Life before Pharma

Billboards on I-95 introducing Tastykake pies are just one highlight of what could have been if not for the allure of "selling drugs."

Like probably everyone in this industry, I started my career thinking I'd be doing ads on TV or at least for stuff people could understand without an "elevator speech." My mainstream consumer advertising career didn't last long though. It was basically a kick-ass internship at the Weightman Group. RIP. Unfortunately, that great Philly agency is no longer. They showed me how cool advertising can be.

Who lets interns run a pitch? For the Philadelphia Eagles. In the bowels of Veterans Stadium. Weightman did. They knew it was just fishing for ideas not a real opportunity for the agency. But a great opportunity for us. I still think "Beware the Birds" oughta be their tagline.

While at Weightman, I got to write ads for Corestates Bank (also now out of biz) in trade mags for mushroom farmers. Seriously. "Cultivate success" or something like that. I got to write audio ads for midwestern supermarket Kroger. Sold roofing tiles for CertainTeed. Created activities for the Sunoco Welcome America 4th of July event. And yes, got to work on the Philly mainstay's Tastykake. I remember going into the studio to hear a sound engineer demo the Tastykake jingle "Nobody bakes a cake as tasty as a TastyKake" in ever genre from soul to country. At this point these 2 pixellated images of Billboards is all I've got to show for this life not led.

Rowan University's AdDynamics program

Even before being blessed with that internship experience, I was fortunate to lead a school-run Ad Agency. Elected by my peers as the Creative Director, it was a challenge unlike any other in a college setting. We had to find our own client (B&G Pickles: Sandwich stackers) who was willing to be our guinea pig, pro bono of course. We had to pull in our own designers to help mock up the ideas. Then we had to prove ourselves to a grizzled old ad-guy with a taste for cheesy copy. It really was a glimpse of things to come. I just didn't know it'd be in Pharma.

These billboards were the intellectual property of the Weightman Group and Tastykake, Inc.