MJB Coffee/Hal Riney

This radio commercial was an extension of a campaign personally created by the late, great Hal Riney (pictured above).

Riney was an icon of San Francisco and American advertising. Long before I joined his staff, I remember how the creative folks in Portland and San Francisco would wait for whatever his next jewel might be. He did not disappoint. Bartles & Jaymes. The launch of Saturn. Ronald Reagan’s re-election campaign, including “Bear In The Woods” and “It’s Morning Again In America.” Perrier. Henry Weinhard’s. John Deere. And MJB.

He was probably the foremost advocate of branding in the advertising industry, at a time when branding wasn’t as fashionable as it is today. As a result of his vision and talent, he made a lot of money for himself, his staff and most importantly, his clients.

Hal was not a guy to mince his words. His language was colorful. He could be… adamant. I only mention this to give you an idea of the pressure of writing a script to extend his campaign. In his style. And he was going to do the voiceover.

Lucky for me, Hal found the script acceptable. The day after he recorded it (I was not allowed to attend; what would be the point?) there was a significant bonus check on my desk. I was told Hal had said, “Not bad.” Which, along with the check, was about as good as it got.

Hal passed away on March 24, 2008. He is missed.

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