I Borrow an Ad Memory or Two about Armstrong and BBDO.

Such a charming reminiscence came out of The New York Times this week. Ad columnist Stuart Elliot offered a response from an older reader about the “proper” pronunciation of his agency’s name:

When I worked at BBDO, from June 1951 to March 1954, nobody in the agency called it anything other than “BBDO.” The switchboard operators who answered phone calls always answered in a very stylized, “This ... izz ... BBDO!” Outside the agency it was usually called, I guess, “BBD and O.”

One account I worked on was Armstrong Cork. I used to take the Pennsy to Lancaster at least twice a month. Everybody at Armstrong called the agency “Batten’s,” because Armstrong had been a client of the Batten Company for many years before Batten’s merger with Durstine, Osborn & Barton in 1928, which then morphed into Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn.

Elliott thanks the reader and answered:

Although “the Pennsy” – the Pennsylvania Railroad – is no longer chugging, Armstrong, now Armstrong World Industries, is a client of BBDO’s to this day.

Now perhaps it is lazy of me to make a post out of an existing story line, especially one featured in Elliott’s column. Armstrong has been a BBDO client for at least 58 years. I couldn’t track down the exact number (although I bet someone in New York knows it). I couldn’t honestly tell you that Armstrong doesn’t use other agencies of all sizes and shapes, either.

It is always fashionable to feature the medium-of-the-moment and fawn over the edgiest boutique. That is the nature of the new. But I point out that really long-time account retention is not only possible but continuously rewarding for all parts of the client-agency relationship. Frankly, it’s heartening right now to observe this kind of thing. I’m an alumnus of BBDO (though more recently than the early ’50s); I hope it’s true that great shops never die.

Whoever said “nostalgia isn’t what it used to be?”

Thank you for the 1952 Armstrong Flooring ad from Retro Renovation, which notes that the “neutral grey works just fine with the orange and chartreuse paint.”

Astronauts? Moon?

May I have 55 words with you? (Or perhaps a few more?)

The New York Times’ Stuart Elliott reminded me today that the 40th anniversary of Americans’ first walk on the moon is July 20. Covering the upcoming event in his column, Elliot collected a number of companies and brands that are celebrating the anniversary to make points and move products.

Elliott highlights Louis Vuitton luggage as one of these celebrants – in which the company uses the Annie Liebowitz photo above as part of a print ad campaign. It's a superb picture. Even more enjoyable: Louis Vuitton Journeys is now running a purpose-built video tribute, featuring the same three astronauts as in the Liebowitz picture: Sally Ride, Buzz Aldrin and Jim Lovell.

In 1969, I was already in the service. I recall feeling pretty proud that Neil Armstrong, the first human to set foot on the moon, was a former Navy officer. It’s a thrill to see the anniversary roll up on us, even if I wasn’t paying proper attention.

I have to laugh about what might have caused Elliott to inquire about Tang, though.

His column ends with a comment about the famously connected breakfast drink, which NASA started using for space flights in 1965: “We in fact have no plans” for ads about the moon landing, said Bridget MacConnell, a spokeswoman for Kraft Foods, which sells Tang. “The focus for our powdered beverages right now is on Crystal Light and Kool-Aid.”

Does Elliott have a lingering ritualistic attachment to “Coneheads,” the 1993 Dan Akroyd-Jane Curtin movie? One of its most famous bits starts with the Coneheads’ daughter (played by Michelle Burke):

Connie: I think I'll have some Tang. Prymatt Conehead: Ah Tang, the drink astronauts took to the moon. Beldar Conehead: Astronauts to the moon? [Beldar and Prymatt laugh]

Forty years back, Tang’s connection with the US space program was being advertised to sell product. What’s different now? Well, our astronauts could take along a better brand of luggage today.