From the ad maestro: passion for the new

A lot of the talk in the ad world today is about "the big idea." New buzz about an old topic that the digital revolution has reinvigorated. This week, AdAge talked to one of the old masters of advertising, George Lois, who's written a new book about the big idea.

George's ideas didn't come in a bolt of ligthening, but from his deep love for culture, particularly literature and old movies. The iconic shot of little Andy in a big can of Campbell's was inspired by a scene from Hitchcock's "North By Northwest." In one shot, Cary Grant and Yvette Mimiuex are visually subsumed by a giant "nose" of one of the Presidents as they escape the villains across Mount Rushmore. Lois said the juxtaposition of little and big was the inspiration. (side note: Grant's character was a "heroic" ad man)

When asked if he liked this month's 75th anniversary issue cover of Esquire (with the world's first e-ink flashing cover), George said "gimmicky." He said the key to big ideas was the continued pursuit of knowledge, experiences and a passion for new things. (hello, it's the gist of this blog).

The Museum of Contemporary Art (NYC) is now exhibiting a retrospective of George's famous Esquire covers. Seeing original transparencies like the one of Muhammed Ali, with red grease-pencil markings for the retouchers to know where to hand-paint the arrows...a relic of the ad biz... a la Cary Grant as the ad guy...is still inspiring.