Illustrating, But Not For Public Viewing
I was working for pharmaceutical advertising agencies, and in those years, very little reached the public. Most of the promotional work and exhibits for trade shows were addressed only to the medical community. The goal was to introduce the merits of a product by personal interviews with doctors and their medical teams. The Product Representative made the contacts directly with the doctors. Our agency’s promotional team provided all of the details of the product for the doctor to know — so he/she could suggest the product, and personally inform a patient of its use.
This was before the pharmaceutical companies began selling directly to the public through print and live action ads in the media. The public has become aware of various pharmaceutical products shown in printed ads or presented in a few minutes in TV spots. Some viewers then feel, that they know what they need. With the cost of public advertising in every type of media, the price of the products climbed. In some other advanced countries — if a medication needs a physician’s written prescription — then advertising that product is not allowed.
Looking back, there seemed to be a lot of time and money spent to aid the product rep for each meeting, but compared to the medical industry today these campaigns were small and simple.
So here are some campaigns from those early days when the doctor was the pharmaceutical company’s main customer.
Working for the agency’s clients, several products were created: folders, medical journal ads, promotional presentations and campaign concepts. Each needed the image of a doctor, a white doctor. To simplify, a doctor was a man and a nurse was a woman. Only a group of medical workers or group of patients could show a mixture of genders, races and ages.
Presentations to doctors, medical teams and clinics — were made with slide shows. They were timed to the script on an audiocassette. (Video presentations did not exist, yet.) A large amount of slides were needed. Here is the collection (from March of 1977) of 72 slides that took 75 hours for me to accomplish. The camera-ready art was needed for the launch of Syntex’s Brevicon birth control pill.
Also I show just some of the 40 slides for CIBA (early 1990s) — with the doctor in his white coat. This series (and the following two) were accomplished with a fine point felt pen and various brands of markers. This left me with no possibility to correct any error or bad color choice. If I made a mistake, the frame would have to be drawn and colored again. This was a bit stressful but I found the method a quick way to produce the art for slides that were to be seen very quickly.
This next slide presentation was an addition to a campaign theme, “FOOD FOR THOUGHT”. The folders of printed product information (that I show below) introduced the slide presentation. A b/w storyboard planned the images with the script.
The presentation was directed to the medical specialist, the dermatologist. He would have known the differences in the two skin medications: Syntex’s LIDEX and Syntex’s SYNEMOL.
The art for these 71 slides took me 82 hours to render. The two doctors, older white men, were created to suggest that they had equal stature of their established practices to make their comparison look balanced — yet each physician GP or Derm (general practitioner or dermatologist) were explained to be very different.
My drawings show that the Derm doctor owns an expensive car and also he is a member of a men’s club— suggesting his financial success is more than the GP’s. If I would have been told to show the Derm as a female, some other hint of wealth would have been more difficult to visually suggest.
For this next presentation for Cutter Labs, we show trees and bees. Other slides with more written messages brought the total number of slides needed, to 20. The year was 1977. Today, even the “anesthesiologist bee” and the “purchasing agent bee” could’ve been a female.
Pfizer’s 1999 Super hero presentation. Zithromax (Azithromycin) is an antibiotic. It’s widely used to treat chest infections such as pneumonia, infections of the nose and throat such as sinus infection (sinusitis), skin infections, Lyme disease, and some sexually transmitted infections.
I presented the first characters in rough sketch to the agency team. I suggested a female rep in addition to Johnny Rep. The Doc is the “super hero.
The only times that there was need to show female doctor (or is she a technician or nurse practitioner?) was when the medical subject, this time for public viewing, would be for a female issue.
The last example is a brochure (August 1976 Cutter Medical) that was not for the public — but for a personal, doctor-patient meeting. I could have shown a woman as the doctor but since there were more male doctors in the US, that determined this choice.
The purpose of these quizzes below was for the product representatives to view a doctor’s surroundings to know more about his or her interests. With that, the product rep would be able to create a closer relationship. The first card shows the male doctor. The second example — (finally!) a woman is shown as “The Doctor”! Then the third scene shows a lot of females (but in so called “women’s jobs”) and there, in the distance, is the doctor in his office. Today, we might see a man as the receptionist, or at a computer. The older woman seems correct, yet the doc could’ve been a woman and the patient, a man.
Lastly, I found this sample (below) of an assignment that I had at Vicom Associates. I couldn’t remember why I was asked to illustrate a ‘Campbell Kid”! (Was it a boy or girl?) So I emailed the creative director from that time — (he now lives in NYC) — to get the answer.
Hi Les,
Now, I am sure that you are not traveling the world. So can I ask you (?) was this art for internal use or was it a job? It is on a top-folded card with no message inside.
Ann
His answer:
Hi Ann,
You’ve got quite an archive there! That illustration was part of a pitch we did for Campbell’s Soup. That’s a Campbell Kid as an MD. We were talking to the company about communicating with the healthcare sector. It was a pitch in concert with FCB consumer. The business didn’t happen.
Best, Les
Playing “doctor” — BOY OR GIRL?
And so, regarding the issue about illustrating a male or
female doctor?
Now, here is a solution — like this Campbell Kid,
the gender is in question.
Ann Thompson
Are You Laughing At My Art?
The work of fine art humorist,
Jeff Leedy
Portrait of the Artist as a young dog.
Jeff Leedy is recognized as one of the top fine art humorists in the country. Through hundreds of outdoor art festivals, collectors, numerous gallery accounts and the licensing of his images onto products, he has built a national following. In his book “Are You Laughing At My Art?” he devotes a full page to why he is funny. It reads,
“You see, God gave me this strange set of contact lenses and this is how I see life.”
Some History: One of Leedy’s life goals has been to spread laughter in the world. Because of his fun-loving connection with people who come to enjoy and purchase his work, he and his wife and business partner Elaine, chose self-publishing to maintain that special contact. In 1988 Leedy introduced his now-famed “Demando Cat” at the premier Sausalito Arts Festival. Cat lovers four-deep, screamed, “I must have that print — that’s my cat.”
Since then, Leedy has self-published a myriad of open and ltd. edition prints, including his best-selling signature piece “Counsel Approaching the Bench”, a courtroom scene depicting two shark fins heading towards the judge.
This work has had 6 incarnations and 5 editions have sold out not to mention the originals as well. “I’m having trouble keeping up with all the attorneys they’re turning out,” Leedy quips.
Born in New York at a very early age, Leedy was enrolled by his father at age 12 at the venerable Art Student’s League in New York City. This is where he learned how to draw anything from any angle. After getting his BFA degree at Syracuse University School of Fine Art he was drawn to NYC and San Francisco and spent 15 years in advertising where he was told, “It would be the most fun you could have with your clothes on.” He’s worked at top ad agencies, such as Young & Rubicam, creating TV and print campaigns and picked up a prized Clio and other awards along the way.
Advertising
Y&R NYC. Art Director 1964 – 1974
HD&B. San Francisco 1974 – 1978 Associate Creative Director
Won a Clio -(Straw Hat Pizza)
Cole & Weber Associate Creative Director 1985 – 1987
Freelance illustration 1978 – 1984
Clients: Straw Hat Pizza, Qantas, Roll, IBM, BofA, Grape Advisory Board
Jeff Leedy Studios ‑Fine Art Humorist 1987-
Exhibited at over 400 art festivals in 23 states
Best in Show Fairhope, AL.
Best in Drawing Sausalito Art Festival
Exhibited at Sausalito Art Festival (#1 show in US) for 17 years straight
Owned & Operated Art That Makes You Laugh© galleries
Sausalito, CA 1998 – 2008 — Mendocino, CA 2003 – 2009
Published: The Check is in The Mail. (1980)
“Are You Laughing At My Art?” Sold out (2004)
“There’s A Person Inside Every Dog” (2016)
“There’s A Person Inside Every Cat”. (2016)
In 1974 he relocated and fell in love with Sausalito’s waterfront charm. He worked at HD+B as associate creative director and then four years later, he became a freelance illustrator specializing in humorous illustration, à la New Yorker. At one point he had 5 art reps across the US.
In 1987 he won a gold medal from the NYC Society of Illustrators show Humor ‘87 out of 3300 worldwide entries. In 1989 he was an invited guest exhibitor to the prestigious House of Humour & Satire in the country that brought us yogurt: Bulgaria. It was the most amazing career experience for him and jet-propelled his career forward. He was becoming international.
Why Art That Makes You Laugh makes you laugh:
People who are funny don’t take classes for that. They are wired that way. Being a humorist and an artist, it was not satisfying to just do cartoons- they’re not very artistic or painterly. And serious painting was OK but to Leedy, it did not allow his other strength, his humor, to come through. And when Leedy broke onto the art scene in 1987, he was a very unique artist who asked on his display banner, “Art You Laughing At My Art?” The public, expecting only serious art to be available at art festivals wandered over, curious. What they saw and how they reacted was history. Leedy has in his own words, “Exposed himself at some of the best art festivals in the country”. The police did not seem to notice.
Jeff and his wife and supportive business partner Elaine opened their first humor gallery called Art That Makes You laugh® in 1996 on the Sausalito waterfront. It became a hugely popular destination for 12 years to tens of thousands of Sausalito visitors. In 2000 they moved their home north to the Mendocino Coast where they opened a second waterfront gallery in the Village of Mendocino, which they held for another 5 years.
MeME
Jeff and his wife and bearded collie MeMe now live in Boise, which looks like their final home. Still working, still making people laugh.
“Are you laughing at my art?
Well good. You look like you could use a laugh.*
Current websites:
illustrationthatmakesyoulaugh.com
Geezers Yearbook Page 2020
GEEZER YEARBOOK PAGE 2020
A full page of our collection for 2020 is also at the top of the left column. Each year there will be these individual photos and remembrances.
Ann Thompson
1. Bob Porter (Hoefer in the 70’s.)
The photo comes from a Shasta shoot down south in the early 70’s. The director was Sid Avery. At the time, I was Jim Nelson’s Associate CD at Hoefer. I’ve been retired and painting for the last 15 years. And this year, I finally made it to artist status at the California Art Club. (It’s an honor that mainly that lets you pay more in dues…)
Robert Porter
2. George Hampton
Hi, Y’All!
This photo was taken last year as I was hanging my art at the Salt Traders Coastal Cooking restaurant. After moving to Austin, Texas in 2006 where I have a studio in my home, I began painting. Around this time I was very fortunate to have met Jack Gilmore and Tom Kamm, experienced restaurant chef/managers, who asked me to hang my art in their first restaurant, Jack Allen’s Kitchen. They have since opened 3 more Jack Allen’s and one Salt Traders Coastal Cooking restaurants…I have followed along and have not only sold my art to them but have sold paintings to their clientele. How lucky can you get!
George Hampton
(Formerly with Landphere Studios, Botsford, Constantine & McCarty, Botsford Ketchum & The San Francisco Chronicle)
3. Tom Peacock
No artist, but enjoyed your company while working for BM&T. Frolicking in Cuba after retirement.
(GGNote: Tom represented Blake, Moffitt & Towne (paper and printing services in San Francisco as early as 1855).
Paper, type, artist, studio and printing Reps knew everyone. I envied that. And often, when calling on a studio, Tom brought a jar of honey from his own hives of bees!
Ann)
4. Jed Falby
Greetings!
What a great gift you give us with your time machine taking us all back to our youth and those good ol’ days.
Art Director/Producer at Y&R in those great TV years 1960 – 66 with Hanley Norins Creative Director and his creative collective (Steve Gordon, Mik Kitagawa, Gerry Severson, Paul Frahm et al).
Although Y&R shipped me out of San Francisco to NYC in 1966 I stayed with them in all those ‘Mad Men’ TV years ’till 1970 when I opened my TV Production Company in Paris.
Finally moved back to England in 1990 to paint (South West Academy) draw (cartoons!) and write (“Le Train de Michel” Graphic Novel).
My cartoon here was done for this year’s NY ‘Vote’ campaign with the other SF Geezers now in NYC: John Emmerling, Mike Slosberg,
Cheers! Jed
5. John Mattos
2 items,
#1- I’m still friends with Vic Marcelli- (art director at Vicom, and other agencies in SF- ) and Vic is a TOTAL geezer- so please put Vic on the list — if he asks what this is about- just tell him “John thinks you are a TOTAL GEEZER” ‑ha
#2– I have 22 pages in the Upcoming December Graphis magazine — naturally I’m quite happy about this –
Merry Christmas –
John
6. John Hyatt
Fresh out of Art Center School in 1967 I got my first job as an art director at Lennon and Newell Advertising in San Francisco. Roy Gover was also an AD there at the time — he and I would trip over each other sneaking out the back door after lunch to go home and paint. Roy sold his work at the famous Vorpal Gallery and I sold a series of oils paintings at H.P.Corwith on Union Street. Our fine art was considerably more compelling than Lennon and Newell trade ads for Hewlett Packard electronics – a few years before HP became the personal computer giant.
During a seven year stint at Wilton, Coombs and Colnett, I was fortunate to work with photographers Stephen Frisch, Karl Bauer and Craig Simpson; illustrators Lowell Herrero and David Broad; designers Nicholas Sidjakov and Jerry Berman. I started a freelance career (JohnHyattIllustration.com) when I met Chris Blum at Honig, Cooper and Harrington. Chris gave me my first illustration job – a TV storyboard for Levis, animated by Duck Soup in LA.
Currently I’m selling huge paintings of rowboats at www.CanyonDriveGallery.com.
7. Mort Beebe
Having photographed for clients abroad for 50 years, co-founded the Image Bank, authored five books and was location manager for five feature films and TV series…now editing my film archive of the City.
Best wish to both of you,
Mort Beebe
8. Tom Brenner
! I was a copywriter for a total of ten years, averaging about 2 years per agency! The last, being BBDO, with Herb Briggs and Hal Riney. I’ve enjoyed the stories about those two. Here’s mine: It seemed that every time I took copy to Hal, he’d read it, look up and say, “Is that the best you can do?” I’d mumble, let me try again, or something like that. I left BBD&O at the end of summer on the Friday before San Francisco State started fall classes, where I went to get a teaching credential. On my last day at the agency, people came by to say, “so long, good luck.” Hal walked by, stopped at my door, looked in, and said, “Bastard.” I took it as a compliment. And then Herb came by and gave me a gallon glass jar filled with oatmeal mixed in water, with a reduced copy of an ad (Don’t let Mush Die) I had done while at Dancer for Wheat Hearts. My wife and I had just bought our first house in Berkeley. The jar of mush sat on a living room bookshelf and every time I pasted it I petted it, thanking and thinking of Herb and the others in my ad life. The jar lasted for about three weeks — it exploded one night. Glass and old oatmeal was everywhere! School started, ad writing ended. After writing ads, I taught 4th-6th grades in Piedmont. And when I retired we moved up to Vashon, an island off of Seattle. I took a few Writing for Children classes and now have three published (by Candlewick) picture books (fourth one will be out soon!)— a series of AND THEN COMES —so far: HALLOWEEN, CHRISTMAS, SUMMER., and SCHOOL is next, not sure when. I have no control over that! I REALLY enjoy the Geezer Gallery you post. Even though I only know a few of those who show up, just looking at the others takes me back to the days and how I enjoyed working with the people I worked with. Each agency had a different “set’ and I remember just about every one, even those not mentioned in my posting. Even though I enjoyed teaching little kids, there was a special element about creating ads — working with an artist to solve a commercial charge (not sure of the right word) was exhilarating! And probably can’t be found in many places, well, maybe working with Steve Jobs or Bill Gates might have made the cut. But working with highly talented people made average days exciting — looking back.
Thanks for doing the Geezer Gallery.
All the best,
Tom Brenner
9. Pierre & Marian Jacot
Here is a pic of me and one of my folks throwing a party circa 1965 – 66? It’s from an Advertising party they threw in their first home in Mill Valley.
Mill Valley House on Lovell Avenue. Pierre just started working for an Agency. I was too young to know which. Maybe someone out there was at the party that might remember?
I wish I knew more about that party. But all the ad people and illustrators and artists, etc. that they knew at the time were there from my mom’s telling years later. ; )
I hope you get some good stuff coming in!
Michele Engel (Pierre and Marian Jacot’s daughter)
10. Tom LaPerle
Then…
1977, on the Burbank “Back Lots” shooting a Transamerica series with Marty Evens (LA).
Then some…
2003, no deadlines, no stress, no worries, no hair… life is good.
Now…
2020, living in Oregon on the banks of the Columbia River with G‑monsters, family and a 37-ft express cruiser.
Forever (it seems)…
LaPerle Associates, 1970 – 1990.
11. Lars Melander
Hi Ann,? Thanks for all Mail. Always fun to see. Nice to see Nick Sidjakov’s face — who I knew and admired. Here above is a picture from Macy’s 1978 where I participated in a show for Greengrass Gallery.
Here is the card from Macy’s show. I must say I was in really good company!
Here above is a picture from my latest show this year in Stockholm. Take care and safe!?
Best from Lars
12. Diana Thewlis
Here is my latest self-portrait (in this yearbook page, above) titled, ’The Inner Woman’. Loved my years as a graphic designer, product illustrator, tech. illustrator, and then contract general illustrator. Especially loved teaching at the Academy of Art University. Now basically retired, but painting and getting back into teaching up here in Washington State. I’m going to be filmed painting a portrait in watercolor for the local watercolor society to be used as a fund-raiser.
Diana Thewlis
Nicolas Sidjakov
Nicolas Sidjakov Designer, Illustrator, San Francisco
Nicolas Sidjakov, (12 – 16-1924 – 6 – 20-1993).
Born in Riga, Latvia.
Nic Sidjakov studied at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris, worked in advertising, and free-lanced for the French movie industry before moving to the USA in 1954.
In San Francisco, his locations were — 1967: 120 Green Street — 1971: 433 Turk Street — 1976: 1779 Union Street — and then with partners — Sidjakov, Berman & Gomez from 1981 – 1987: 1779 Union Street. Nic lived in Sausalito, CA.
When Tom Kamifugi & Associates (at 433 Turk Street) and Nic shared neighboring art studios — they created this poster, an invitation to their party. It appeared in the Art Directors and Artists Club of San Francisco’s eighteenth annual in 1967, under the classification of “Magazine Ad”. (Hal Riney was ADASF’s show chairman, that year.)
The credit information shown in the annual, shows M. Halberstadt as the photographer — but the photo was by Jack Allen.
Jack had been forming an ad agency with Harrah’s club as his first client. When internal politics ended that plan, Jack became a professional photographer.
This, I reported previously. (See: Geezers’ Gallery Jack Allen — Ad Man + Photographer + Painter)
Jack Allen wrote:
“Meanwhile, the photographer Milton (Hal) Halberstadt invited me to lunch and suggested we might pool our talents. He had a beautiful studio in North Beach and I said yes, quicker than dirt.
At first we had fun — as Hal liked the sets he was so good at putting together — and I liked the people. So we fit well. And we enjoyed lunch at New Joes. And Hal was a Master Photographer so I was learning every day.
As in many things, they don’t always work as planned. Hal and I parted as friends and I moved to Vanderwater Street in my own studio, next to Veneto’s Restaurant. Years of work came out this Studio.”
So on 11−10−20, I emailed and phoned Jack and asked what it was like taking this photo of Sidjakov and Kamifugi. “Can you tell what the day was like, working with those two – – taking that shot? How long could Nic, hold still in that Cossack position?”
Jack said that all he said at that time was: “Hold still”!
There is a lot to be found on-line about the extremely talented, Nic Sidjakov. In my collection of ADASF publications, I found 107 of Nic’s accepted entries in the years of 1963-to-1967 and 1974 and 1978. Some, show that he was listed as Art Director – (19) and others, credited his artistic / design skills – (88). I had planned to scan and show these pieces but he was too prolific with his many styles — for me to be able to display them here.
His volume of work was explained. This from Chris Blum:
–“ad folks would drink their afternoon and want to nap and Nic would take over and save their jobs for them”. C.B.
I never had the chance to meet Nic Sidjakov, but i was told that he was as kind as he was talented and was always there to assist.
The sixth publication (1964) of the Champion Paper’s – Imagination – “The Wild West” paper sample was in the ADASF’s sixteenth annual show in 1965 listed under Booklet or Folders”. Nic Sidjakov and Ewald Breuer provided the artwork and Tom Gorey directed the art. (And, Jack Allen shot the photo of the “Gunslinger”.)
I show the complicated planning necessary in producing this booklet.
There are fold-out pages, partial pages, die-cut pages, embossed pages, even a sleeve, holding a single detached page. All of the artwork explained how chosen colors worked well on the various samples of stock. The booklet was designed to show the the graphic art community the many possibilities for their graphic projects when choosing Champion Papers.
I have repeated the pages to show the planned sequence as one looks through the booklet – – opening folds that reveal more images – – all that was created offered an “experience”.
Also, here are samples of Nic Sidjakov’s design that I have kept though the years. These two newspaper spreads and a Focus Magazine ad from 1975 promote the new Embarcadero Center in San Francisco.
Maybe, when I have more time, I can go back to scan and show even just a part of the 107 Nic Sidjakov’s ADASF accepted entries mentioned above.
Ann Thompson
Comments, Corrections and more about Y&R.
Follow-up To Previous Post:
Here are a few of the many comments to our previous “Herb & Hal” posting:
10−10−20:
Wasn’t Herb married to Barbra Bradley of the Academy of Art at some point?? Bruce Hettema
My reply to Bruce:
Barbara was born in Los Angeles, but spent most of her childhood in San Francisco. She graduated from Lowell High School in San Francisco and then attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she met her first husband Herbert Briggs (a fellow artist) while drawing for the rally committee. Herb and Barbara studied at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles before setting off for New York to begin their careers.
(legacy.com)
10−12−20:
Lee Riney’s story about Herb in the elevator wasn’t at FCB, it was at Y&R. And I was one of the guys that was with the crew that taped Herb and put him in the elevator.
Dave Sanchez
10−12−20:
(A reply me to forward to Dave from Lee Riney)
Yes, it was definitely Young & Rubicam. I worked there for five years when I left Foote Cone. I should have made that clear in my story. Please send my email on to Dave Sanchez.
Thanks, Ann.
Lee Riney
10−13−20:
Thanks Ann. Herb was pretty drunk, so he didn’t fight. I think he was in the elevator into the evening.
I have fun memories of Herb, most are the insane memories. He sure was a character, I wish there were more.
Dave Sanchez
Bringing this up to date, I asked Dave Sanchez who guessed that “The Elevator Caper” was in 1961 or 1962. He said Herb left Y & R after 1962.
I called Jack Allen:
Jack explained that the client of Y&R was Petri Wines – – so I’m guessing that there were a lot of samples there to inspire the agency folks (after hours?). Jack said that his two hires were there: Dave Sanchez and Mik Kitagawa. Alan Lefkort was also there, also. He was their “father figure”.
I called Alan who accepted that title.
I remember the brand, Petri.
I saw that it was established with barrel wines in 1886 by Raffaello Petri in San Francisco — with vineyards in the San Joaquin Valley. As “prohibition” became the law, the stock for 250,000 gallons of barrel wines were sold to pay for Petri’s new products — including Italian leather goods and cigars. At the end of “prohibition” it was back to selling wines, this time bottled as well — contracting In 1935 with E & J Gallo. When Petri bought Italian Swiss Colony Wines in 1953 — Petri became the largest wine producer in the USA.
The company also established United Vintners.
This ad was shown in the10th Annual Art Directors Exhibition of 1958.
Ann Thompson