The First Annual Atlanta Advertising Antiques Show

"The only goal was to enjoy each other's company and have fun." - GuyTucker

Many observers agreed that it was probably the greatest collection of Atlanta advertising talent gathered under one roof without an award being presented. Atlanta ad veterans came together to tell war stories, reminisce with colleagues and catch up on the exploits of long unseen friends at a party billed as the Ad Antiques Roadshow. Held January 29 at the Cox Communications headquarters, the gathering drew about 500 people, including many illustrious and legendary names in local advertising lore.

Among those seen hobnobbing and repeating anecdotes of past campaigns were such luminaries as Bob Cargill, Dave Fitzgerald, Don Gill, Dick Henderson, Don Hutcheson, Pete Little and Virgil Schutze. Along with the conversation, attendees also enjoyed seeing tapes of past Addy shows which ran on monitors.

The gathering was the brainchild of marketing consultant Alf Nucifora, who wondered during a lunch with adman Ron Scharbo where some old friends had gone. Inspired, Nucifora called a number of veterans of the Atlanta ad industry and formed a committee to put the party together. This group included Scharbo; executive headhunter Guy Tucker of Ask Guy Tucker; former ad pundits Mary Welch and Jim Osterman; and Match, Inc. principal B.A. Albert. "The idea was to have a party and charge just enough to cover food and drink," says Osterman. "But we didn't want to make it something where people felt they'd have to give speeches or testimonials. The appeal of it was the opportunity to see people they may not have seen in years."

"The only goal was to enjoy each other's company and have fun," explains Tucker. "The sole purpose was to say hello again. This is an industry which eats its young. Sometimes talent wears out and moves on to other businesses. In this case, people who had moved on came back and were glad to see each other. For me the highlight was talking to people I hadn't seen in a long time. Time had healed all wounds and made everybody a friend again." Says photographer Lynda Green, "It was like a small batch bourbon: Smooth and sweet with a lot of kick."

Along with providing information for a database, attendees were also asked to contribute memorabilia of the market's advertising past which will be offered to the Atlanta History Center. "There's a ton of stuff out there in attics, basements and garages," says Osterman, "such as significant memos in an agency's history, old storyboards and tee shirts from agency softball teams. No matter how trivial it may seem, every item tells a piece of the ad industry's Atlanta saga and we should hold on to some of it."

Though the official gathering ended at 9:30 PM, a number of people felt it was too soon to call it a night. About 50 people reconvened at Johnny's Hideaway on Roswell Road in Buckhead and continued the storytelling and celebrating until the wee hours of the morning. Although the gathering was an unqualified success, the organizers say it should not become an annual event. "My inclination is to do it every five years," Osterman declares. "If you do it more often, you lose some luster. It's like high school or college reunions. If we held one every year, we'd lose what made it special."

© 2004 Allen Rabinowitz All Rights Reserved