If it weren't for Jay Chiat, there wouldn't be an Engergizer Bunny, you wouldn't know what a "swoosh" is, and Apple Computer probably wouldn't be alive.
Chait, one of the great ad men of the 80s and 90s, passed away yesterday, apparently of prostate cancer.
With the Apple "1984" ad that introduced the Macintosh, Chiat helped invent "event advertising," and his work with Enegizer added a still-unaccustomed edge of irony to network ads.
Not only did he help change the way commercials looked, his Chiat/Day agency pioneered open "hotel-style" workplaces, where no one had dedicated space and people were forced into interacting with other employees. A lot of people hated it, and with good reason. But it sure knocked people out of routines, and that's usually a good thing for creative types.
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