Why I love advertising

After graduating from the University of Michigan and turning down Harcourt Brace Jovanovich for a position as an editorial trainee at Roofing and Siding Monthly, I was having a conversation with a former creative director who asked me, "Have you ever thought about advertising? You might be good at it."

Thirty years later, I find it hard to think of any better advice that I've ever received over the course of my career. Here are just a few of the reasons.

1. I get to write everyday.
2. I usually get paid for it.
3. My words help clients' businesses grow.
4. I arrived home after being fired from JWT only to find a telegram in my mailbox from then CEO, Burt Manning, congratulating me for being the agency's print copywriter of the year.
5. Seeing a pro bono client cry when she heard her radio spot for the first time.
6. It's one of the few professions where you can roll a client's test car and get a promotion.
7. No two days are ever alike.
8. Where else can a Latin major help convince a client to spend $80,000,000 on a campaign featuring Mickey Mouse.
9. Dabney Coleman
10. The Colorado 500
11. A very long list of funny, talented, professional coworkers, many of whom are still friends after all these years.

There are more, but these are some of the more memorable ones. And now on to the next 30 years of creating ideas that sell.