My first advertising work after graduating from Rutgers was at John Wanamaker’s headquarter store in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia. The location was, and is, a stunning edifice, where Philadelphians purchased their heart’s desires for a century.
The local expression of shoppers was simply, “Meet me at the Eagle.”
Everyone automatically knew this meant the Wanamaker eagle at the center of his store.
I began as a “proof runner.” This meant I would take a paper draft of the next day’s newspaper ad to various merchandise managers, who would need to sign their names, to certify the merchandise was in stock, accurately priced, and fairly described.
The next day, before the doors would open, I would stand in a balcony portico, overlooking the main doors on the lobby level. When a bell rang, the doors were unlocked, and early shoppers entered eagerly, their Philadelphia Inquirers in hand.
The power of advertising was viscerally evident, as exciting for me to visually witness, as it was for shoppers to pursue. I was hooked then, with work that made my heart pound.
I learned there that Mr. Wanamaker once opined, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted … the problem is I don’t know which half.”
The rest of my five decade career was dedicated to the determination that the time and energy I invested in advertising would be for the half that was NOT wasted.
Adman Emeritus 