How We Work

I was on production in New York last week. My partner and I had one of our mornings off, so we decided to go to a diner and work on a pro bono client we’ve picked up.

We’d been working in this place for a little over an hour when we heard someone at a table a few feet away mention “Bill Bernbach” and “Butler Shine & Stern.” We thought it was kind of funny to realize we weren’t the only ad guys in the place. We wondered which agency they were from.

They were directly behind me, so I didn’t get a good look at them until they got up to leave. When they left, they walked right by our table and I realized who they were:

So after years of success, reels of innovative ads, shelves and shelves of awards, and a term as the president of the One Show, Bob Barrie still goes to coffee shops to come up with ideas with his partners.

I wish I had known it was them before they left. I would have at least wished them the best of luck.

Mike Hughes said it best: “Advertising is not a sprint. It’s a marathon.” And Bob Barrie’s still running.