by Don Potter
“We’re back to that again. It could ruffle feathers back in Pittsburgh.”
“Shouldn’t be wearing feathers in this business. You need a tough hide and sharp claws. Besides, if we’re going to reduce personnel, we need to get the most out of everyone and cut through the problems of dealing with fiefdoms.”
“Yeah, but PR remained a separate profit center when we tried to bring the castle walls down before.”
“Let me work out that issue with Nancy.”
Charlie laughed. “If you can get her to agree, go for it. I’ll handle any problems it causes back at headquarters.”
Walking back to my office after bidding Charlie goodbye, I noticed a familiar face on the cover of a magazine sitting on my secretary’s desk. I picked it up and flipped through the pages. There was an article about women who had been involved in the civil rights cause and were now using that experience to support the feminist movement. Featured in the story was non-other than Shelly Stern. The picture showed she had abandoned her afro for a short, boyish hairdo. I guessed she had less chance of being arrested or injured with her new equality cause, but wondered how this would change the emphasis of her yet-to-be-finished and probably never-to-be-published book. That was unkind, but it was how I felt.
After making the first round of personnel cuts, I called the survivors together and explained my theory about integrated management. There were a few unhappy faces and Nancy looked miserable, as the reality of what was happening began to sink in. She was no longer just the PR queen; instead she would be forced to be a team player. This really bothered her, but I was more concerned with keeping Carlson/Andrews alive by doing my part in Los Angeles than in feeding her always hungry ego.
Several months later a very excited Charlie O called me and said, “Sit down and hold on tight.”
“Okay, I’m holding on.”
“Japan Airlines.”
“Our San Francisco office’s biggest client.”
“Not anymore. The airline is moving its operation to LA.”
“Good news for here what about up there?”
“Old man Booth is taking early retirement, and we’re closing the San Francisco operation. The other accounts that are willing to stay with us will be handled out of LA.”
“Who’s staying?”
“That’s your job. Get busy. From now on, everyone on the West Coast reports to you.”
“Everyone?”
“Everyone, including Miss Nancy Gates. Oh, you’ll be getting a salary bump along with the title of executive vice president.”
“Thanks, I’ll take you surfing next time you’re in town.”
“Hell no, Charlie O doesn’t surf.”
“I forgot to tell you, Ginger’s pregnant again.”
“You or your intern?”
“Me this time.”
“You’re not working enough. Congratulations.”
I hung up the phone feeling a little bit older. Rob Fleming, family man, with a wife and soon three kids.
31
Don McLean releases the song American Pie. Five mean break into the Democratic Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in DC. Pittsburgh Pirate star outfielder Roberto Clemente dies in a plane crash. And Rob goes to work for the Japanese.
* * *
We burned the midnight oil and anything else that would shed light on the transition as we combined both offices. Now we needed to focus on Japan Airlines and develop new business as well. The conference room was packed with the supervisory personnel who had survived the merger. One of them was Toyosuki ‘Tommy’ Hayakawa. Tommy came from Japan to the US to marry a girl he met at Stamford. It did not work out, but he decided to stay. Tommy was active in the Japanese business communities in both LA and San Francisco and had knowledge of and access to the companies coming into the States from Japan, and needing an ad agency.
I made my speech. “The Orient, particularly Japan right now, is the best opportunity for immediate growth in our LA office. The Japanese have built a solid infrastructure for manufacturing and much of the sales growth will come from outside their country. ‘Japan, Inc.’ is already making inroads in the States with electronics and cars, and I want this agency to be deeply involved. We are dealing with a country that has a completely different culture. So, all of you will use Tommy Hayakawa as a source of information and reference to help us become the agency for Japanese companies wanting to do business in our country.”
“What Japanese companies do you have in mind?” Nancy asked.
“Tommy and I have identified quite a few. Hitachi has an American heading up marketing for its line of consumer electronics products. He is looking for an agency to handle stereo components now at BBDO in LA.”
“Won’t that be a conflict?” Nancy asked. “The Pittsburgh office handles Westinghouse.”
“We don’t think so, the only part of the business up for grabs is the audio portion and Westinghouse has nothing in that category.”
Before I could take another question, my secretary came in and called out, “Mister Fleming.”
“Not now, please.”
“It’s your wife. She’s in the hospital.”
I raced for Cedars Sinai. Ginger was fine, although very weak, but the baby was gone. She had miscarried. Ginger could not stop weeping and I was helpless.
32
The Roe v. Wade case is overturned by the US Supreme Court; this stops states from banning abortion. President Nixon orders the dismissal of the Watergate Special Prosecutor. The last American troops leave Vietnam. And Rob is worried about Ginger.
* * *
Ginger was not well. She had not fully recovered from the miscarriage. Outwardly she looked fine, but seemed distracted and forgetful. One time she locked Beth in the car with the engine running, and often she would forget what she was doing. I mentioned it to her at dinner one evening.
“What are we going to do, sweetheart?” I asked.
“Do about what?”
“The sadness. You seem so unhappy.”
Tears formed in her eyes and she whispered, “The baby. My depression started before losing the baby. But now it’s worse.”
I took her hand. “I know.”
“It’s not fair.”
“It’s not, but I hate seeing you so depressed. I’m being selfish, but I wanted my old Ginger back.”
Her tears became a flood. “She’s gone forever. The old Ginger is never coming back.”
I coaxed her to see a psychiatrist who prescribed an antidepressant. Gradually she surfaced though the depression and there were times, brief intervals, when the old Ginger did seem to return. But I knew she was never going to stay.
Work distracted me from my family worries – partly because I was too busy to dwell on outside issues and partly because I spent little time at home. Tommy Hayakawa was hard at work meeting with and entertaining Japanese businessmen whenever they were in LA. This resulted in our landing a ramen noodles account and a major brewery trying to break in to the US market. Tommy suggested we go to Japan rather than wait for prospects to come to us, and I promised to mention it to Charlie O on his upcoming visit to LA.
Charlie arrived in LA and surprised me by refusing to come to the office. Instead he wanted to talk while we took a long walk on the beach.
“To say Carlson/Andrews has had better years is a gross understatement,” Charlie said as he kicked up sand by the water’s edge. “More new business is the answer.”
We both wore shorts and T-shirts, but that really did not suit him. “We need to carve out a niche to attract fresh business, Charlie,” I said, “Instead of being one of a pack of agencies chasing the same rabbit I have an idea. I should say Tommy Hayakawa suggested this idea.”
“And what is it?”
“Japan, Inc. That country is exploding with potential business as more and more companies are entering the States, and we’re in a position to grab ourselves a big chunk of it.”
/>
“What are you suggesting?”
“Instead of sitting on our asses grumbling about going broke, I want to go over there with Tommy Hayakawa and get the business at the source, before they arrive here and open up their ad accounts for competitive pitches.”
“I like it. When?”
I glanced at my watch. “When do you want me to go?”
“Before this agency goes belly-up.” Charlie dodged away from a wave. “The Pacific Ocean’s too damn cold for me.”
I pointed to the horizon and said, “Heat, light and prosperity are on the other side.”
“Then sayonara, or whatever the say.” He moved away from another wave and kicked sand at it. “How’s the family?”
“Dad’s retired and Ginger’s okay.”
“Just okay?”
“Since we lost the baby, you know.”
“Yeah,” he patted me on the back. “Go to Japan and knock ‘em dead, then everything will get better”
Tommy insisted our first meeting in Tokyo should be with Japan Airlines followed by Hitachi, which recently came on board, and our other Japanese accounts, even though they were already clients. He told me that not visiting them first would be considered a loss of face for them.
After a busy couple of weeks and countless meetings, Tommy and I reviewed our activities on the flight home. I asked, “Do you think the meetings were productive?”
“We’ll see how serious they are as word filters back to us. It’s very difficult to read the minds of Japanese businessmen. When they say yes it does not mean yes, I agree with you. It means yes, I understand.” Tommy said.
“A lot to learn,” I replied.
“You did very well. They were impressed with you and with our presentations.”
I came to the office, still suffering from jet-lagged, and immediately ran right into a potentially serious squabble. Keenan Carpenter, a PR guy Nancy hired to take her place when she was promoted and moved back to headquarters in Pittsburgh, was fighting with the Sunkist PR Director. So he and I talked.
“Keenan, you’re too good a PR guy to get caught up in office politics or to upset a client over simple disagreements, so what happened?”
“There was a misunderstanding.”
“The client didn’t think so.”
“Who told you anyway?”
“The director of marketing.”
“He doesn’t know much about public relations.”
“This is a matter of human relations.”
“Whatever.”
“You damaged the agency’s relationship with an important client to say nothing about the bridges you burned internally.”
“I work for Nancy Gates in Pittsburgh, not you.” The PR profit center in the LA office was separated from the rest of the agency soon after Nancy moved back to Pittsburgh. Apparently she stopped being a team player once she returned to headquarters.
I stifled the urge to punch his smug face. “We’ll talk about this later.”
It was not long before three Japanese companies hired our agency: Yamaha motorcycles, Suntory liquors and cordials, and Shiseido’s line of upscale cosmetic products. We were on our way, which was good news because Sunkist fired us. And I wanted to fire Keenan Carpenter. I called Nancy.
“I want him out of here.”
“Good morning to you too, Rob. I take it you mean Keenan.”
“Yes. He lost us the Sunkist account.”
“Can’t do it.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Both. Either.”
“Give me a reason, and it better be good.”
“I’ll give you twenty-five million reasons wrapped up in one word.”
“That is?”
“Universal. As in Universal Studios, the movie and theme park people. Keenan Carpenter has clout there.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“A close friend of his is the new creative director at MCA, Universal’s parent, and he wants to replace the current stable of agencies and put everything under one roof.”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm all you like, twenty-five million dollars in billings is nothing to sneeze at. There’s nothing on the Coast that’s bigger unless you could pick up a Japanese car account.”
“And if we get the business, we end up being stuck with Keenan Carpenter.”
“Charlie thinks it’s a fair trade off.”
“He doesn’t have to work with that jerk.”
“Keenan knows he has a tendency to rub people the wrong way. But he is really tight there and loves the show biz aspect of being involved with Universal. I’m proposing he keeps the title of head of PR operations for the West Coast but works only on Universal.”
“What’s to keep Keenan from screwing up that relationship?”
“He and the top guy at the client are, you might say, roommates.”
“You mean lovers?”
“They prefer to say roommates.”
“And what happens when they have a lover’s quarrel?”
“Grown ups don’t bring their domestic problems into the workplace.”
“Really?”
“Charlie wants it.”
“So that’s it?”
“Seems like it. Talk to you later.” She hung up and I was stuck with that screaming gay blade Keenan Carpenter.
There was one more surprise coming my way. Keenan’s lover at Universal was none other than Jeff Newmar from my undergrad days at Penn, the guy who made a pass at me in Ocean City, New Jersey. Through Keenan, plans were made for Jeff and me to meet at the California Club. This was one of the clubs I joined at my father’s behest but rarely used. When Jeff arrived he shook my hand, grinned and said, “So good to see you again, Rob.”
“Good to see you, Jeff.”
“Let’s get business out of the way and swap memories later. We have the studios, of course, and there’s the theme park and the amphitheater along with other projects on the drawing board. I need an agency that can deliver what we need for the whole package. Keenan tells me you guys are the real deal.”
“Our presentation will demonstrate that.”
“No need to. We’re already sold on you through your work with other clients. All we need to do is agree on terms.”
I drove home a happy man. Keenan Carpenter seemed to be the only dark cloud in my otherwise sunny sky.
33
Bill Gates founds Microsoft. Margaret Thatcher is now Britain’s Prime Minister. Elton John’s Crocodile Rock is his first hit single. Union boss Jimmy Hoffa vanishes. The Godfather comes to the big screen. And Rob does a walkabout.
* * *
Ginger was improving, according to the doctors, but it was expected to be a long difficult recovery. Even then, there was no guarantee she would ever be her old wonderful self again. She had full-time help at home and I spent evenings and weekends with her, whenever possible.
Carlson/Andrews’ West Coast operation, on the other hand, was doing great and Charlie called me to Pittsburgh. But it was not for a gold medal and a round of applause. Instead we met at a coffee shop some distance from the office.
“You’re doing well, but the other offices are still not cutting it,” he said.
“And that affects me how?”
“It affects all of us.”
“Spit it out, Charlie.”
“We need a General Patton to go to all the offices and inspire them to greatness, or at least make them profitable again. That general is you.”
“I’m no Patton.”
“Closest we got at C/A. Your office is going gangbusters.”
“Jesus, Charlie. The office is doing well because I’m there to run it, and I have a family to consider.”
“We all have families too. Come on, Rob, we need the agency to stay alive.”
“What’s in it for me?”
“Company stock. Do well and it’ll be worth a lot of money to you.”
> “I already have C/A stock. Besides, my wife will kill me.”
“Not if you buy a big fancy house in Beverly Hills.”
“Might need two of ‘em: one for her and one for me if Ginger is upset enough to divorce me for never being home.”
Charlie’s smile faded. “There’s something else. I have a heart condition and will be stepping down in the near future. I’m recommending you take over as president of C/A. That ought to be incentive enough for ya.”
It was incentive enough. I figured I would be traveling to the various offices around the country for about six months. I was off by two years, and while the company gradually grew stronger, my marriage got weaker.
34
Time Magazine cover story warns of another Ice Age. Star Wars opens to rave reviews and sets box office records. Tandy Corporation introduces its TRS-80 Model I computer. And Carlson/Andrews changes its name to Carlson Communications.
* * *
I was thirty-four and heir apparent to head up a major advertising agency, albeit one that was floundering. Not bad going. It came at the price of years on the road, mind-numbing meetings from Chicago to Dallas to Pittsburgh to New York and back to LA, lighting fires putting out fires, losing clients gaining clients and having a marriage crumbling because of being an absentee husband and father. Not even the idea of buying a house in Bel Air made it better. Ginger and I were essentially living apart together. Over the last years I would often wake up in a hotel suite and for a moment have no idea where I was. One city merged into another. A Bible verse kept playing and replaying in my head when I got tired. Mark 8:36. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?
And then, when it all seemed to be going well, the economy nailed us and that called for a general meeting.
Charlie opened a review meeting with Nancy and me saying, “The advertising business is changing at an ever increasing rate. We don’t have the international capabilities most of the New York agencies have.”