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Business and Society Alliance
Interview with John Follis Deborah Meyerberg, BASA (DM): Who are you? John Follis (JF): Professionally, I guess you could say I’m someone who has a way of combining words and images in a way that gets people excited. DM: Do you consider this your work? And if so, why do you do it? JF: Although it is my work I’d say it’s more a vocation. It comes out of a very central part of me ... a passion, I guess. It boils down to harnessing and focusing that passion in a way that serves my clients. It ties into your BASA philosophy -- to create business models and ideas that are also positive for society. DM: What makes an idea "positive"? JF: That's a bit subjective, but let’s take the idea of advertising kids clothes. It comes down to how you do that. A client I worked with, French Toast, makes clothes for kids, up to age 12 or 13. We created a campaign that, for lack of a better name, we called The Positive Slogan Campaign. It’s a series of ads that present positive messages that relate to kids in some way...things to do with self esteem, respecting others, etc. The key is that we do it in a way that makes those ideas seem "cool". It’s positive for French Toast as a brand because French Toast is supporting these universal ideals that go beyond selling clothes. The challenge for this campaign was to be both positive and cool and do it in a way that both kids and their parents can respond to. The ads have a photo of a kid (or kids) wearing French Toast clothes and each scenario is different. For example, one shows kids in a tug-of-war and the headline says, "It’s the only war they should ever know." Another has a little kid, maybe 6 or 7 years old, with a basketball. He’s looking a bit bummed because he’s small and maybe the bigger kids won’t let him play. The ad says, "Even Michael Jordan was once 3’6". The message is "don’t get discouraged". And that’s a positive thought. Of course, the ads are all tagged with a prominent French Toast logo and tagline. DM: Do you feel that is one of your responsibilities as an advertising agency...to be positive? JF: My responsibility, and the responsibility of any ad agency, is to increase positive awareness and sales for clients. But to me that also means being responsible to society. It’s not just an ethical thing. Long term, I believe it makes bottom line business sense. DM: Is the French Toast campaign your brainchild or did they come in and say "we want to do something positive"? JF (Laughing): They said "we want French Toast to be more cool and target the pre-teens." I added the "positive" spin. DM: Why did you choose the field of advertising? JF: I kind of stumbled into it. It was the start of my junior year of college and I was still majoring in "Undecided." I met with a guy I thought was a school counselor to help me decide what direction to take. He knew I had creative talent so he stacked me up with all these advertising courses. I didn’t realize until after that he was the chairman of the advertising department. Ironically, my career nearly ended before it started. The first course I took was a miserable experience. The instructor flat out told me that if I was smart I’d choose another profession...not the best thing to hear a year before you’re suppose to graduate. I knew I had talent and after some heavy soul searching I tried again with a different teacher and ended up at the top of my class. I think that first instructor is now selling shoes somewhere. DM: What’s your mission, your vision? JF: To build my agency with clients whose products and services I respect and combine my personal values with my professional goals. DM: Do you have a message for the business community? JF: I don’t consider myself in the position to tell other businesses what they should or shouldn’t do. I can only hope that business people in positions of power subscribe to the belief that profits shouldn’t come at the expense of doing what’s good for society. DM: What’s important to you? JF: Working with smart people I respect, having fun, and following my passion. My reputation is also very important to me. That means not only being the best at my profession, but also doing it with integrity. I want to attract clients and associates who value that. Everyone is like a product with their own brand identity and you'll attract people who respond to your brand. I realize how important it is to establish and reinforce my own positive brand identity. DM: Do you think you’re making a difference? JF: I know I am. The response to the French Toast campaign has been excellent. Teachers and parents have called requesting enlarged copies of the ads to hang in their classrooms and homes. How often does that happen? Another example is the campaign we did for a company called Sorrell Ridge. Sorrell Ridge makes a fruit spread (jam) that’s healthier because it doesn’t use the refined sugar or corn syrup used in most jams. Our campaign got that message across in a way that increased sales 50% nationally for the year. That’s making a difference. And we’ve done similar things for dozens of other clients. I’ve also worked with about two dozen public service causes. Things like child abuse prevention, drunk driving, domestic violence, etc. A national TV spot we created for child abuse prevention increased hot-line responses 57%. That’s making a difference. |
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