Huckster: My Life as an Ad Man

For years, friends and associates said that they enjoyed hearing stories about my experiences in and around the advertising business and suggested I write a book. I resisted, thinking that if anyone wanted to read about the ad biz, they'd rather read the thoughts and ruminations of someone from one of the a meccas like New York. But then I was reminded that while Seattle may not be the biggest market, it's definitely one of the coolest and most progressive. As Frank Sinatra would have said, "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere." My agency had the most successful thirty-year run of any agency in the history of this ultra-cool city. No agency in modern times had climbed to the top faster or stayed there longer. Perhaps success in Seattle did give me at least a modicum of credibility. Bolstered by that fact, I kicked around the idea of writing a "How to" book to help others succeed in this fascinating business irrespective of where they chose to ply the profession. That is, I kicked around the idea for a few days until I remembered why I had never been a huge fans of those books. Although my experience was limited, those I had read were too much like work. So being a creative guy, I decided to write a textbook that was both helpful and fun to read. After pounding out an outline, I sent it to a friend who is very smart, a great writer and someone not afraid to tell me when I'm being stupid. "Ron, you're being stupid," he said. "A textbook on advertising written by you would never get off the shelves. Write a true-life 'womb to tomb' story about your incredible career in advertising. The very idea that Ron Elgin could become a success at anything is not just funny, it's fucking hilarious!" So you won't find chapters promising to teach you the secrets of becoming a great presenter, or showing you the formula for guaranteed financial success, or giving you tips on client retention, or even a diagram showing how to button your fly. Instead, I share stories. True stories -- well, at least how I remember them. Anyway, my hope is that perhaps through this collection of bizarre but true stories, you can learn from my mistakes, benefit from when we did get it right, and most of all, just have fun reading about an incredible magic carpet ride. Read more