What's the World Coming To?

Jon Njos, Media Director/Partner, Stanton & Everybody

Not that I’m old……..:( , but I often think back to when I started my first job in advertising. It was 1985 and I was working part-time at KTZZ-TV in Seattle, which at the time, was a 1 year old, UHF frequency television station. (Now KMYQ-TV). Fresh out of college, I was hired to answer the UHF hotline from 5pm-9pm on weeknights. TV viewers could pick up their free, UHF Loop antenna at 7-11, attach it to the back of their TV’s and receive the fine programming from KTZZ. Programming like reruns of Chips, Dallas, and daytime cartoons of Inspector Gadget, Voltron and the like.
This job was a means to an end, of course, so as I labored through the summer of ’85, talking to engineer geeks and old ladies about their UHF reception, I landed my first agency job with Livingston & Company. At the time, Livingston was about the hottest agency in Seattle with it’s premiere client Alaska Airlines.
My first foray into the agency business was a lot of fun and very eye-opening. Livingston was known for their great creative product and the Alaska Airlines business was the marquee showcase of it. The whole premise of the campaign was about poking fun at the industry, pointing out it’s short-comings and why Alaska Airlines’ service was superior. The attached links are a couple of my favorites that were produced while I was at the agency. They are very funny, and not so absurd, but even today, Alaska Airlines can’t avoid what the category is going through.
The “What’s Next?” ad was pointing out how bad service was becoming on other airlines, creating a fantasy of what it would be like if Airlines started charging passengers for simple services. How ironic and before it’s time.
Enjoy some advertising from yester-year.