Carl Ally Research Assignment

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"We have a competitor who says he's No. 2. That's hard to argue with"

Hertz's Avis counterpunch campaign exuded arrogance, aggression and attitude. Such was typical of Carl Ally's `Grab em' by the throat' attitude, which won him fame, fear and loathing. He was known as a brash, heavy-hitting man; stubborn, and perhaps a little reckless in his ways. Albeit his disagreeable ways, he was responsible for transforming many corporate underdogs like Federal Express, MCI, Volvo and Scandinavian Airline Systems into American household names.

Born in 1924, Detroit, Ally served America in WWII and the Korean war as a distinguished fighter pilot in the U.S Air Force, winning medals of honour. After the army he graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor's and master's degree. His career started at General Electric, as an advertising executive. After which he worked at a small Detroit advertising firm then advanced to Campbell-Ewald Co., a regional advertising powerhouse, in 1955. His ardent tenacity won him recognition from his superiors and he was sent to New York to be the manager at their head office. The same ardent tenacity however, did not impress his new bosses and he was left jobless in New York in 1960 - the Bernbach golden age of advertising. Lucky for him, Papert, Koenig Lois (PKL) was established in 1960 by three men who left DDB with a mission: to take risks and push the limits of advertising. They shared the same ideals and background as Ally and wanted to take advertising beyond what DDB was comfortable with. It was an agency for the new generation of admen: Jews, Italians, Greeks and women who were previously cast to insignificant roles. This gave conventional advertising at that era a new wave of ideas.

``From Y&RNY and DDB, the creative virus quickly spread in the 70's to spin-off agencies started by immigrant creatives who jumped from their motherships: Wells, Rich, Greene; Papert, Koenig Lois; DellaFemina Travisano; Rosenfeld, Sirowitz & Lawson; Carl Ally; Ammerati & Puris; Scali, McCabe & Sloves; Delehanty, and Kernit & Geller, to name but a few. All it took was an award-winning writer/art director team, a sharp business guy or gal, and a client willing to take the million dollar leap of faith.

Amazing brands were built by these defector agencies. Carl Ally created Fed-Ex. Wells Rich Greene revived Branif, Alka-Seltzer and American Motors. Sam Scali and Ed McCabe gave America Volvo and Purdue Chicken.

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