You Should Know These People_Carl Ally

As the advertising business turns its collective gaze on the froth of Cannes, let me open your eyes to a true Madison Avenue lion.

In a 1969 survey, in the midst of Advertising’s Creative Revolution, some 50 ad executives were asked this question: “Who is the best adman in the business?” Nearly all 50 of them (44 to be exact) said the same name: Carl Ally.

You should know him.

Carl Ally was a fighter pilot in World War II.

And in 1962, after a few years in his native Detroit, he brought that fight to Madison Avenue when he hung a shingle and opened his eponymous agency, Carl Ally, Inc.

From the then-affordable Seagrams Building at 375 Park Avenue, Carl Ally and his band of brilliant creatives would bring copious amounts of grit, wit and sublime art direction to some of the best brands. And in building these brands, the agency would create some of the world’s best, most effective and ultimately most creative advertising ever.

The work was typically the perfect combination of logic and magic.

Carl had a philosophy of making powerful advertising that went like this:

“The real trick is figuring out what the substance of an ad should be, and then in handling that substance in the best way possible.”

Open For Business

Ally opened his agency with the Volvo business. He won the account in a shoot-out with other agencies.

Ally was a passionate fan (and owner) of the nearly unheard of Swedish car brand. (So unknown, his partner and art director produced comps for the brand writing the name as “Valvo,” with an “a,” not an “o.”)

Oh, and Carl presented the work in the pitch meeting with the misspelling. It was his way of demonstrating that Americans really didn’t know the brand. A powerful bit of meeting theater that complemented the smart and savvy work.

Carl Ally, Inc won the pitch.

And the work produced for Volvo was a far cry from the shine and sheen that was coming from the domestic car brands of the time.

Carl Ally work had insight, truth and utter magnetism.

Hertz: Putting Number 2 in Their Place

In marketing and advertising classes Avis’ brilliant “We Try Harder” campaign by Doyle Dane Bernbach is studied and revered.

It disruptively and wonderfully asserts that there is power in being “Number 2.”

Well, Carl Ally punched back hard and made an even more compelling case for being Number One. (And in so doing stemmed Hertz’s market share erosion and kept them numero uno.)

Ally and the agency were also masters at finding an icon and building on it. Look no further than spirits brands, Cinzano and Beefeater gin.

And also brilliant at finding truth and shining a light on it — unexpectedly.

The Birth of FedEx

One of the greatest campaigns of all-time was Ally’s (then Ally & Gargano’s) work for Federal Express and the creation of the Fastest-Talking Man. It was work with insight. Empathy. Persuasion. And true, laugh-out-loud comedy. (Ally and crew created the notion that B2B advertising didn’t have to be B to Boring.)

Watch the spot here.

Carl Ally and his longtime business partner, Amil Gargano built Ally & Gargano into one of the world’s most successful agencies. In time Carl would walk away from Madison Avenue. In time he would walk away from all of us when he passed away in 1999.

Carl Ally, Inc’s influence doesn’t show up as much as it should today. But when you read his wisdom (see below), you can definitely shore up whatever it is you’re working on. So much of what he observes and says rings true today.

Interestingly Carl Ally, Inc and Ally & Gargano’s work didn’t always punch you in the gut. Sometimes, it took the highest road possible. And in todays war-ravaged world, it’s inspiring to see the actual promotion of peace.

Here is a comp for a pitch to the military contractor General Dynamics.

Here is an ad from innovative financial client, IOS.

If Carl Ally opened an agency today, he would certainly not capitulate to the dancing drivel and increasing A.I.-slop that sullies all of our screens.

He and the crew would be so much smarter. And the brands they worked for would be a lot more differentiated and successful.

Now that you’ve come to know, Carl Ally, how will you raise your thinking?

How can you make your work punch through?

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Images (and more): Shout-out to the fantastic book, “Ally & Gargano,” written by Carl’s legendary partner, Amil Gargano (you should know him, too!)

Also, my pal George Tannenbaum did his own profile of Carl and the agency. He worked there as well. And you should read his post, too.