I’d like to thank Dr. Richard Giese, Jim Piatt, Tiffany Hogya, and everyone at Mount Union College for your very warm welcome.
It’s thrilling—and, frankly, a bit weird—for me to be back in Alliance, nearly thirty years after I graduated from MUC.
As I walked through campus this afternoon and met with so many students and faculty, I had flashbacks to when I walked the quad as a student.
The sense of déjà vu was eerie—only this time, I was no longer the clove-cigarette-smoking, admittedly B-minus student at MUC.
Now I had to assume the role of the “grown-up” professional visiting all the way from New York City.
Trust me: It’s weird to have to be the “grownup” in a place where I spent four, wonderful and formative years as a small-town kid from western Pennsylvania.
To give you some perspective on what the scene was like when I was a student here: My graduating class had less than 200 students; you could hear Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon”—playing on a vinyl record player—in Elliott Hall, where I lived; “Animal House” was the most popular movie among me and my friends—in fact, I vaguely recall watching a 2:00 AM screening at Mount Union Theater, following a Raiders game; and Presser Recital Hall was one of the “new” buildings on campus.
Today, the class of 2009 boasts 450 students; Rihanna is at the top of the iTunes music chart; “Sex and the City” recently played at the Student Union, courtesy of the Student Activities Committee; and Presser Recital Hall is the place where students and faculty come to hear visiting dignitaries and bigwigs lecture about Big Important Topics.
So … what am I doing here? I am definitely not a dignitary or a bigwig, by any stretch of the imagination. But I am really honored and humbled to be able to share my story with you.
I’ll be honest: When I was first asked to present a Gordon Heffern Business Ethics Lecture, two thoughts immediately crossed my mind.
First, I thought, “Do they realize that I would hardly consider myself to be a model student while I was at MUC?”
I can’t tell you how many times I was called into the Dean’s office, mostly because anytime anything bad happened, everyone would scramble and I was always the tallest person left standing and I would get nailed … At least that’s the excuse I’d give to my parents.
Then second, I thought, “Holy cow, what am I going to say about business and ethics, particularly as it relates to advertising?”
After considering my second question, I realized that I actually have pretty good story to tell.
I grew up in a small town, attended MUC, and then found my voice and passion working in advertising.
Very early in my life, my parents impressed upon my siblings and me the importance of getting a college education. Going to college was a given, and the assumption was that we would all graduate with at least a bachelor’s degree.
Both of my parents attended Dickinson, as did, eventually, my brother. But as the oldest child—and the one who always colored outside of the lines—when it was time for me to choose a school, I chose Mount Union College. And that choice has made all the difference in my life and career.
I received an excellent education at MUC, and had a lot of fun in the process—maybe too much fun, as some of my classmates and professors could easily tell you.
It was, after all, a strange time to be in college.
Graduating in 1979, I missed much of the radical, hippy-dippy days of the “Flower Power” generation, and didn’t quite hit the “Greed Is Good” days of Wall Street.
If any of you have ever seen Richard Linklater’s “Dazed and Confused,” that movie is a scarily accurate representation of the hazy, malaise-y days of the late 1970s that I experienced.
My peers and I were, in some respects, sort of lost between generations, not quite Baby Boomers and not quite Gen X.
Still, the tight-knit community of MUC was an important part of my education and experience here, and very influential to the person I have become today.
While I was student, I was a sorority sister at Alpha Chi Omega; I swam on the women’s swim team, as well as helped to coach the men’s swim team; and I learned from great professors and made some lifelong friends.
In ways that I didn’t realize until much later, Mount Union helped to shape my ideas and ideals—and for that I am forever grateful.
When I graduated, I originally thought that I would pursue a career in either education or social work.
My father—a small-town attorney in the tradition of Atticus Finch—instilled in my family a great sense of social responsibility, lessons that proved invaluable to all of us over the years.
All three of my siblings, in fact, pursued careers in education, and I have worked for more than 20 years on training and education in advertising.
Beyond my professional life, that keen sense of social responsibility also led me to Ecuador, where I volunteer for an education and community outreach program through a nonprofit organization called People Helping People.
Each year I spend a few weeks in Ecuador—where I also have a home—and help local residents build community centers and renovate schools.
Something else that my father taught me was the importance of saying (and writing) what you mean, and doing so with clarity and conviction.
I remember when I was away at college and sent letters home—this, of course, was years before iChat, e-mail or cell phones—my father would copy edit my letters, and send them back to me … with corrections.
Believe me, the difference between “can I” and “may I” has been drilled into my head…
Shortly after undergraduate school, I worked several jobs in an effort to pursue a graduate degree.
But one day, my supervisor at my job in a recording company—which, by the way, was about to be acquired and so I was going to lose that job—suggested advertising might be a good fit.
He knew someone who knew someone at an agency in Baltimore called W.B. Doner, and wondered if I might be interested…
I was interested, and I jumped at the chance.
I knew little about advertising and even less about the agency that would give me my first job in the business. And honestly, when I thought about moving to “the city,” I always imagined the city would be Cleveland or Pittsburgh.
But I held my breath, dove in and moved east.
Back then, unlike today (with the exception, perhaps, of “Mad Men”), images of advertising still played a role in pop culture and the American zeitgeist as a career option that was creative, exciting, and maybe a little bit glamorous.
Keep in mind, this was years before Google and Yahoo! and Microsoft came along…
So in the summer 1983, I packed my things, lied to my parents and told them my new job paid enough to cover my rent, which it didn’t, and I moved to Baltimore on my own for my very first job in advertising.
Exciting? Absolutely. Glamorous? No, not really, to tell you the truth.
I lived in a fourth-floor walk-up that I couldn’t afford, in a tiny apartment that had no air-conditioning—which was brutal during Baltimore’s oppressive summers.
Each day I drove to work and changed my clothes in the ladies’ room at the office because it was too hot to get dressed in my apartment.
But you know what? I loved every minute of it. Because it was then that I had my first real taste of advertising, my first experience with the smartest, most creative, most fun people I had ever met in my life up until then.
I quickly learned that advertising wasn’t anything like what I saw on TV or in the movies.
Some of you in the audience will understand this reference, but working in advertising wasn’t exactly like it was for Darrin Stephens on “Bewitched” or Michael Steadman on “thirtysomething” or even later as Amanda Woodward on “Melrose Place.”
Real advertising was even better: Working in advertising wasn’t simply about “big ideas,” big three-martini lunches or big egos—although there were plenty of those to go around.
At my first job, I learned that real-life advertising was about developing creative solutions for business problems.
I learned that ideas are big and small, and can—and do—come from anyone and anywhere.
And I learned that behind the big egos—and bigger tantrums—were passionate, thoughtful, creative people who wanted nothing more than to help businesses succeed, any way that they could—through advertising.
Over the course of my career, I’ve been lucky to work at terrific advertising agencies all across the country, and fortunate to have traveled all over the world for my job.
I’ve worked on consumer packaged goods and technology accounts, in big agencies and small agencies, on local business and multi-national business.
I’ve helped make amazing advertising that changed the hearts and minds of consumers, and I’ve also seen some campaigns miss the mark and sputter out.
I wouldn’t say I’ve seen it all, but I would say that I’ve seen a lot. Not bad for someone from a small town like Warren, Pennsylvania.
And to think, my higher education—and my growing sense of self, as an adult—started right here, at Mount Union College, The transition, however, from the friendly enclaves of school out into the real world wasn’t always easy…
Over the course of my 25 years in advertising, I came across my fair share of louts and losers who didn’t subscribe to the same code of personal ethics that I do.
Sure, it was tough at times to navigate through the politics of business—there are always politics when it comes to working in the real world, especially as a woman working in an industry that has historically been dominated by men.
But I had made a promise to myself early in my career that I would never sacrifice my personal beliefs—those that were instilled in me by my friends, family and teachers—simply for the sake of getting ahead.
In fact, earlier this year, when the news leaked that I was going to be named president and chief executive officer of the 4A’s, the national advertising trade association—which, incidentally, has had a reputation in the past of being very much of an old-boys’ club—one of the first questions that many reporters covering the story asked was whether or not Nancy Hill was tough enough for the job. Was Nancy Hill just too nice to be the head of the 4A’s?
It’s funny to think about now, really, because to me being tough and being nice have never been mutually exclusive characteristics. For me, tough does not automatically equal mean, and nice does not equal “push over.”
If I’ve learned anything since I graduated from MUC and worked in advertising, it’s that there is a balance that can be achieved between strength and kindness. These are ideals that I consider each day, and have served me well over my entire professional career.
When I was appointed to head the 4A’s in February, a friend told me that she thought I had planned my career perfectly to end up in this position.
While I wish I could take credit for having had such incredible insight into my career path from the beginning, the truth is, there was no plan. But, it did end up being perfect.
The primary mission of the 4A’s is to provide information and other resources that help our member agencies succeed. Imagine that the 4A’s is sort of like a combination between the ultimate Google search and the biggest Facebook group, all around the business of advertising…
As I now embark on the next chapter of my career as the head of the 4A’s, ethical principles of conduct are ever-present for my staff and me.
Maybe this sounds a bit naïve, and honestly, some ad people have told me as much. But I wouldn’t be true to myself if I did it any other way, and frankly, I don’t think I would have gotten to where I am today if I was a jerk.
Still, I’m very aware of the fact that the popular perception of advertising—especially in the United States—hasn’t exactly been great.
In fact, in a survey ranking different industries on a scale of desirability, advertising professionals consistently ranked slightly above ambulance-chasing personal injury lawyers, but below used-car salesmen.
Ouch.
So why is advertising held in such low regard by so many Americans? This is a question that the 4A’s and I wrestle with each day.
I believe that advertising’s poor reputation as an industry of hucksters and hacks is not only unfair, it’s simply untrue.
Contrary to the clichés, most of the people that I’ve had the great pleasure of working with over the years have been bright, creative professionals of honesty and true integrity.
My advertising colleagues are brilliant, three-dimensional thinkers who have played—and currently play—critical roles in creating the images and ideas that transform the world…
Ninety-five years ago, H.K. McCann launched his agency with the slogan, “Truth well told,” which is an ideal as relevant today as it was nearly a century ago.
Indeed, great advertising is about truth. It always has been. Because consumers are smart.
We know when we’re being lied to, and if we don’t know at first, we’ll soon find out, and the consequences for a deceitful brand or lying marketer far outweigh the fleeting benefits that an untruthful ad may garner.
I believe that advertising is a virtuous business; one that reflects and informs popular culture and tastes; and drives business and the global economy in ways that few other industries can or do.
Advertising is about business, yes, but at its core, it’s a business of ideas. Advertising communicates ideas from brands to consumers in ways that continue to inspire and astound me, even today, a quarter century after I began in this business.
I’ve always believed that advertising is the perfect job for those of us who live at the exact intersection where left brain meets right brain, for those of us who relish the opportunity to use our creative imagination and analytical reasoning each and everyday.
To paraphrase Marshal McLuhan, one of my favorite writers and thinkers, “Advertising is the greatest art form of the 21st century.”
I’m not just saying this simply because it’s my job—as the head of the largest advertising trade association in the United States—to defend and glorify the business of advertising (Although that is an important part of my job description).
I’m saying this because it’s true.
So then why has there been such a negative perception about advertising?
Well, to a large extent, I think that advertising—or really marketing, in general—has penetrated so much of our lives, so much of our bandwidth, that we sort of take it for granted.
I mean, when advertising is great—when the message is perfect, the creative is perfect, and it’s targeted at the right person, at just the right time, in the just the right place—advertising is a kind of magic. We are caught under its spell and we get it.
But when it’s bad … well, let’s not kid ourselves, it’s really, really bad.
When advertising is magic, all of the brilliant work and the brilliant people behind the work are invisible, as they should be, and consumers find true, passionate connections to the brands they love.
But when advertising is bad, all of the strings show, all of the awkward missteps and poor craftsmanship is revealed … and consumers hate that because we feel like we’re being manipulated and lied to, and no one likes being manipulated or lied to.
As I said earlier, when I was your age, there were depictions of what it was like to work in advertising.
Sure, these pop culture references were often comedic or melodramatic, but at least there was a glimpse into the world of what it as like to be an ad man or ad woman.
Today, we have “Mad Men,” which offers an uncannily realistic look at an advertising workplace … from 1962.
I’ll admit that I’m a huge fan, and if you haven’t seen the show, I highly recommend it. But come on, we’ve come a long way since then.
The good- and bad-old days of “Mad Men,” three martini lunches, skirt-chasing account guys and subservient women are over, thank goodness.
Shows like “Mad Men” make for great entertainment, but they portray an alternate reality, one that’s faded away.
I wonder if a reality show revolving around the inner workings of a real-life agency in 2008 would get the attention of the generation weaned on “Survivor” and “American Idol?”
The fact that advertising careers seem to be off the radar for many young people may be due in part, I think, to the rapidly growing choices that creative and business-minded people have today, choices that were unavailable to the same like-minded people a generation ago.
Certainly when I was a college student, high-tech and dot-com companies weren’t recruiting on campus, as they are today. I mean, there wasn’t even a thing known as a dot-com back then…
Digital technologies, perhaps more than anything, probably have had the most dramatic impact on the business of advertising over the past few decades.
On my first day working at an agency, my boss put me in front of an Apple IIe and simply said, “Get to work.”
It was an intimidating moment, to be sure, especially since my last experience with a computer until then was with a giant mainframe computer in a basement office at MUC, where you inputted data in one room, and it came out in another room.
I can’t imagine what that basement is being used for now…
But I’ll admit: I’ve always been a bit of a gadget geek, so the idea of working on a computer all day struck me as being pretty cool, especially in 1981.
For most of you, working (and playing) on a computer is probably second nature.
But I’ll let you in on a secret: Back in the 1980s, we used to have these machines called “typewriters.” There was no hard drive, no RAM, and no disc drive. We threaded paper into a roller on the top of the machine, and when we typed, letters would appear directly on the page, sort of like magic…
There are currently two tribes of technology users: digital natives and digital immigrants.
Most of you are digital natives, meaning you were born and raised with digital technologies all around you, from mobile phones to digital video recorders to iPods.
Some of you probably had an iPod when it was first introduced in 2001 … when you were in middle school!
For some of us digital immigrants, our first introduction to the technologies that we now take for granted, like mobile phones, meant a $3,000 phone installed in your car, with a chunky unit attached to your dashboard and a transceiver that took up half of your trunk.
I know this because I worked on the introduction of Bell Atlantic Mobile in 1984. Today, my Blackberry is no bigger than the palm of my hand, and has 10 times the computing and telephony power of the giant clunker that used to take up most of the space in my car…
Over two-and-a-half decades, I have personally worked hard to become as much of a digital native as possible.
Indeed, I’m the person who needs the latest and greatest tech gadget. I’m not sure if this is a point of pride or shame, but I’m currently on my sixth iPod, an iPod Touch, which is the best iPod ever … at least until the next version is released, then I’ll be the first in line at the Apple Store.
I think what technology has really facilitated and accelerated is the increase in global communications.
I’ve said in the past, that what American agencies do today have tremendous influence and impact on what an agency in Beijing or Sydney or Moscow can and will do tomorrow—and increasingly the reverse is also true.
A few weeks ago, we held an event in New York called “Advertising Week.” It’s sort of like Fashion Week, but for the advertising industry. During the Week, I had the opportunity to meet with Ban Ki-Moon, secretary-general of the United Nations.
In attendance at the meeting were leaders from the advertising industry, selected members of the press, and trade association executives. The secretary-general had convened the meeting to ask for the industry’s support and help to launch a global communications effort to address the U.N.’s green initiatives combating global warming.
If there ever was any doubt that the intersection between local and global business is getting closer, this historic meeting erased all doubt.
And I’m proud to say that I was the only MUC graduate at that meeting at the U.N. Believe me, it was pretty cool…
If I may leave you with a few parting thoughts:
College is really a great time to explore the possibilities of where you want to go and who you want to be when you grow up.
Take advantage of this time. Your four years at MUC are fleeting—but the time you put in here will lay the foundation of what kind of person and what kind of professional you will become in the not-too-distant future.
Trust me, time goes by in an instance.
The world is smaller than you think. I say this from personal experience, as someone who grew up in a town with less than 11,000 residents, and ended up living in virtually every major city in the United States, and traveling the world.
If this B-minus student could grow up to lead multinational, multimillion dollar companies and be steadfast in my sense of ethics and values, well, I’m sure there are some A-plus students out there who would be more than willing to take a crack at my job one day, and leave his or her mark on the world.
And lastly, I’m sure you’re often asked, “What do you want to do when you grow up?”
For some of you, at least, I hope your answer is, “I want to work in advertising.” Because if I’ve inspired just one of you to consider taking the winding but exhilarating path that is a career in advertising, I would be very happy.
Plus, I could always use another Purple Raider to help me kick some New York ass…
If any of you are ever in New York, please look me up. I’d love to show you around.
Thank you again to everyone at MUC. It was a huge honor and privilege for me to be able to speak with you all tonight.
