A BIG LIFE (IN ADVERTISING)

An advertising pioneer’s memoir of a successful career.

A “big” life is apparently one that results in power and money. If that is the case, then Lawrence has certainly led such a life. A small-town girl who aspired to become an actor, Lawrence instead found her calling in advertising. She quickly rose from department-store copywriter to advertising executive and opened her own advertising agency, Wells Rich Greene, in 1966. There, she was able to promote her view of advertising as the point of intersection between theater and business. Armed with consumer surveys and performance indicators, Lawrence used this data as a jumping-off point for commercials that were both attention-grabbing and personal. Among her successes were the campaign that gave Braniff Airways visibility by painting their planes vivid colors, the “plop, plop . . . fizz, fizz” Alka-Seltzer series, and the still-prominent “I Love New York” ads. As a result of their creative approach, Lawrence’s agency won a reputation for resuscitating lost brands and set industry records for growth. Lawrence’s narration makes it easy to see why her company had such success. There is a fast-talking, performative quality to the text that no doubt fueled brainstorming sessions and boardroom meetings as much as it does this narrative. Take, for example, Lawrence’s description of her reaction to the idea to paint Braniff’s airplanes: “Seven colors looked like a big idea and wow and friendly and it would be big news.” This effervescence pulls the reader through a story that reveals little. Even at the end, one has little sense of Lawrence as something other than a determined and charismatic executive. Her personal life, which includes two daughters, a divorce and remarriage, and a bout with cancer, is mostly ignored. Even the difficulties of being an early female CEO, though touched upon, are dealt with simply and without reflection. It’s ambition that’s big in these pages, not life.

An engaging, if empty, showbiz memoir.