Cliff's Edge

For every Belushi you lose, you get an Eddie Murphy," says Dan Morales, comparing cast changes on Saturday Night Live to Cliff Freeman and Partners' rough summer, when four top staffers and two clients left the New York shop. "You have this great cast, and then they start leaving for the movies. … Then slowly people you don't know pop up and become your favorite character."If the Belushi here is Eric Silver, the creative director who left in June, then Morales—promoted from acd to Silver's post in November—is gunning for the Murphy role.He's already in the fray by mid-December, shooting two spots each day during one week for new client TBS, preparing for the March debut of Pabst Brewery's Old Style rebranding, and wrapping up a Value City holiday campaign and Nascar promo spots for Fox Sports Net. After the loss of Quizno's and Ben & Jerry's in June, the hectic pace is welcome.It's also an about-face schedule for a guy who says he once "wanted to do nothing but play music for a few years before I got a real job." Morales, 33, grew up in Irvine, Calif., aspiring to be a jazz drummer. The son of an accountant and a stay-at-home mom, he graduated from San Jose State with a marketing degree (after starting out as an art major), then moved to San Francisco.When the harsh realities of the musician's life sunk in—one year he made about $8,000—Morales moved to Atlanta and attended the Creative Circus and the Portfolio Center. "I knew advertising was my thing," he says. "I used to be an art student, I write, I loved film, I loved music—it was the perfect combo of everything."Morales' sensibilities fit right in with the wacky humor Cliff Freeman is known for. He was the copywriter on the 2001 Grand Prix-winning Fox Sports Net campaign—showing ludicrously faux athletic events in foreign countries to highlight the network's localized sports offerings—and more recently oversaw Value City ads such as one in which a mom has a tantrum when her kids drag her out of the store, to show shoppers' affinity for the place. As for the criticism that the work is too over-the-top, he says it's the surest way to stand out. "We don't have the No. 1 brand in the categories," says Morales, who holds the senior-most creative position behind founders Cliff Freeman and ecd Arthur Bijur. "The budget is always 10 percent of the main competitor's—so what are you going to do with that 10 percent? Something to get talked about."Morales first met Silver during a vacation to New York in 1998. "You get a sense from some people that it's more than just a job," Morales says. "I got a sense he wanted to do cool stuff." Two weeks later, he left his copywriter job at Black Rocket and moved cross-country to join Cliff Freeman. "I just saw something in his work," says Freeman. "I had a hunch."During his two years at Black Rocket, Morales worked on Yahoo!, Pete's Wicked Ale and Wired magazine. He'd become a fan of cd and co-founder Bob Kerstetter's work in ad school and was one of the shop's first creative hires. After five years in New York, Morales retains something of California in his laid-back, even-keeled presence, pausing thoughtfully before answering questions. "He never loses his cool," observes Freeman. "He has a wonderful demeanor and great common sense."He's a "calm genius," says art director Rick Ardito, who worked with Morales on Fox Sports Net's Nascar spots that show racers in wrecked cars talking about the dangers of other sports. Adds copywriter Grant Smith, "He's extremely collaborative. He's also a really calming presence—he really listens, and in stressful situations tends to be very level." Morales chooses the words "creative" and "passionate" to describe himself. "In this business, we spend a lot of time and energy doing what we do," he says, "and if you're not totally into it and you're not pursuing something awesome, then you're kind of wasting your time."When he's not working, Morales, who's single, says he lives a "rootless" existence in the East Village, playing drums in a band and working on writing projects. But there is little time for that now. After wrapping the 10 ads for TBS' syndicated sitcoms, as well as two spots for John McEnroe's new Fox Sports Net show, Morales is preparing promos for TBS' upcoming syndicated episodes of Sex and the City.He's also getting to know the agency's new cast members, Jon Garguilo from Merkley Newman Harty & Partners and three recent Miami Ad School graduates. "It's pretty cyclical," says Morales of turnover at the shop. "Because the agency has such a heritage, it will always attract people who want to do fun and great work." He's hoping to help move the agency forward as well. "I think we can be bigger and better than we've ever been," Morales says. "I want us to go beyond the TV front, and I don't want us to resort to what we were—it's cooler if we try to become something we've never been." He mentions the new editing facilities and says he'd like to work in the Hispanic arena."He's getting everybody enthused about the future of the agency," says acd Dawn McCarthy. "Everything's looking up here."

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Cliff's Edge

Mae Anderson

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Mae Anderson