Once, after a particularly successful meeting, I was asked by a client how long it took me to come up with the ideas we had presented. “About 25 years,” I replied.

I was being facetious. But I do think there's a germ of truth to that.

The ideas you’ll see here on my website represent a portfolio of work from over 25 years as a Copywriter and Creative Director.

Of the early years learning from and being inspired by the smartest, most talented people in the ad business, at the most creative ad agencies in the country. Then later, heading up in-house creative groups for some of the most prestigious corporations in the world.

That’s 25 years of award-winning work at top creative shops like DDB, TBWA, Saatchi & Saatchi, and Digitas.

And lead creative roles on the in-house teams of corporations like The Hartford, Prudential, and Neustar.

The results? Smart, strategic, creative solutions that break through the clutter, increase sales and build brands.

So browse through my website, and have a look at the work that’s taken me 25 years to produce. Then let’s talk about putting my experience to work on a project (or full-time) for you.

I promise yours won’t take me nearly as long.

Cheerios never did print before. Now they do plenty. This ad is the reason. This is a style of copywriting I love - funny and attention-getting. And moms can never resist a cute kid, right?

The results? Record redemption and ROI for the coupon.

Neustar sells hi-tech corporate, B2B products, corporate security services, global web registries, distribution of web addresses, and web analytics. Complex stuff. How do you explain it all…and sell it?

Through a deep and fully integrated marketing campaign like this. I wrote all the content copywriting for the e-books, did the email writing, web landing pages copy, plus the copywriting for the print and digital ads.

This advertising campaign positioned their complicated products with simple strategies like: “Give customer’s what they love.” and “Know your customers better.”

The resulting phone calls, emails, inquiries and sales were more than they could handle.

I was the only adverting copywriter at the company and did this with their tiny in-house staff of designers. We would get calls about the campaign asking: “Who’s your ad agency?” Funny.

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One of my talents as a copywriter is translating tech language into English. And that’s one of the things IBM’s has always had difficulty dong

We solved their problem by creating this simple yet elegant site, originally built for their AS 400 servers. They liked it so much they converted it to their main global website. It gives techies all the information they need and sells to consumers at the same time. And while the copywriting has been reworked over the years, many times by me (is 20 years too long to have a client?) the website still sings.

While interactive advertising was the main focus of this campaign, we needed to translate the graphics, copy tone and strategy into print as well. Thanks to my talented team of in-house designers this wasn't hard.

Due to a tiny budget, we set up one photo shoot and took hundreds of shots to create our own photo catalog from which to choose.

The fun comes through, and the strategy translates well to the printed page.

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How do you sell the extraordinary comfort of Dr. Scholl's insoles? With 1,500 pillows of course.

Not only was this a blast to shoot, but it was a real attention-getter and sales increased whenever it ran. I still like my tagline: “You'll feel better when the doctor is in.”

(The pillows went to a homeless shelter.)

J&J was our biggest client at Saatchi agency Cadwell Davis Partners. They needed a new campaign for the Reach toothbrush that would compete around the world and communicate in different languages. So we created a TV campaign for them that did not necessarily rely on copy. This simple idea, a visual device, drawn by famed animator R.O. Blechman, is still remembered around the world today. But most importantly, it captured 10% market share globally.

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After seeing my work for IBM and others, JWT called me to help create a new website for their client Zyrtec. JWT’s designers are some of the best, as you can see. This friendly, easy to navigate site was created in under 30 days, with the help of some of their junior writers. Fun, friendly, colorful and packed with tools, tips and information allergy sufferers could use in planning for allergy season and for allergy relief.

Nothing gets your attention like a three-dimensional mailing delivered front and center to your desktop.

BusinessWeek magazine was seeking more ad pages from automotive advertisers. So for five, consecutive days, these colorful, fun, personalized mailings greeted twenty-five, targeted marketing managers as they arrived at work each morning.

Cost: $9,000. Results: $500,000 in new ad revenues. How’d you like that ROI.

One of Neustar’s largest profit centers is corporate digital security. Like protection from DDoS attacks in which a hacker literally holds your company’s website hostage until you pay them.

We needed to educate businesses about how vulnerable they were to this and sell them on Neustar as the solution. With our new interactive advertising campaign, the security services division had their best year ever.

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A video on your website is no longer a luxury for communicating to customers. It's a must. 

To do it well, you need copy simplicity and clarity of message. And of course good video copywriting.

I teamed up with animation house Idea Rocket to create these online videos for their clients.

I must have done something right. They keep coming back to me for more.

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This modest website literally changed the way businesses function today.

FedEx was one of our premier clients at Digitas, and came to us for ideas about expanding their original overnight letter business. (Remember that?)

This everyday assignment, and our creative solution for it, resulted in the first “just-in-time management” solution. As companies like GM (to name just one) now “FedEx” their car parts to the factory floor “just in time” to be assembled, saving factory floor space and millions in warehouse costs.

Thus, what started as one, simple creative assignment resulted in the veritable industry of “Just in Time Management Solutions” that we have today.

AT&T wanted a website that could feature everything a customer would want to know about their products and services all in one place and be easily updated as needed.

Through the Strategic Interactive Group at Digitas, I worked as copywriter, alongside my design/coder team, to create this simple, flexible, yet elegant site that still functions as AT&T’s main consumer website today.

The origin of our breakthrough Neustar interactive advertising campaign started here. With a dog named Wags and a campaign that promised to “Get surprising insights on your buyers” and to help businesses "Get to know their customers better."  

That’s because only Neustar’s proprietary information technology could tell businesses all they needed to know about their customers and their customers’ buying behavior.

My copywriting came straight out of Neustar’s proprietary customer research. Proof that, yes, research can drive creativity. And very effectively at that.

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A great e-book needs to function as educator, communicator, salesperson and free offer all rolled into one. It should not only be easy to read but a pleasure to do so. Otherwise you’ll just lose your customer.

I’ve written e-books for lots of clients. But just like my IBM work, I’m most proud of my copywriting for Neustar’s e-books. They are standouts in a crowded and confusing product segment. And make Neustar’s complex product benefits easy to understand.

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How easy is it to qualify to get 10% off your FedEx charges? If you can find the elephant in the picture, it’s yours.

Apparently a lot of people found the elephant. Client was looking for a 10% bump in sales. This direct mail piece got them 50%.

That’s not peanuts.

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Doner in Detroit was my first experience writing and producing DRTV for national clients like ADT. Everybody knows the iconic ADT campaign featuring the “pulse” graphics wrapping your house in security.

Now our job was to expand this campaign to feature customer testimonials and other ADT products, like mobile security for your car and personal security for loved ones. They were natural extensions of the ADT product line, but would they be accepted by customers?

Happily, the ADT name was well-known. My copywriting for the added products proved successful and the client and agency both were more than pleased.

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Remember when you actually received something in return for opening a bank account? A little appreciation? Maybe even free checking?” Hibernia remembers. And they wanted their customers to know how much they appreciated their banking relationships. And they meant it.

These spots were produced to offer a slight put-down of the competition that takes their customers for granted. Deposit numbers went up when these ran. And so did Hibernia's reputation.

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Every bank gives away free stuff from time to time. So how do you make your offer stand out? You compare it to the most well-known, unwanted free stuff you’ve ever received.

The result: Hibernia’s “free stuff” to customers was gone in three weeks.

Want to get closer to your customers? Get your app into their hands. But you need to make it relevant, easy to use and most of all, necessary to the customer. Luckily, I had some talented designers to help me. From Texas to Connecticut, these companies worked hard to be relevant through their apps and social media.

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Today’s CFL bulbs are energy-saving yes, but expensive. PG&E enlisted Yates Advertising, San Francisco, to encourage their customers to use CFL’s to lower their energy bills. But also to help the entire San Francisco region become more energy intelligent and aware. We chose humor and let the bulbs speak for themselves in a very fun, human and winning campaign.

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After seeing my IBM and AT&T work, Anthem Blue Cross of Wisconsin came to me to write a new website to help their customers make important choices. Like choosing a plan, deciding on a doctor, managing prescriptions, enrolling in Medicare, planning business employees coverage. The issues were complex. Government rules and regulations were immense. The Anthem designers and writers that helped me, along with the Account Executives in charge, were indispensable to this successful effort.  And Anthem was very pleased with the results.

You’ve seen them. Those dreadfully, dull trade ads in trade magazines of nearly every industry. Well, you know what really stands out in trade advertising? A good idea.

Here’s one. It’s an ad for lighting. Industrial, movie projection, stage lighting. A dull subject, maybe. But I’ll bet you laughed at the ad. Thousands of lighting buyers did. And sales were great.

How do you announce the new FedEx Sunday delivery service? What about a Sunday newspaper? Including the comics!

This was a hit wherever it was mailed. Every article is about FedEx, completely bogus, of course, but funny. My favorite: “Greenspan sees growth. But says doctors can remove it easily.”

We even hired the original artists of the Dagwood and Dick Tracy comic strips, who included the FedEx delivery guy in their stories. Then we extended the campaign to include coffee mugs, mouse pads, even buttons.

To their credit, FedEx absolutely loved this DM piece and it was written and raved about in the trade magazines of the time. But more importantly, it captured $150,000 in new business the first week.

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IntelliStation was IBM’s first multimedia computer. Believe it or not, these are direct response ads. See the 800 number? The results far exceeded client’s expectations and became IBM’s “cool” computer from a previously very uncool company. Even Eric Clapton called to order one. Yes, that Eric Clapton.

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Audible was well aware that people’s first choice has always been the printed page (or screen). But they were passionately convinced that if their customers could just try an audible selection they’d be hooked. Thus our campaign: “Your first story is free.” Plus a simple, easy-to-navigate, customer-friendly website that informed customers, helped them makes selections and drove sales.

One of my personal interests is finance and investing. So writing digital banners and web copy for Mathews Asia was right up my alley. Mathews Asia really knows their audience, their expertise and how to create laser-like marketing within this fascinating investment segment. It was fun!

Fidelity was one of Digitas’ major clients. And when they needed a new website, it was up to the Strategic Interactive Group. And to me as a writer, since nobody else wanted to write about 401Ks! But I dig this stuff. And anything else about investing. Yes, it’s a conservative website, but investment education was the focus here. And a successful website was the result.

Using the country’s heritage was a natural. But the client’s budget was less than zero. So to create a buzz, we placed these bus shelter posters in selected sites around New York City where buyers could see them during Fashion Week. They got noticed. We won awards. Now Bagir is sold in every New York store that matters.

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It’s really just a little book of access codes and calling instructions. But how do you make it seem as indispensable as everything else a businessperson needs on an overseas trip? This little DM piece was positioned as part of “A Survival Kit for World Travelers.”

Berkeley Wellness is one of the many marketing partners of Remedy Health Media. And this is one of the many websites I helped create for Remedy Health. Working with the folks at the University of Berkeley, we created Berkeley Wellness as a mainstream, general health and wellness website, offering insights and editorial content on every subject for patients of all ages. I call this design “casual California” and it’s always been one of my favorites.

One of the most effective elements of successful radio is the listener’s imagination. Using actors, voices, music, sound effects, you can create an entire world and a lasting, insightful, memorable message for clients. It’s also fun. So much fun, I would write radio for free. (Just don’t tell anybody.)

Here’s my radio reel, created over 25 years for all kinds of clients, from beer to French bread to cell phones. Have a listen. Have a few laughs. And have some fun, yourself.

At Davis Advertising, I was Creative Director of a group of six. Our clients were regional car dealers, local restaurants, tourist boards, and hotels. Mahi Mahs was one of the most amazing restaurants in Virgina Beach, We created their website and all promotion for their special occasions, celebrations and concerts. If only I could been paid in food.

HBO Video was our client at Cadwell Davis (a Saatchi agency) and Rockadoodle was their latest kid’s movie release. It was about a rooster who sang like Elvis. (I’m not making this up.) Turns out he also had hair like Elvis. The advertising solution was obvious.

Many printing companies are forced to turn away small printing jobs because they can’t handle the problems.

We created our own examples of the “practically impossible, insanely unreasonable, headache-inducing, client printing problems” they could solve with IBM Digital printers.

Starting at $150,000 per printer you’d think this would be a hard sell. Results of this DM piece were three times IBM’s expectations.

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Owning gold isn’t just for gold bugs. Blanchard wanted to convince people that gold, in some form, belongs in all portfolios. Whether in gold bullion or rare numismatic coins. But investing in gold takes knowledge and learning. It also takes knowledge and learning to sell gold. And I did a lot of learning to create this website for Blanchard. Along with digital advertising, even apps. This elegant website is still educating investors today.

Is a $15,000 watch that much better than a $100 watch? Not really. So you’d better have a pretty good story to tell. Even if it’s just about the person who wears it.

Apparently a lot of people could relate. Or wanted too. (Even the rich have to wake up the morning after).

This ran just twice in the Sunday New York Times and local buyers sold out. Never knew so many people had 15 grand to spend on a watch.

Peoplesoft was selling software to keep salespeople connected to the main office and warehouse. What better way to speak to road warriors than using the tool they use most when on the road. This whole DM piece was a full size laptop! And the humor about killing the flamingos got the point across with a memorable line and a smile.

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Sylvan Learning Center was one of Doner’s longest-standing clients. But they had always approved only the most conservative of ideas. Here with “Skateboard” we finally sold them a solid concept. Moreover, it was a concept that worked, convincing Sylvan that good ideas make sense. And money.

Roche Bobois is a small and incredibly expensive furniture store on lower Madison Avenue. But no one knew where the name came from. So we invented these two owners, Roche and Bobois, who in every ad, conversed back and forth to each other in a haughty French manner.

It worked so well customers began coming in asking for them by name. At first, salespeople confessed to customers that they were invented. But since so many seemed disappointed, the salespeople opted to keep the ruse going. Which actually seemed to increase sales.

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This is one of my favorite campaigns. Mainly because I was working with kids. There was no script before we shot the TV spot. I wrote these lines on the set and the kids delivered them as I wrote them. Maybe that’s why the kids seem so relaxed and natural. Moms loved this commercial and sales went straight up. Oh, and we won the top CEBA award for it, too.

AuctionDrop was a new company started by the billionaire owners of Yahoo! For a part of the profits, AuctionDrop will do all the work of selling your merchandise on eBay. As an introduction for a new service, and no money for photography, our campaign had to be informational and attention-getting, yet fun and a bit irreverent.

The Yahoo owners loved these ads. But most importantly, it got their new venture off and running more successfully than they ever thought possible.

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I often do voice-overs and sound effects in radio and TV myself, to save clients money (and to have some fun). At Davis Advertising, we were pitching a new client, First Tennessee, a little-known bank in Memphis. The economy was tough at the time and people needed all the help they could get, thus my tag-line: “We’re in this together.” I wrote this spot on a Saturday night (yes, that’s what I do on my weekends) and found music by the band, “Simply Red”. Then I recorded the voice-over myself. The agency still has the account today.

I drove across the mud and hills of this paradise, before it was built, in a battered, old three-wheeler, with the excited owner to discuss a selling strategy.

Today, if you’re a golfer, you can step out your front door and be on the green in five minutes. In the end, that’s all the strategy we really needed.

Virginia Beach is one of those semi-unknown, new, cool destinations with great restaurants, beach music and bars. Plenty of bars. Catch 31 was one of my favorites. Right on the beach, you can hear the waves crash, sip a margarita, knock back some oysters and listen to a Jimmy Buffet wannabe.

At Davis Advertising, we did their concert promotions, restaurant specials, website, menu design...you name it. And why not? I was always there anyway.

Yet another computer hardware upgrade. Yawn. But not if it’s positioned as a matter of survival. As we point out in this DM piece, you’re either the predator or the prey in business, too.

Must have hit a nerve. Largest IBM upgrade response, ever.

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When people ask me about rush projects I always tell this story. We had been trying to sell this AT&T catalog of 36 spreads for over a year. Finally they bought our ideas. It was then that the AE came to me and said: “Okay, Steve here’s your schedule: we need nine spreads written Thursday morning, nine spreads Thursday afternoon, nine spreads written Friday morning, nine spreads Friday afternoon.” Thankfully, they used it for a DM piece as well.

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Zantaz protects corporate email. And this is a good example of a solid DM letter package that sells that successfully. All the elements are here: an excellent O.E, a clear Johnson Box, simple letter copy, prominent subheads, that communicate even if nobody reads the letter, and of course, a free offer. When all the elements are working together well, you get a DM that really pulls. Just like this one did for Zantaz.

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GM wanted current Aurora car owners to buy a new one. So we sent current owners a DM piece asking them what features they would like to see in the new Aurora. GM engineers actually did include some of the customers’ suggestions. Then we sent a follow up DM with the claim: “The new Aurora. It’s everything you said it should be.”

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Remedy Health was originally called Medizine Inc. They produced paper books like Diabetes Today, Remedy Health, Health Over 50, and distributed them through drug outlets and doctor’s offices everywhere. But their print business was absolutely dying. They knew they had to go digital. So they hired me and a staff to create digital versions of their publications. I always feel good when I can sell a product that helps people.

Today, Remedy Health is a happy and healthy digital, medical health and education company. I still consult with these fine people today.

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Nothing’s more important to the retailer than a sales kit. Knowing how to sell a product is as important as why you should sell it. IBM was always good at this. They wanted to give retailers everything they needed to sell their beloved, new Aptiva computer.

We used the same creative elements that worked so well in our successful consumer campaign. And we heard back that this was a hit with retailers everywhere.

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I once had a girlfriend who just loved wearing my shirts. I never realized what a compliment that was until years later. Or how sexy that could be. Then for some reason when we had to create a TV spot for Van Heusen, all those memories came flooding back. This spot is dedicated to her.