As a young copywriter, I was lucky to fall in with a good crowd: The Martin Agency, founded by Dave Martin in 1965.
Dave passed away Tuesday. I didn’t know him well, other than he was a gentleman, a good father, humble and respected by all.
But I want to share some observations about how he set his small ad agency in Richmond, Virginia, on a course to become one of the world’s greats. (You know their work for Geico, Walmart, Discover Card, FreeCreditReport.com and the “What Can Brown Do For You Campaign” for UPS.)
I was hired as a rookie copywriter at The Martin Agency a few years after college, just before Christmas 1981. It felt like the big time, though the agency only had about 25 employees. Continue reading