Week 4 EOC #1: Who is Jerry Della Famina

Jerry Della Damina was born July 22, 1936, in Brooklyn to Italian immigrant parent. He got his first copywriting job with the Daniel & Charles Agency in 1961. After years of disagreements with other agency superiors, Mr. Della Femina, Travisano, & Partners, in 1967. The 70s their agency had become one of the industry’s biggest revenue makers by stressing creativity. “Throughout the 1970s, Mr. Della Femina was at the forefront of a movement to transform advertising from an industry favoring reverence and hierarchy to one promoting humor and casual openness, just as U.S. society was changing in much the same way. This meant breaking some rules and creating controversy” (http://adage.com/article/adage-encyclopedia/della-femina-jerry-1936/98433/). The first controversial ad was in 1986 for Ansell-America’s Lifestyles condoms. The campaign highlighted safety but did not ignore sex; it featured a young woman saying, “I’ll do a lot for love, but I’m not ready to die for it.” The ad was rejected by The New York Times, Time and three TV networks. Once he explained that the ad was a public service in the fight against AIDS the ad gained quality air time. “But when Ansell President John Silverman was quoted in Time as calling the AIDS epidemic a "condom marketer's dream," Mr. Della Femina quit the account” (http://adage.com/article/adage-encyclopedia/della-femina-jerry-1936/98433/). He created more controversy that year, being the first to use the word “fuck” in advertising, in a print campaign for Perry Ellis cologne.

Jerry’s Voice

“I don't like to work for politicians because I hate to work on anything that you can't give back if it doesn't work. I sell products. I do a commercial for, say, Meow Mix, and you don't like it, you get your money back. You can return it. Politicians, you can't return. You're with them for four more years. And that's scary”. 
(https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/jerry_della_femina.html)

In 1999, Advertising Age recognized Mr. Della Femina as one of the top 100 advertising people of the 20th century for his determination, sense of humor, dedication and love of advertising.