• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Adpulp

The Chronicle of Bright Ideas

  • About
  • Ad People
  • Featured Creative
  • Political Advertising
  • Content
  • Social Media
  • Media Trends
  • Contact

HumanKind: The Back Story (Nothing New On Wacker Drive)

November 19, 2010 By David Burn

“Acts not ads.” – from HumanKind
John Warrillow, author of Built to Sell and Drilling for Gold, says “there is no faster way to gain credibility for your business than to write a book.” I think that’s a particularly narrow view of how to grow a business, but I don’t discount the importance of having a book under one’s belt.
Pat Goggin, Chief Strategy Officer at Jacobsen Rost, also knows something about the importance of a book. While working at Leo Burnett in South Africa, Goggin says he came up with the concept that eventually became HumanKind, the new book from Burnett Worldwide CEO Tom Bernardin and chief creative officer Mark Tutssel.
Bernadin_Tutssel.jpg
In July, Lewis Lazare of Chicago Sun Times reported that Dan Santow, a PR executive with Edelman/Chicago, was the ghostwriter of much — if not all — of the text. So, it appears that HumanKind (a book we recently promoted in a free giveaway) was conceived by a former Burnett executive and written by a hired hand, not by the guys in corner offices.
“When I first conceived the idea it was widely rejected by both Tutssel and Bernardin and I was called a ‘tree hugger,'” says Goggin. “Maurice Levy then fell in love with it, as did Kevin Roberts (who wrote Lovemarks). I was then called into Bernardin’s office and told ‘you may be smart, but the smartest people never win. The idea belongs to Leo Burnett and Mark and I are going to author the book.’ I said that was fine, just credit me as the originator of the idea, like Mark is credited for creative awards at Cannes. I was fired shortly thereafter,” says Goggin.
Goggin says he’s not bitter, and that he never intended to write the book, he just wants to be credited for the idea. He also says he was never given a real reason for his dismissal from the agency–that he was doing a bang up job leading global new business initiatives at the time. “When I asked for credit, all of a sudden I wasn’t the loyal soldier anymore,” he adds.
PatGoggin.jpg
“I believe in Leo Burnett the man, but the modern organization is not living up to his ideals,” says Goggin. “I didn’t want HumanKind to be a meaningless gesture, and if I don’t go on record in some way, I’m perpetuating horrible behavior.”
Of course, it’s only fair to give Burnett’s leadership a chance to respond to the criticism. “We started thinking about HumanKind back in 2006, when we first experienced the powerful wave of user-generated content. Since then, many people – inside and outside of Leo Burnett – helped us celebrate and shape HumanKind.” This message was delivered to me this afternoon by the agency’s PR team, the same team that sent me free copies of the book. By the way, Agency Spy also received five free copies to give away to its readers.
The irony here can’t be missed. HumanKind–the book and the concept–is about moving advertising beyond superficial marketing practices to deal with real life stuff like helping people. “People, purpose, participation and populism” are the calls to action in the book. But if we’re to believe Goggin’s account, the process by which this book was born was far from enlightened or new school in any way.
I asked Goggin why he thinks Bernadin and Tutssel acted the way they did. He said, “Maurice Levy needs his percentage and you can either manage the top line by building the business or you can cut the hell out if it. Leo Burnett has let over 1000 people go under this leadership team. I’m hardly unique,” says Goggin.

Related

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Ad People

About David Burn

Co-founder and editor of Adpulp.com. David wrote his first ad for a political candidate when he was 17 years old. She won her race and he felt the seductive power of advertising for the first time. Today, David is a creative director in Austin, Texas.

Primary Sidebar

About

The Chronicle of Bright Ideas. Launched by David Burn and Shawn Hartley in 2004. Read, shared, and debated by a rogue group of ad pros ever since.

Breaking News

  • Spotify’s In-House Creative Team Is Raising The High-Bar April 21, 2018
  • Hot Desert, Cold Brew April 18, 2018
  • Frustrated Fido? Walk It Out With Rover April 14, 2018
  • What Marketers Can Learn from Hootsuite Academy April 12, 2018
  • Minute Maid Questions What Good Is, Decides, “this is GOOD” April 11, 2018
  • Are You Open to the Massive Business Opportunities in EQ? April 10, 2018
  • My Y Story: A Star-Studded Original Content Series by the Y April 8, 2018
  • Tim Horton’s Has The Coffee That Brings Canadians Together April 7, 2018
  • Take the Long Way Home in a Citroën April 7, 2018

Get Adpulp in Your Inbox

Receive an email notification when we publish a new article.

Navigate by Topic

Connect

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on E-mailFollow Us on RSS

Inkl Up!

Help support Adpulp with financial contributions on a per-post basis. Sign up for @Inkl today.

Footer

Translate

What People Are Reading

  • Spotify's In-House Creative Team Is Raising The High-Bar
    Spotify's In-House Creative Team Is Raising The High-Bar
  • Apparently, Bob From Accountemps Is In High Demand
    Apparently, Bob From Accountemps Is In High Demand
  • Hot Desert, Cold Brew
    Hot Desert, Cold Brew

Search the Site

Hours & Info

Off Madison
[email protected]
Always on.