Hal Riney 1932 - 2008
If you're not a media geek like i am, this may not mean much to you. But Hal Riney died this morning.
I don't know that Mondale would have had a chance against Reagan in 84 regardless of the ads that Reagan ran.
But John McCain is not going to have Hal Riney at his back in 2008.
During his career of almost 50 years, Mr. Riney developed advertising around the notion that understatement sold better than overstatement, and any conclusions about a product were better left to the audience. He also pushed against advertising that was intrusive or insulting, and he wasn't ashamed of ads that made people laugh or cry.
. . .
Once called "the Paul Bunyan of advertising," Mr. Riney also worked for Republican political candidates and in the 1980s was part of the so-called Tuesday Team, a group of admen working on Ronald Reagan's campaign. His "Bear in the Woods" spot, which subtly compared the Russian communists to a bear in the woods that some declined to see, and his "Morning in America" campaign for Mr. Reagan are political classics.
I don't know that Mondale would have had a chance against Reagan in 84 regardless of the ads that Reagan ran.
But John McCain is not going to have Hal Riney at his back in 2008.
Labels: pop culture
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3 Comments:
I know folks who still buy Saturns based on the brand's image in the early days.
I hear it's just another car now.
Did Riney do the Reagan ad where the two guys are walking on a sidewalk in a suburban neighborhood and one asks the other to make sure he keeps an eye on his wallet? Was that about Democrats raising taxes or robber barons fleecing easy marks, er, people? I still don't know.
By
Tony, at 6:40 PM
I don't think that was one of his.
I liked his Henry Weinhard ads, though.
By
Barry, at 12:29 PM
I'll have to have a slice of Pepperidge Farm bread in his memory.
'Cause Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Henry Weinhard: great commercials. Especially the one with the old codger in the Old West saloon saying "someday only little girls will ride horses."
Damn beer gave me a migraine, though.
By
Anonymous, at 9:10 PM
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