Chiat/Day Creative Mastery

Dan Turner hit a hot button in the Sept. 1 issue (“Backlash Against ABC Ads Points Up Risk of Branding”). Oh boy, another chance to critique TBWA Chiat/Day! (Does part of the interest stem from envy of their billings, I’ve sometimes wondered?)

A couple points not mentioned in Dan’s fine article: Chiat/Day is even better known for in-your-face creative than for brand-building. Isn’t that what the ABC campaign is? An attempt to break through sometimes ho-hum, cluttered competitive advertising?

I too admire Chiat/Day’s billings. But we and they do have something in common: only two West Coast-headquartered agencies have successfully expanded from West to East. We are the other one.

JOE R. EISAMAN

LOIS/EJL