Should Leo Burnett Take ‘The Man’s’ Name Off the Door?

By Matt Van Hoven 

We’ve always loved this clip of Leo Burnett’s speech “When to take my name off the door.” This speech is meant to inspire you to feel good about what you do so long as you do it for the intrinsic value of communicating in a persuasive, clean way. It’s idealism at its best/worst and maybe outdated a bit but it’s definitely the kind of thing we all need to watch once in awhile if for no other reason to understand a little about this business. The message then isn’t just for the Leo Burnett agency of today, but for all of us.

Booms Burnett, “let me tell you when I might demand that you take my name off the door…that will be the day when you spend more time trying to make money and less time making advertising, our kind of advertising…”

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Advertising is a perfect example of “unappreciated art” &#151 probably because the field is so cluttered with unsavory work that the good stuff has a hard time getting noticed &#151 and then it’s only by some internal award show or Kevin Nealon. And that makes it hard to take pride in what you do sometimes.

More: “Leo Burnett Dances With The Dragon (Again)

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