I’ve just come back from three days at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. The purpose of the visit was a talk on the applicability of a liberal arts education to the world of business. The title (which may explain why I’m not a copywriter) was “Mad Men? The Liberal Arts on Madison Avenue” 

The genesis of the talk was the many conversations I had over the years with my friend Dr. Jeffrey Sandborg, Professor of Fine Arts and Director of the Roanoke College Choir. Jeff felt that while Roanoke is ostensibly a “Liberal Arts College” there was not enough encouragement of the students to take full advantage of the broad range of courses offered. In addition, the students often feel pressure(albeit self-inflicted) to choose a major early, which for many will be Business, and not stray far from that core curriculum. He thought that as a “poster boy” for a liberal arts education (B.A. Cornell in Classics) who had gone on to a successful career in business (however one defines “successful”) I could impart some wisdom.

The Mad Men theme enabled me to have some fun, and I began by showing a 60 second Arrid deodorant commercial from 1965 that Don Draper would have been proud of (remember when commercials were 60 seconds?):

Since I started my career in 1986, I told them that I was around for what could be called the last year of the Man Men era, before the crash of 1987 changed the ad world. Back then, suits and white shirts were the only proper attire, the bosses (mostly male) married their secretaries, and because we handled Budweiser, at 5 o’clock all you heard up and down the halls was the popping open of beer cans.

I could say that my liberal arts education has helped in my career since then, and studying ancient Greek for years was sure a plus when I transitioned from consumer agencies to professional: on my first day on the job I knew what nosocomial infections meant (νοσοκομείο is the ancient Greek word for hospital) without having to ask. How to succinctly impart this to a lecture hall full of undergrads 35 years my junior? I created the construct of the 4C’s, hoping the device would enable them to remember the benefits of a liberal arts education long after I left town.

1. Connection-making: a liberal arts education enables you to better make connections and problem-solve, drawing from your storehouse of diverse knowledge you’ve acquired. The theory here is that the mind is a bank- the more varied the knowledge put in the bank, the richer the withdrawals.
2. Creativity: again, based on the same theory, that the ability to think creatively is greatly enhanced by diverse sources of inspiration.
3. Context: Cultural and historical context in this case. Knowledge and respect for the different cultures of the world- courses Chinese history, Indian music, South American literature, whatever you could chose to broaden your perspective. An historic context to enable you to place yourself along a continuum, learning form the past and anticipating the future. I like to think that the copywriter of this classic “Got Milk” commercial majored in American history:
4. Curiosity: When a newly minted undergrad’s resume crosses my desk and I see they’re a liberal arts major, I naturally think of them as a curious person (and I mean that in a good way). I always ask about their major, their minor, what courses they found most interesting. Through the years, I’ve staffed my account planning departments with people who majored in anthropology, sociology, history, English, chemistry and the like. Curiosity and diversity of thought makes for richer dialogue.

I closed my lecture with a plea: that our industry needs, now more than ever, students just like them, with varied backgrounds and experiences. I was around when there were only five TV channels, and lived through the cable revolution, the Internet boom, and the dawning of digital. What will the world of advertising and communications be like in 5 years? Ten? I can only guess. But I think these kids can help us figure it out.

Before my plane landed in New York, there were 10 resumes in my inbox. Now that’s real time. Looking forward to the interviews!

Advertising has given birth to entire industries. It has saved countless lives and it has spawned revolutions. Last week, advertising won an Academy Award.

It’s true, our industry’s bucket list is officially one line shorter. But let’s not stand aside and watch this latest strikethrough go gentle into that good after-party just yet. This landmark campaign deserves a closer look.

The “brand” being advertised? None other than Melissa Leo. The former Melissa Leo that is, since she will henceforth be referred to as “Academy-Award winning actress Melissa Leo.” Winning an Oscar is the Hollywood equivalent of knighthood: its indelible effect eradicates questionable behavior as efficiently as a whiteboard eraser.

So what happens when the behavior in question may have led to her winning the award in the first place?

In 2010 Ms. Leo—known endearingly to 1980s-era stay-at-home moms as Ms. Linda Warner from All My Children—delivered the performance of an acting lifetime. Her true-to-the-letter portrayal of Alice Ward, chain-smokin’, white-trashin’ maternal manager of “Irish” Micky Ward in The Fighter, was a triumph in itself. The 50-year-old Manhattan-born actress proved to have some fight of her own, clawing her way through a congested marquis bearing the large-type names of Mark Wahlberg, fellow Oscar-winner Christian Bale (Best Supporting Actor) and Amy Adams, a former Supporting Actress nominee for 2005’s indy hit, Junebug, who also happened to be competing with Leo this year.

Consider you considered, Melissa.

But what set the feisty redhead apart from past Academy Award winners—including that other Leo from The Titanic—was set in much smaller type. Unwilling to let her performance speak for itself, she set out to send a self-promotional message to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

At first Leo intoned that she felt slighted by the overall lack of attention “women of a certain age” were getting from the media. In particular, the fact that she couldn’t find her way onto a single magazine cover despite recent Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice and Screen Actors Guild wins. FYC (For Your Consideration) campaigns are typically handled by the motion picture studios; hardly third party to be sure, but distant enough to keep the pimp perception away from award-hungry candidates. However, Paramount decided not to promote their movie’s stars prior to this year’s Academy Awards. So the actress sought the help of three of her friends to get the word out about Melissa Leo.

The four created and placed a series of full-color ads and posters that blanketed southern California, each bearing the full-bleed image of Ms. Leo with the single-word headline, “Consider.” On the surface the campaign spoke for aging actresses everywhere, whose careers Hollywood has figuratively dragged to the curb. The portraits contrasted Leo’s frumpy, bitter on-screen character in a manner that all but called out the role as “typical” for those of her demographic. Yet upon closer inspection, a strategy emerged as seemingly unconventional as Leo’s decision to lobby for the hardware. Unconventional in its choice of art direction—in one execution she appeared poolside in full-length white faux fur, Cruella de Vil sans cigarette holder—as well as its underlying satirical message of denial. The ads seemed to mock all self-promotional Oscar campaigns, as if she weren’t blazing the trail herself.

Many felt the move was detrimental to her chances. But Leo, knowing full well the glacial dues-paying process involved with winning an Academy Award, saw this opportunity for the unchartered territory it would occupy. She bet the house on a prize-fighter movie role, and chose an aggressive approach worthy of Mohammed Ali, who used to tell the world before, during and after each fight that he was “the greatest of all time.”

Forget whether she was actually the best candidate for the award. Personally I thought the statuette would leave in the adolescent arms of Hayley Steinfeld, based on her gritty performance as Mattie Ross that all but carried the Coen Brothers’ remake of “True Grit” (even with the presence of Jeff Bridges and Brad Pitt). Forget too the acceptance speech where Leo launched the Oscars’ first-ever F-bomb into the living rooms of 10,000,000 homes, most of which were in countries without five-second delay. Fueling speculation that her role in The Fighter may not have been that much of a stretch after all.

Instead let’s remember, for a moment at least, the heavyweight gamble of a middle-aged character actress who took her best shot at what may have been her only title shot. Tactics fade, but the tall golden award will never tarnish.