My very good friend, Steve Hayden, who I’ve worked with off and on for many years (he was also kind enough to write the foreword for my first book, MadScam,) has a really interesting piece in AdWeek, on the background to the 1984 spot which will always define Steve as “That Guy!” As commenter Josh Tavlin says… What a wonderful story. But to me what makes it wonderful is the number of times Steve gives credit to other Creatives for their contributions. I had the privilege of working for Steve at Ogilvy for 14 years, and his modesty and generosity are genuine and a rarity in this business. So while it's true he helped raise the creative bar for Super Bowl spots, he's raised an even higher bar for the way Creatives should exhibit their talent. Damn right… Having worked for far too many genuine arse-holes over far too many years at far too many BDA's, I have to say that Steve is a fucking gentleman, par excellence. The day he decides to pack it in at Ogilvy, they should close the doors and turn out the fucking lights!
See... It even works in Lego!