Adman who wrote Reagan's "It's Morning Again in America" commercial dies

[Auggie]

San Francisco Chronicle, 3-26-08:

Hal Riney, the San Francisco advertising man whose iconic and memorable work helped establish the city as a leading creative center for the industry, died of cancer in his San Francisco home Monday. He was 75.

Whether his client was an automobile manufacturer, a wine cooler or the committee to re-elect President Ronald Reagan, no one could put as graceful a spin on Americana as could Hal Riney. He made likable, engaging advertising in a career of nearly 50 years.

Some would say he is best remembered for creating the brand and image of General Motors' Saturn automobile division, establishing a memorable alternative to Detroit car culture in the process. Others would argue he is equally famous for the codgers Frank Bartles and Ed Jaymes, who sing the praises of the Gallo wine cooler that bore their names. Another case could be that his best work came in 1984, when he wrote soft-textured, 60-second montages of Americana, telling stories of swelling national pride, making people comfortable about re-electing Reagan. The ads - titled "It's Morning Again in America" - assured the public it would be folly to return to the days before Reagan's tenure.

Link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/25/BU00VQ9DC.DTL

He reinvented West Coast advertising in the 80's. And can also be thanked, at least in part, for an additional 4 years of Reaganomics (plus a lot of other heinous shit that spun off it).

[Red Zelda]

1. Yayyy!!!

[sharesunited]

2. Yes, you should hate Raney's success on Reagan's behalf.

But you should also study and learn from it.