Ari Merkin

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.