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Albert D. Lasker

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54

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2021-09-23

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2021-09-23

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1. “He loathed talking on the telephone and abominated committees. He never belonged to an advertising club and avoided his competitors. He was not shy about conspicuous consumption. His weekend estate outside Chicago had a staff of fifty. He wants to find an administrator as somebody without brains. He once said, I didn't want to make a great fortune. I wanted to show what I could do with my brains. He could be overbearing, intolerant, and arrogant. He could be bad tempered, demanding and inconsiderate, and he had three prolonged nervous breakdowns”

   2021-09-23 · Founders · #206 Albert D. Lasker (the creation of the advertising industry) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

2. “As a result of just having really simple business with just a handful of clients, he's able to increase profit margins. He has profit margins like seven times higher than the typical agency. By dispensing with marketers, art directors, and researchers, Lasker saved so much money that he was able to make a profit, which is probably the world's record. He ran Lord and Thomas, which is the agency that he's going to work for and then eventually take over. He ran Lord and Thomas as a dictatorship. As you all know, he told his staff, I am the owner of this business, and therefore I decide the policies. He owned 95% of the shares. After he retired, he said that he had”

   2021-09-23 · Founders · #206 Albert D. Lasker (the creation of the advertising industry) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

3. “The age of 27, he experienced a complete mental and emotional collapse. I could do nothing but cry, he said, and unfortunately for Lasker, the pattern set by this first breakdown persisted for most of his life. I always say that I got over all my breakdowns, except the first one. He slept poorly, drank heavily, under the influence of alcohol, he once attempted to drive a horse drawn carriage into a bar. He suffered from dramatic moodswings and indulged in impulsive behaviors. Drawing on his reserves of energy, self awareness and determination, Lasker fought back against his illness. He survived and flourished. His rare ability to put troubled geniuses to work on challenging problems, legendary advertising talents like John E. Kennedy and Claude Hopkins grew in part from the fact that he himself had been driven by a thousand dollars.”

   2021-09-23 · Founders · #206 Albert D. Lasker (the creation of the advertising industry) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

4. “In his life every man has a right to make one mistake. I have made mine, and then the meeting began. Lasker, who's often referred to as the father of modern advertising, exerted an enormous influence on his industry. Before he arrived on the scene, advertising agencies were mostly brokers of space in newspapers and magazines. With Lasker's prodding, the industry became a creative force and began earning substantial commissions. Lasker worked his magic by relying on the power of ideas. The list of companies and brands that he helped launch or revitalize in large part through the selective amplification of powerful ideas and in part through his own instinct for drama is unparalleled in the history of advertising. Lasker invented a particular kind of ad agency, one that delivered high service to a relatively small number of key accounts, most often driven by a personal relationship between himself and the head of the client company. The result was high margins.”

   2021-09-23 · Founders · #206 Albert D. Lasker (the creation of the advertising industry) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source