Whether he likes it or not, Eric Tilford, a principal at St. Louis agency Core, has become the face of Generation X.
Tilford’s mug fills the cover of the June 9 issue of Time magazine for a story that attempts to answer the vexing question of what those inscrutable 20-somethings are all about.
Unfortunately for Core, the agency is never mentioned in print.
The ‘Cover’ section of the table of contents states only that ‘Eric Tilford, 27, is managing partner of a St. Louis advertising agency.’
A Time art director who had lived in St. Louis knew of Core and had photographer Michael Eastman shoot some of the shop’s principals, most of whom are in their 20s.
‘I thought I was in there for filler,’ Tilford said.
But a day before the issue came out he was told he’d be on the cover. ‘They said, ‘You were real-looking,” recalled Tilford, who sports a goatee and horn-rimmed glasses. ‘In other words, I’m just ugly enough.’
Another possible explanation for his selection? ‘I think I just looked more pissed off than everybody else,’ Tilford said.
Copyright ASM Communications, Inc. (1997) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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The Tome Of The Unknown Adman
