Bitch Please – DDB’s One Degree More
February 19, 2008
Remember we talked about DDB’s new internal mantra, “One Degree More?” Paul Tilley, EVP Managing Director, Chicago, is sold on it:
“Everyone,
As discussed at the Agency meeting last month, we’re focused on growing and winning by giving One Degree More. You’ll start to see this brought to life in a variety of ways.
The first, a speaker series, kicks off next Wednesday with a presentation and discussion by renowned photographer David Turnley. David won the Pulitzer Prize in 1990 for his images of the political uprisings in China and Eastern Europe. He is a remarkable and inspirational speaker, and we can learn from his stories. Special thanks to Diane Jackson for helping bring him to DDB!
Please join us for David’s talk at 12 noon on Wednesday, February 13 in 40N. Lunch will be served, so if you plan to attend, please RSVP via email to Camila Trevino by Tuesday, February 12.
I hope that David, and future speakers from all walks of life who have been successful by giving a little extra, will be an inspiration to us all.
See you there!”
Turnely = genius. However, the whole premise of this email and that horribly infantilizing mantra makes us want to throw up. Tilley is going to bring in a bunch of people who went the extra mile and shove them in front of a bunch of other people who also went the extra mile to give DDB a pretty great year. But hey, just one degree more, okay guys? Oh and by the way – lots of agencies (Grey, W+K, Naked, etc.) offer such events without strings attached.
Back in an email to DDB staffers in October, Tilley also said,
“Some of you are doing truly great work — work that makes DDB/Chicago one of the top 10 most awarded creative agencies in the world,” Tilley wrote. “But too many of you are only doing good work. And some of you are doing work that simply isn’t good enough.”
This guy needs to go back to management 101. He writes the most demoralizing emails. Yet, at one point, Paul thought he could make it as a game show host. Doesn’t one need to be charming for that?
February 19, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I agree that he has to get beyond the community college course for managing idiots at burger king but diane jackson rocks.
February 19, 2008 at 1:45 pm
begs the question: is it ever productive to call people out (even if not by name) like this in public? on one hand, let’s face it, there are a fair number of people at the typical agency who crank out average/below average work. can they be movitated via company-wide memo? maybe it serves as the kick in the butt eye-opener they need? maybe it just makes them less inspired? dunno…
February 19, 2008 at 2:38 pm
One Degree More?????
It’s amazing to me that an agency that claims to be creative would throw around such a cliched, meaningless phrase with a straight face.
I would suspect that DDB Chicago’s problems go much, much deeper than a few creative types that don’t feel like working. Are AE’s supportive? Do things get focus grouped to death? Are briefs based on sound strategy? Is creative direction sufficient? Are clients educated and challenged, or genuflected to?
Leave it to clueless management to say “It’s not our fault, you’re just not working hard enough.”
February 19, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Obviously, the guy is a wanker. He probably took some fucked up motivational class, but didn’t really grasp it. He should try the Steve Jobs method. That’s were at a company wide meeting, he calls individuals he considers under achievers up on stage and then rips them a new arsehole while he screams at them. But everyone who works at apple has drunk the KoolAid. That’s why he’s fucking GOD.
Cheers/George
February 19, 2008 at 5:57 pm
All of this—the accusatory emails, the lame naming of your new mantra, the sudden adopting of a guest speaker “series”—is just standard, big agency, cover your ass material. It reeks of “Hey, Omnicom Management. Look at all the things I’m doing to affect change. Can’t say I’m not doing things, ‘cuz I am. And publicly, too! ”
Ugh.
Douchebaggery of the highest order.
Note to self: Avoid DDB Chicago until this guy is outta there.
February 19, 2008 at 8:05 pm
why do you guys even care about ddb? they’re success rate for good work is on par with lowe or grey. what do you expect the tilley to say? the work sucks. it always has. he’s just trying to keep people there with the “things are changing” attitude. all he wants is for his staff to look away from the car crash that is their agency reel.
February 19, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Oh man, I hate ODM.
I mean, why does Joe Quesada hate Spider-man and MJ so much? There goes 20 years of reading down the toilet.
Oh, wait. Not OMD? What’s ODM? Am I on the wrong comment board? Weird.
ODM sounds like just as bad of an idea as OMD.
Look out here comes BND! Brand New Degree.
February 19, 2008 at 8:52 pm
@say what:
We care because the biggest reason the non-beer work sucks at DDB (and loads of other places like it) is because of clowns like Tilley who, once in a position of power, usually skate by unnoticed on posturing and politics. We care because DDB Chicago used to be a place creatives (excluding you, we’ll assume) wanted to work. It isn’t right now. But maybe it can be again someday, assuming the fakes, politicians and Tilley’s of the place are removed, of course. Sorry our giving a shit bothers you, though. Sounds like you’re above all that.
February 19, 2008 at 10:48 pm
ddb was never great, but it was good, with the potential to be great. now it’s bad with the potential to get even worse. it’s only cynical people who say “who cares?” when hundreds of jobs are on the line and the leadership is obviously inept. tilley is one of those guys who’ll feed at the trough until he’s driven away with cattle prods. bill bernbach–a guy who they quote far too much at ddb–must be puking in his grave at the thought of a doughy hack like tilley running things at his namesake.
February 20, 2008 at 3:13 am
word on the street a couple years back was that ddb was a gangbang of the highest order – creative teams only communicating with cd’s via email, the whole department throwing tons of scripts at them for every brief, bud shooting five commercials for every one superbowl spot, the others to die in testing and never be seen again. those folks told me it was one of those agencies that could make you if you got a superbowl commercial out of them but otherwise would be a pain in the ass. I remember talking to their then head of north american recruitment slightly before cannes a few years back, who kept on stressing they were the US’ most awarded agency.
and now they have their equivalent to publicis’ “holistic” – a true barf-inducer of the first grade. it makes me wonder if ddb is about to become the next fallon minneapolis (I mention min. because I still think the london office rocks).
>it’s only cynical people who say “who cares?” when hundreds of jobs are on the line and the leadership is obviously inept.
usually I’d give you shit for that statement but we’re in a huge recession and mediocre people will find it very tough to get hired, especially creatives. then again – chicago needs more cabbies doing night shifts.
February 23, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I hope that many of you will go back and look at your petty comments… once the real news hits you. The man left behind a wife and two daughters.
Unbearably sad.
February 23, 2008 at 9:41 pm
you might want to consider removing this post. paul tilley died last night in an apparent suicide. leaving this online will only cause grief to his loved ones.
February 24, 2008 at 12:36 am
It is with great sorrow that I write to you this
weekend. But I wanted you
to hear this difficult news from me first. Last night,
Paul Tilley
tragically died at age 40. The reality of this news is
difficult to
comprehend. It is such loss for DDB, but also for our
industry, our
community, and certainly for his family and all who
loved him.
Paul was a mentor to many, a friend to all. His
ability to lead, inspire,
and yes, entertain will be so greatly missed.
I will share details of the services with you as they
become available, as
well as our plans to honor his life and his tremendous
contributions to the
DDB family.
Our thoughts are with his family and with one another
during this very
difficult time.
February 24, 2008 at 2:47 am
A friend told me that Paul killed himself yesterday.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/809005,fairmont022208.article
February 24, 2008 at 4:25 am
For those of you who have conveniently forgotten the hundreds of millions of dollars and the tons of jobs that Paul Tilly brought into DDB and the Chicago market (gee, let me think, USWEST, Qwest, Alltel, Dell among many others), I just want to ask you ARE YOU SATISFIED NOW?
I was at DDB Chicago when it was a lovely company, filled with people who valued each other and enjoyed contributing to its success. What has happened to you people and this industry that you take pleasure in tormenting each other? Why don’t you skip the backstabbing and step up to help fix the problems instead of bitching?
You should all be ashamed. Because you contributed to this.
February 24, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Paul was a brilliant and talented man. We were all lucky to have him in our lives.
We have lost a beautiful person, but most importantly his wife and two little girls are facing an unthinkable tragedy. Their loss is unimaginable.
Please keep his family and him in your thoughts and prayers.
February 24, 2008 at 5:59 pm
I didn’t know Paul, but one of my friends did and when the news came of his death, we had to wonder what could drive a person to such a desperate end? After reading this site, I no longer have to wonder. Perhaps some of you feel justified in your comments, it is not for me to judge. Because we cannot change the past and cannot un-do what has been done, please use this moment in time to re-evaluate the way each of you treat your fellow human beings. Whether it be to their faces or on this faceless blog, let us all work to improve how we treat others.
Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.
-Theodore Rubin
February 24, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I was at DDB Chicago when it was a lovely company
that can’t have been DDB chicago.
February 25, 2008 at 12:29 am
I don’t know any of you, and did not know Paul Tilley. However Paul sounds like a very hard-working, talented and personable individual.
Any of you bloggers that felt a need to write insults think you could be a better ECD? From what I have read, the ECD prior to Paul lasted 6 months. Sounds like a stressful position.
As well, from reading the posts, the group sounds entirely dysfunctional, namely those that sit around the water cooler bitching and moaning about the wording in a single memo while calling the ECD names.
My heart goes out to Paul’s family. I am certain that the negatives expressed by this group of bloggers reflects their own personal problems, not Paul’s personality or abilities. Hopefully Paul could see it that way as well, but I ma not so sure.
Yet unfortunately, as much anyone would hate to admit, I believe that these negative posts contributed to Paul’s depression… if his death was indeed a suicide.
Maybe some bloggers will think about this the next time before they write about someone that they know, work with or for.
The internet spans the globe… I wish people could put themselves in the other person’s shoes before typing. Such posts directed a single indiviual hurt more than you realize.
February 25, 2008 at 3:01 am
Paul was a mentor and a great friend. I don’t think I’ve ever met a funnier human being in my life. The world was a better place with him in it. I’ll miss you mate.
j
February 25, 2008 at 7:07 am
As the uncle of the young man you are all referring to I thank you for your thoughts and prayers. This is a sad world we live in where a person can express his/her opinion in a faceless blog (in my day a cowardly act)without any thought for their fellow human being. Please think of the hurt your words cause next time you have time to waste on a blog such as this.
February 25, 2008 at 9:19 am
First time i read a blog ever in my life is to see what is being said about a man who is a friend of our family and has two daughters the same age as my daughters—and whose youngest daughter plays on the soccer team I coach (and she is a marvelously beautiful child).
I’m curious, so someone enlighten me. What were the comments in the previous blogs that may have been so personal and upsetting that would lead some to speculate that they “caused” or “effected” Paul to such a degree that he would take his own life? If anyone wants to retrieve them (particularly the ones that someone mentioned were taken off some site), I’d love to read them. Being a novice in the blogging world, I don’t understand all this stuff, so i would have no clue how to find them.
Which, in an odd way, brings me to my point. I cannot tell you what was going through Paul’s mind, but I am certainly trying to understand the facts. Regardless of my need to understand these, for my own sense of closure, what I think or need to say is actually irrelevant. I would suggest that we all–family, friends, supporters, adversaries–take a deep breath and think about Paul’s wife and children before we hit the “Submit Comment” button. In other words, prior to getting further into the scrum of a blog that may indeed include scathing comments about someone–particularly someone heading to his grave–please think of his wife and kids.
Regardless of what you think of the guy, we need to respect what is left, and that is a loving wife, a smart and sassy 9 year old daughter, and a sensitive, beautiful, and clever 7 year old girl.
I urge those who have issues with anyone they target in a blog, to consider their aftermath. If at all possible, think of what it would be like to be on the receiving end, and we all may be more tolerant of each other’s flaws and idiosyncrasies.
I ask you to take 10 seconds from your day, stop typing, and let this man rest in peace. Send some good thoughts, telepathically, to the girls he left behind. At this point, it is all about them and not you or Paul.
Thanks Folks.
Art
February 25, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Paul Tilley worked for me for three years at JWT Chicago, from 1991 through 1994, then I left for New York. Even then we could see that this young man was destined for big things in this business. He was not only a wonderful writer and creative thinker, he was fun to be around and had a generosity of spirit that made us all happy to be in the same agency. And he was just a kid at that time.
These hateful advertising blogs seem to be written by people who are bitter about the business. Perhaps they tried to make it in this tough industry and failed and now all they can do is make derogatory comments about the people who are smart enough and brave enough to work at the top of this challenging business. It’s so easy to criticize creative people because what we do is so arbitrary and subject to almost anyone’s opinion, but only a few have the guts and the brains to be creative directors. It’s a lonely job and the people who keep insulting creative directors on this blog should spend their time trying to be better at their own jobs. I notice that no one uses their real name. Mine is Nina DiSesa, I am still in the business and working every day as the chairman of McCann Erickson’s New York office. And I don’t care if everyone takes a potshot at me. People who write and contribute to these ugly blogs are losers. Their comments don’t bother me in the least.
February 25, 2008 at 4:36 pm
I’m sure a lot of us have more than Tylenol and energy bars in our messenger bags. Some of us even have a standing mystery appointment every Wednesay.
Try for a minute to imagine Paul’s agony…you can’t because you’re still here.
I knew Paul a long time ago. We used to guess how many jelly beans it would take to fill this jar that was as big as the size of his head. I learned a ton and laughed a ton whenever I walked into his office.
Happy, kind people don’t express hatred toward someone who committed suicide.
This is beyond sad. Period.
February 25, 2008 at 5:34 pm
May I suggest everyone stop speculating about “what contributed to Paul’s depression”… None of us can ever know. The ad business is tough and always has been. Paul was no stranger to criticism and harsh realities of this business. People will always bitch and moan about work, their boss and their co-workers. However, it’s a small minority of people who will take to posting comments on blogs. And it’s a small minority who are actually disgruntled at DDB Chicago. Most people enjoy working here.
Disgruntled or not, I don’t believe anyone ever intended the man physical harm. Let’s keep everything in perspective. Regardless of how anyone feels about Paul, two little girls have lost their father and a family must try to make sense of such a loss. Chastise as you feel you need to those who contributed to this blog, but check yourself first. I’m certain you’ve bitched to a friend about someone in the past. People complaining and bitching about work on a blog and then those people “contributing” to someone’s suicide is dastardly, unfair leap by ignorant people.
I’m sure blogs such as this will continue to exist and, quite frankly, I believe them to be a healthy place for people to vent frustrations. But, Paul Tilley was a man beloved by his family and friends, but clearly tormented. And that is a shame. And the world is a darker place today than it was when he was here… no matter how you felt about him.
February 25, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Wow. Harsh.
I might not have chosen the word “lovely” to describe DDB when times were better. But I know it was, for a long time, a truly great agency. Yes, I’m talking about DDB Chicago.
Paul was a good soul.
February 26, 2008 at 3:59 am
I am confused. I don’t know the background, but I don’t see a real problem with these emails. I guess the second would be deemed harsh by those who are not performing, but the point would be to encourage those who are under performing to step it up. I guess it is not ok for “artists” to be questioned.
February 26, 2008 at 4:17 am
I read the post without reading the comments to follow and I posted my confusion to the original portion. I am fairly new to the advertising world and will never get any where near an agency such as BBD. I always had a sense of regret that I had children before my career and I am forever tied to the town that I live in and therefore limited in my career. However, after reading some of the things about these blogs and the personal attacks on people in the advertising world, I am grateful that I work at a great agency that will never be on your radar. It is a sad day when emails sent from boss to employee make it to a blog for all to complain about. I do not understand how emails sent within a company end up here for you all pick apart. What gives you the right to slam this man for writing some simple emails that were not that bad? It is just sad and you should be ashamed of yourselves.
February 26, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Though I wasn’t close to Paul (worked at DDB in the past, and spoke when I saw him), as I watched TV last night, the thought kept coming back to me that Paul wouldn’t be able to just kick back and watch TV anymore. I know there are more important things (and folks), but I couldn’t stop the thought. The entire thing is very sad.
February 26, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Any father of two who kills themselves is a coward and entirely selfish. He has irrevicably damaged those girls because he didn’t have the balls to face the toughest challenge of them all (yes, more challenging than the oh-so-tough ad business) – managing your own mental health. Many of us suffer from depression and, for some, it manifests into suicidal thoughts. But, when I choose to bring life into this world, I lost the right to do selfish things such as this. Shame on all of you for talking about your bullshit ad industry – doesn’t mean a fucking thing. You’ll all be dead in 100 years and NO ONE will be talking about your contributions to the ad business, I assure you of that. But your impact on your children will last generations.
February 26, 2008 at 8:05 pm
“Any father of two who kills themselves is a coward and entirely selfish.”
Well congratulations, moron! You clearly have never been clinically depressed before – as your idiotic, uninformed and ignorant post makes perfectly clear.
Give yourself a big pat on the back – you winner, you.
February 26, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Actually I am. I battle it everyday of my life and I am a father of two myself. What’s uninformed about deducing that a sane person proactively scarring their kids for life is selfish? Killing “self”. If you think being clinically depressed gives you a free pass to harm others (yes, that’ what he’s done), then you, my friend, are the uninformed asshole.
February 26, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Honestly, I can understand how folks consider this to be a selfish act…but only to a point.
No one can say what an individual is/was going through. No one knows but that person. For Paul (or anyone) to do something like this–to the extreme in which it was done, especially–tells me that he was having a helluva time dealing with whatever it was that was put to him. If the thought of his wife, his kids, his friends, weren’t enough to keep him from committing suicide, then the man must’ve been in a place I hope I never have to be in.
As for his non-personable skills (that everyone has mentioned in this and other blogs), I just have to say that maybe we need to look at ourselves as well. Don’t mean to come off in a “We Are the World” way, but Paul may have been the way he is because of how he was feeling. That being said, he could’ve been a better person (assuming he’s as bad as everyone is saying) while living, but now that he’s gone, maybe folks will realize he wasn’t so bad.
February 27, 2008 at 5:48 am
Wow, to call that e-mail demoralizing… Some are great, most are good, some isn’t good enough? That’s demoralizing? Now I’ve worked with enough of you to know that the smallest fraction of you do great work, half of you do mediocre forgettable work, and the rest shouldn’t be employed. That’s the truth and I’m being nice. Let’s post your idiotic e-mails, the ones where it’s obvious you have no idea what your talking about. Let’s out people by name showing the work they stole. The thing is, your industry isn’t important enough to give you a valid reason to show any concern for it whatsoever. You children.
February 27, 2008 at 3:08 pm
For whatever reason this man took his life. That’s tragedy of incredible proportions, particularly in light of the fact that he left a family behind. Yet some people here seem oblivious to that fact and just continue to slander both Paul Tilley and DDB. I never knew Paul but after working at FCB/Chicago in the 80s, I knew a fair number of DDB folks, Bob Scarpelli included. It was indeed a great agency then and from what I’ve seen of their work, still is. The agency is certainly no stranger at Cannes. As for the heartless Paul Tilley diatribes, well that’s the response I would expect from people who realized that Mr. Tilley was talking about them when he said “And some of you are doing work that is simply not good enough.”
February 27, 2008 at 5:58 pm
<>
You fucking ignorant son-of-a-cunt. You don’t have a fucking goddamned clue what you’re talking about. How dare you insult and belittle a man who was in that much pain?
And you think your own “managed” depression won’t affect your two children? Think again, loser. You should step the fuck off yourself. Of the Fairmont.
February 27, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I didn’t know Paul but when I heard the news, I was shocked. Because I worked in Chicago in the 90s at Leo Burnett and it made me think. I’ve posted those thoughts on my own blog.
So over the last few days I’ve had a bit of a fascination with learning about the man and this blog has helped. Helped? All of the nasty shit up here is helpful? Over a dead man?
It’s only helpful, in that it lends perspective. He obviously could not have been the balanced, cheerful, humourous guy the newspapers or the DDB memorial blog portrays, but he wasn’t exactly Satan either.
Whilst most of the tripe here is just childish and some of it goulish, it makes me want to interpret the guy who said “Paul did the right thing by taking his life.”
Did he mean he didn’t like Paul either? Glad he was gone? Or did he mean that by suicide, Paul wouldn’t have to hang around any of the complete cretins around here?
Methinks the latter.
February 27, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Hey, Jack Kerr. Eat my ass. I will say again, if you are in so much pain get some fucking help!!!!!!!! Go to a physician, tell them you are having suicidal thoughts.
And no, my children are not suffering from my depression. I manage my mental health and they have a father – always will.
I guess your advice to your children will be to kill yourself if you have unbareable depression?? Idiot.
February 27, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Hey Jack Kerr, I just wanted to tell you to go fuck yourself one more tim.
February 27, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Really disturbing.
Are there ethics in blogs? Should people have the right to publicly and anonymously criticize and attack the private lives of private people simply for entertainment?
This guy wasn’t a politician or a movie star – he didn’t opportunistically cast himself into the public domain. He just made commercials.
You should just shut this whole thing down.
February 27, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Hey, Mark
I’m sure Jack can speak for himself, but I just want to say my interpretation of what he was saying was that no one understands completely what someone is going through. How folks handle certain situations and people that pop up in their lives is entirely individualistic, if that makes any sense.
Someone was mentioning to me that they couldn’t understand how this other person couldn’t stop taking drugs or drinking; that she would never become so hooked on something as to not be able to give it up when it became overwhelming. And I responded that not everyone has the same upbringing, level of character strength, mental/physical control; thus, everyone’s gonna react in a different way to every situation. The physical reaction may be similar (walk away), but the thoughts beneath that are gonna vary.
It’s damn good that you’re handling your depression–many are not–but your reaction to Jack may show that your kids could possibly be suffering–a tad–because the anger (really depression) may show its ugly head at inopportune (and non-deserved) moments. I don’t mean to come off as attacking your fathering ability, because for all I know, you might be the Father of the Year (you obviously plan on being there for them ALWAYS, and that’s Kool and the Gang). So, please don’t take the above as a knock on you, because it’s not meant to be.
I just don’t think Jack meant it was okay (in the most literal sense of the word, if that makes any sense) to commit suicide–just that in Paul’s case, perhaps it was what it was.
February 28, 2008 at 1:13 pm
For those that know the inside stuff, what’s the deal with the girlfriend? Everyone is making it sound like he was a great dad and husband (not mutually exclusive), but his girlfriend was on the scene. Was it really the girlfriend or the rumored co-worker on the scene? (or are they the same)
February 28, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Thanks, Patrick. My comments stem less from anger (depression), and more from opinion (yes, unfortunately I am opionated). My very last intention is to trounce on Paul Tilley. To each is own, but as a father it very much upsets me to see people take their own needs before their kids. Do you know how much better off they’d be if they had him as a role model to say, “you know, my dad’s not perfect, but neither is life. I am most proud because he acknowledges it, accepts it, addresses it as best he can for the betterment of his family that he CHOSE to bring into this world. Again, I am not saying I know what Paul Tilley was going through, but I do say that ANYONE who is sane should have the wherewithall to get help. This was a functioning, successful human being – this was not some helpless, wounded creature. Children change everything – you lose you right to be selfish when you make that choice. Period. Sorry if others disagree, but no child asks for or deserves what he just gave his kids.
February 28, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Personally, I blame Bill Hicks.
February 28, 2008 at 8:18 pm
I understand where you coming from, Mark. Sincerely. But I have to believe that the instant Paul jumped–that brief period–he probably wished he hadn’t done it. But I could be wrong. I liken it to being at a club or something and someone comes up and tries to goad you into snapping, and, the next thing you know, you’re in handcuffs. Never happened to me, but I’ve seen it. The look on the “victim”’s face in those situations pretty much says it all. Once you snap/react, it is what it is.
A lesson to us all: Before acting/reacting, be as sure as possible, because, in some situations (specifically suicide/murder/and the like), there is no turning back.
P.S. If Paul was okay with his decision in that split second when air was the only thing below him, then I can honestly say “I hope he is resting in peace.”
February 29, 2008 at 1:36 am
When a friend told me of Paul’s death my heart sunk and my entire body became num.
I worked with Paul for many years off and on at DDB and he ALWAYS had a positive and fun energy. He was very respected at and I’m sure he will always be respected for the great work and positive energy he brought to the company and the business.
I’m so proud that DDB allowed me to cross paths with Paul, he was a very talented and smart individual. There are not many souls who can accomplish what he did during his career. He and his team(s) poured out many fabulous ideas that truly inspired us all.
My heart goes out his family they are in my prayers. Paul I pray your soul is at peace my friend – my heart goes to you and you’re family.
March 3, 2008 at 12:36 am
Your comments are a disgrace and your claims you had nothing to do with his death are clearly false. As someone that worked with Paul I can tell you your nasty comments and others upset him deeply.
You should consider the effect your snarky and hateful comments have on others that are ready by thousands. May God forgive you.
March 3, 2008 at 6:40 am
Makes me laugh to see “creatives” damning one agency and praising another, as if ANY ad agency is more than just a factory for re-processed ideas with pumped up cliche-mongers full of self-importance and self-serving waffle. None of you can express a TRULY creative thought of your own. You PRETEND to be the voice or graphic representation of whichever client is around at the time… you have NO creative voice of your own. A client can choose to hurl your supreme artistry into a trash bin and you have no option but to sit there and take it. There is probably nothing about YOU that anyone seeing your ads is remotely interested in. NOTHING. You consider that creativity? You have no creative spirit… you are poseurs who simply hire out pathetic “creative dressing” to other people (clients) who are equally creatively bereft. You are there merely to sucker the masses into buying into someone else’s products or services. You cannot express yourself. You are paid to express what OTHERS want you to express. You are creatively worthless. And maybe… maybe even YOU realize it, as you sit there trying to convince yourself you are doing something of substance.The vile content of this blog only serves to underline the fact that you are pathetic. Creative? LOLOLOLOL!
March 3, 2008 at 7:53 am
While I have a tremendous amount of sympathy for the Tilley family and some for Paul because he was obviously in great pain, I think people are losing perspective.
This is an industry blog, we talk about the people in our industry. If you’re a boss, you’re going to be talked about. If you’re a jerk you’re going to get called out. That’s the way it is.
Do you think Paul was the first person to be criticized? The first boss to be made fun of behind his back? I know it happens all the time. I’m sure people made fun of me and continue to make fun of me. It comes with the territory, because there’s always a certain degree of tension between labor and management. Some people might say that he ‘had to’ send out those stupid emails, but is that really true? Do you have to run a mediocre spot? Or do you do it when the cost benefit analysis says putting more in isn’t worth it? Perhaps Paul thought trying to be authentic wasn’t worth it and instead he channelled his inner stuffed shirt with those emails… well those on the receiving end didn’t like it and they let him know. That’s called life in the big city.
I personally doubt that you could say that these blog comments caused him to commit suicide. Mental illness caused him to commit suicide. Instead of wasting time attacking this blog people who care about Paul should advocate for better health care for the mentally ill, particularly for an end to discriminatory insurance company policies both in who they write policies for and how they cover expenses. Or you could try and take on big pharma for expending so much effort on me-too drugs or minor modifications to drugs to extend patent protection. Or (dare I say it) for overselling the benefits of anti-depressants. Or you could work to fight the stigma of mental illness.
Finally if all posters are losers and Nina is a poster does that make a loser and a douche?
March 3, 2008 at 5:29 pm
The problem at DDB is that Bob Scarpelli, as much as he’s loved and respected, didn’t groom a prince to become king someday. There’s more talent in the trenches there than there are in the corner offices. But they’re afraid of promoting people who don’t have grey hair.
Dennis Ryan could have been that prince, but they let him get away. Mark Gross, while funny and somewhat talented, is not exactly a clear leader. What else has he done besides Bud Lt? One should have a depth of experience. It’s far harder to do an ad for a computer or insurance company than it is another frat boy beer ad. Real business challenges require an adroit mind.
So where does DDB go from here? I’m afraid to wonder. It’s going to be a long tough road, and a LOT of people will leave. Only time will heal this scar. Tilley destroyed far more than just he and his family’s life with that jump. He may have destroyed a legacy.
Good luck to the ones who have the strength to move on and do great things.
March 3, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Public relations people aren’t anything but parrot-like voices for self-serving corporate interests. 80 percent of most crap I see in a news release I see as unbelievable without proof. These people are far more a target of skepticism than the mainstream media.
March 4, 2008 at 1:53 am
“Mad Men” opening credits: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcRr-Fb5xQo
March 4, 2008 at 4:25 am
YOu’re a real asshole. Not long before that internal memo that you posted externally, Paul’s father tragically died. I wouldn’t expect anyone to perform perfectly with such emotion at the forefront of their being, let alone to perform well under the pressures of your beloved ad world in such a situation. And then pretentious obnoxious idiots as you speak out of line in ignorance, attack in envy. YOu see, you are involved, you scum, you swill in a pail.
March 4, 2008 at 8:36 am
For Marcus:
In college I was editor of the student newspaper at Black Hawk College in Moline, Illinois. We attended a journalism convention in St. Louis and I met the editors of many East Coast Ivy League schools. We were the smallest school represented at the conference. What I learned was that they were covering political and social issues as if they were mainstream media and I was not. I was told by my college advisors to only report on the cheerleaders and cafeteria menu additions and to stay away from what people really gave a shit about.
Even in High School, I covered Watergate from a very tongue-in-cheek Buchwaldian perspective and was awarded for that.
But not at the next school. The lesson was simple: You write what we tell you to write.
Censorship exists, at all levels. If your admin is right-wing, the reported coverage will bear that slant. Pure and simple. Say what you want about Fox. Same story.
But in advertising and PR the lesson is even more simple. We are paid to sell stuff. And that’s the deal. There is no lying. There is little deception. We work for people who pay us to make their products or services look attractive. It’s as straight a deal as one could find. We are not masquerading as barometers of social conscience or save-the-world journalism. We are sales facilitators.
Shills you say?
Well, that’s a matter of opinion. What do you call all the mainstream media who only report American casualties in wars and never the loss of life to the opposition? Are we being given the information by our supposedly “free press” to accurately gauge the human cost of a war? Where are the real photos from Iraq and Afghanistan?
In a mature market, people pretty much know that advertising is a sales exercise. When was the last time you walked into a used car dealership seeking truth and LSW counseling?
Never. And you know it.
Because you’re no dummy. And average America knows advertising is at best a sound-bite of entertainment in pursuit of a sale. Nothing more.
Honestly, I wish Journalism had the ethics of advertising: To openly disclose the source of those who put them up to the shenanigans they practice.
March 4, 2008 at 1:51 pm
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AS
March 4, 2008 at 2:12 pm
By Bob Tedeschi
New York Times News Service / March 3, 2008
Advertising blogs churn out some of the Web’s more scathing, and personal, vitriol. Last week, the bloggers absorbed some body blows of their own.
A posting on the AgencySpy blog said that ad executive Paul Tilley (left), “thought he could make it as a game show host. Doesn’t one need to be charming for that?”
TARGET OF ANONYMOUS SCORN
Visitors to AgencySpy and AdScam, two blogs written by advertising industry insiders, posted comments blaming the sites for contributing to the suicide late last month of Paul Tilley, 40, the creative director of DDB Chicago.
“We’re certainly used to criticism in the agency business,” said Nina DiSesa, chairwoman of McCann Erickson Worldwide’s New York division, who posted comments on AgencySpy.com in defense of Tilley, whom she called a friend. “But when blogs attack someone personally, without justification, and they do it anonymously, it’s just wrong.”
Tilley, who oversaw teams that created the “I’m Lovin’ It” campaign for McDonald’s and the “Dell Dude,” ads, apparently jumped from an upper floor of the Fairmont Chicago hotel on Feb. 22. The Cook County medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.
Gregory K. Brown, a specialist on suicide at the University of Pennsylvania, said that public humiliation could play a role in suicide because “hopelessness is often a major risk factor, and if you’ve been publicly humiliated and your reputation has been tarnished forever, you could see how someone could become hopeless.”
Tilley had come under particularly harsh criticism on the advertising blogs. AgencySpy, which is written by an anonymous advertising industry employee, was perhaps the most biting.
In a Feb. 19 posting, the site quoted an internal e-mail message Tilley had sent to subordinates, in which he wrote: “Too many of you are only doing good work. And some of you are doing work that simply isn’t good enough.”
AgencySpy wrote that Tilley “needs to go back to management 101.” The site then published 12 comments peppered with insults aimed at Tilley – among them an insult signed by George Parker, the author of the AdScam blog.
Advertising blogs have a reputation, even among bloggers, of being particularly wounding, Parker said. Since many agencies are now part of publicly held companies, he said, workers are under increasing pressure to show short-term results.?
***Agency Spy Ad Scam and George Parker should be held accountable for their defamation of Paul. I hope there is a push to file suit on behalf of Paul, perhaps to establish a fund for his children.
March 4, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Amen!
These scathing and endless venom rockets would be agonizing for anyone-even the cool crowd.
March 4, 2008 at 6:33 pm
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