Two Parts Genius

There are two major differences between writing an ad and writing a column.

You write an ad for other people; you write a column for yourself. Also, an ad demands single-minded focus (if you’re doing something for Saab, let’s say, you can’t suddenly diverge and start raving on about Cocoa Puffs, let’s say). But in a column, you can go in any direction at any point and it’s unlikely someone will stop you. (Well, they might try, but what are they going to do? Call in Pile and launch a review?)

For example, this column was supposed to be about Victor Navasky:

His running magazines such as the startup Monocle and America’s oldest weekly, The Nation;

A clever seriocomic article he did for The New York Times Magazine in November 1966 in which he identified certain advertising agencies as being emblematic of certain schools of philosophy (BBDO was pragmatic, and...