief 1982--1984:
Developed and supervised advertising for GE Corporate, Suntory Liquors, Holland America Cruises, Psychology Today.
Advertising Awards: One Show, Clio, Effie, Athena, Andy, Kelly finalist.
Advertising Career Highlights:
I. Mentored by legendary Advertising Hall-of-Famer Jay Chiat.
2. In the 90s, I helped an agency win 12 pieces of new business in 2 years, doubling its size.
3. In the 80s, my Absolut Vodka campaign work took the brand in 4 years from nowhere to #1.
References:
To speak to someone who's employed me, call Pauline Cabouli at 914-238-6581 or Bill Puckett at 703-328-9192.
Education:
B.A. (University of S.A.). Diploma London School of Film Technique (taught by Mike Leigh who directed "Secrets and Lies," "Naked," "Topsy-Turvy," "Vera Drake").
