Crispin, Porter + Bogusky is known for totally crazy
and original work. But in the middle of freaks, there
was one classic advertiser shining. Yeah, maybe his
work was not really ultra-fresh, but his Bernbach style
was respected in awards like One Show and Cannes.
Ari Merkin used to write long copy, headlines, make
big concepts and tell the truth. His clear, no-nonsense
way was just the opposite of most things from Crispin.
Maybe, that´s why the agency succeed so much. There
was always someone who could do great, but more
digestive work. And that made not-so-crazy clients
really happy.
Low-profile kind of guy, Merkin might be a brilliant
creative, but not exactly a great executive. Even
winning 13 pencils in a single One Show edition, he is
not very well-known and his agency, Toy, is also out
of the award circuit, probably because of lack of lobby.
Ari Merkin started working in 1993 for Roy Grace
and Diane Rothschild, advertising legends from the
70s and in 1998 began his fantastic epic in CP+B,
creating all that great work the agency is known for.
Some years later, he was hired to lead Fallon´s
operation in New York and he really succeeded,
winning loads of awards with some standout work.
But Fallon was not on its best days and had to close
its NY doors, keeping its work mainly in the original
Minneapolis agency. Now, calm Merkin is making OK
work in his small agency on Manhattan for about 3
years. We hope he doesn´t give up and come back
with some great stuff!
Ad Genius 5: Ari Merkin.
Country: USA.
Agencies: Grace & Rotschild, CP+B, Fallon NY, Toy.
At Cannes: 10 lions (1 GP)
Strong Points: Clever down-to-earth thinking.
In 2003, Ari Merkin won an unprecedented 13 Pencils at the One Show.
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