It’s not easy getting a consensus at BBDO. But a loose confeder ation of executives was able to assemble about 300 New York staffers on the spur of the moment Friday morning.
They went office to office with the words, “It’s Phil’s last day.” By 10 a.m., an enthusiastic “mob” lined 52nd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, and broke into applause when Phil Dusen berry emerged from his car.
Stunned onlookers watched a 10-minute ovation as Allen Rosenshine led the group in chants of, “Phil! Phil! Phil!” and “Hip, hip, hurray!” One staffer reports that the notor iously shy Dusenberry was “blushing through his tan” as he shook hands with the throng.
Jeff Mordos and Bill Katz were the ringleaders, and they got Dusenberry’s driver involved: He called just before his passenger climbed in to give them an ETA. “He was pretty surprised,” Mordos says of Dusenberry. “He was stunned. It was fun, but at the same time it was an emotional moment.”
It doesn’t end there. “At our June 11 agency meeting, he’ll be recognized,” Mordos says. “Allen is hosting something for him, PepsiCo and other clients are doing something. He’s going to be basking in the glory for a long time to come.”
After spending more than 30 of his 40 years in advertising at BBDO, Dusenberry, 66, retired Friday. But the day was just beginning, so, true to form, he took measure of the staff and whispered, “What are you all doing outside? Let’s get to work.”
Phil: Married to the Mob
