If you remember anything at all, I’m betting it was a story.  No big surprise.  Stories are more entertaining, informative and memorable than facts, figures and philosophical diatribes.  Anybody that’s had any training in public speaking knows that.  Just ask any Toastmasters Club honcho.  Or, take a Dale Carnegie course.

In his book, What’s Your Point, Bob Boylan, author and consultant in the field of effective presentations, urges presenters to, “Tell stories.  They grab the audience.  You will be real when you tell your own stories.  They build on the feeling of ‘trust me.’  People love to hear stories, especially personal ones, and your familiarity with the story makes the words come more easily and believably.”

In advertising, I believe stories are critical to snagging and holding attention – whether we’re dealing with a YouTube video or a primetime television spot.  They are imperative when developing and strengthening brand awareness and preference.

The TV spot hailed as the best of the past century, Apple’s “1984,” told a riveting story, as do many of the most memorable Super Bowl spots over the years.  Remember the classic “Mean Joe Green” Coke spot from 1980? I still do, and I have a spotty memory.  Remember the pint-sized Darth Vader VW spot last year?

I believe the value of today’s highfalutin’ technology will be greatly minimized unless we learn how to apply the time-proven art of storytelling to it.  But it’s not an easy task in this time-crunched, media-overloaded society.

That fact is reflected in this comment by James Clunie, a judge for the prestigious 2011 Communication Arts Advertising Annual.  He is quoted in the Editor’s Column of that issue as saying, “I’m always surprised at how much time people expect you to engage with their brand.  I don’t have time up upload a picture of my face to a Web site so I can see what I look like sitting behind the wheel of a Jetta or on an American Standard toilet or whatever.”

Randal Rothenburg, president/CEO of the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), noted in a recent Advertising Age article, “New technology does not change the human desire for sense-making narrative or the need for us to understand the world through tales well told.  But the technology does change how we learn stories, how we tell stories, and who hears them.”

“We are concerned our industry is more concentrated on counting likes and clickthroughs than forming deep relationships with people, and that subsequently consumer interaction with brands is largely limited to likes, short comments, and critiques.  From this angle, interactive media is in its infancy.”

That relates directly to Richter7’s foundational belief that human beings are big bundles of feelings, and that emotional impulses drive behavior, brand relationships and product loyalty.

It’s up to us to figure out how to be better at storytelling within these technological confines.  What is clear is this — if you tell a story well, it will get passed on, and commented on positively, via multiple technological tools (think Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) at a speed and depth like never before.  And that’s the best kind of advertising — because it’s free.

A lot went into the Apple Beer campaign, from setting the right, rustic mood to express the German heritage of their brand to creating the appropriate slogans to communicate the core messages. The winning Apple Beer campaign features slogans such as, “Drink every night without worrying about your friends staging an intervention,” and “Yeah, it’ll give you a buzz. If you’re Hypoglycemic.”

In all of this, we just want to continually produce work for our clients that stands out. So when we’re able to win the most total national ADDY’s in our district, we hope, more than anything, that our clients feel they are always receiving top notch work.

Forget about deciphering the future, or trying to envision what new technology or digital tools will appear next.

Pause from that frustrating pursuit for five minutes while we peer into advertising’s distant past, in order to re-discover what the future will require – no matter what quirky Facebook rip-off or magical mobile app surfaces next week.

Look backwards for a moment.  Way back.  Keep going.  And going.

1925, bingo.

Lord & Thomas was the largest ad agency in the world at that time, and forerunner to what later became known as Foote Cone Belding (which itself became a behemoth in the ad industry).   Although his name never appeared on the door, L&T’s creator was Albert Lasker, a tireless taskmaster and one of the advertising industry’s greatest pioneers during the first half of the 20th century. With the assistance of Claude Hopkins, one of the first great professional copywriters, Lasker transformed brands such as Kleenex, Kotex, Pepsodent and Lucky Strike into household names.

That year, his agency published a series of magazine ads.  (Imagine that, an ad agency practicing what it preaches.)  The long-copy ads, mostly devoid of graphics, taught tenets of truth that may well be eternal.  Here are some excised jewels from that series.  See if you agree.

1. “Look for two certain qualities in every advertisement: ‘Fire and Feeling.’  Elements which, possessed, make one man a super-salesman.  And lacked, another a misfit.  Which make one ad sway millions to buy.  And left out, make another costly mediocrity.  ”
2. “The advertisement that trumpets ‘Here Is the Greatest Thing on Earth’ is, in modern advertising practice, judged a liability.  Only medicine shows and street carnivals any longer employ ‘barkers.’  Avoid boast and bombast.  For the whispered word is often more potent than the shouted.”
3. “When you find a winning story in advertising, stay with it.  Don’t, in the struggle for ‘something different,’ change it.
4. “The true science of headlines is to strike the right balance.  Not common-place, for that’s without excuse.  Not bizarre, for that’s a costly folly.  Not indefinite, but definite and compelling.”
5. “Many slogans can apply to ten or fifty products, but your claims as to the exclusive features of your product can apply only to yours.  If your ad copy features generalized slogans or extraneous ‘human interest’ leads more pertinently than your product, then change your copy.”

Sound familiar?  Some things never change, and shouldn’t.  These principles, circa 1925, apply every bit as much today, whether we’re creating a Flash banner or a matchbook cover.

I have long believed my job is to sell my clients products and services.  Awards are a bonus for doing that job right in the first place.  With that in mind, I offer a sixth excerpt from the Lord & Taylor ad series – again illustrating that the past can be totally applicable to the present:

• “The object of advertising is to sell.  Its only court of judgment is a profit sheet.  Men may deceive themselves, but profit and loss columns – never.”

Hats off to Mr. Lasker and Mr. Hopkins for leaving us a history lesson that has never gone out of style.

One day, he happened to ride in the same elevator as Steve Wozniak, one of the founders of Apple (in case you didn’t already know). Like so many people probably do, he showed Steve the application that he was working on at the time. Thoroughly impressed, Steve later sent him all of the latest Apple hardware and connected him to venture capitalists.

Sometimes it is just being at the right place at the right time.

Part of our job as advertisers is to the get the right message or image in front of the right audience at the right time. Our job is to create the elevator moments, and in those moments, make it memorable.

Every blog post, every banner ad, every website, every billboard, every television spot, every PR event is another opportunity to create a connection to a potential customer/client. The question is, are getting in front your appropriate audience at the right time? If so, how’s your elevator pitch?

-       Jeremy

Perhaps the best part, though, is this is Richter7’s 8th year receiving the honor. And while we only focus on the advertising category, my 21 years at this agency has shown me that we have outstanding divisions throughout the company in Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Research, Design, Media Planning and the explosive Online Marketing/Web & Mobile Development division. All add to make one great company.

But the real bonus is having stellar clients who authorize us to do outstanding campaigns. Without their trust and a collaborative vision, we wouldn’t have the award-winning work to move their business forward. Thank you to all.

Richter7 was lucky enough to take home more awards than any other agency this year (for the 9th time in 10 years!) From a total of 132 awards distributed, we were awarded 39, including 14 gold, 25 silver and one judges’ choice award for our Apple Beer campaign.

As one of our fearless leaders, Dave Newbold, puts it, “The awards are a bonus for doing our job right in the first place – that is, to sell our clients’ products and services.”

A big congrats to all of the Richter7 team members involved in creating this year’s winning campaigns. You inspire us each day! Can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year’s ADDY’s.

The office came to life as associates shouted their opinions on spots regarding Doritos, Pepsi, VW and even Best Buy’s use of Justin Bieber. With people working from all departments of a full-service agency, what was valued and humorous varied on multiple levels. It was a fun dynamic.

Social Media continues to play a larger role as this year’s Ad Bowl was discussed and debated on Twitter by following the hashtag #R7AdBowl. Winners were also announced on www.facebook.com/richter7, and www.twitter.com/richter7.

And finally, here is the list of winners and losers from Ad Bowl XVI:

• Most Valuable Ad Award – Volkswagen – The Force
• Best Low Budget Award – Doritos – Best Part
• Celebrity Sack Award – Best Buy – Bieber / Ozzy
• Championship Chuckle Award – Bridgestone – Reply All
• Illegal Use of $$$$ Award – Coca Cola – Siege
• Creative Fumble Award – Bud Light – Dogs
• Should Have Punted Award – GoDaddy – The Contract

He said things like, “If you have something pertinent to say, you neither have to say it to very many people–only to those you think will be interested–nor do you have to say it very often. How many times do you have to be told that your house is on fire?”

And, “Our first duty is not to the old sales curve, it is to the audience.”

And, “I like outdoor advertising. I just think it has no right to be outdoors.”

And one of my favorites, “The real fact of the matter is that nobody reads ads. People read what interests them, and sometimes it’s an ad.”

He talked about creating “conversations” with consumers almost 50 years before social media was invented.

He convinced a gas station chain to promote an imaginary pink additive in their air pumps and stodgy Scientific American magazine to sponsor a paper airplane contest.

Howard Luck Gossage was an advertising visionary who would have been a lot more famous if he’d taken a more traditional path. And just think how much better the business would be if there were a lot more like him today.

Fault for the rift can be blamed on both sides. Predicting the death of traditional advertising for the last ten years isn’t going to endear traditionalists any more than constantly making fun of the declining click-through rate on banner ads will make new media fans feel all warm and fuzzy.

Now we can argue effectiveness and statistics and back and forth or we can admit what the political parties in this country never will: neither side has all the answers.

Case in point, the most successful work this past year in terms of sales and buzz was the Old Spice “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign. The most interesting thing about that campaign (anti-traditional advertising proponents take note) it was first a very potent television ad and then became (anti-new media people pay attention) one of the most successful social media ad campaigns to date.

What’s that, you say? Traditional and new media working together? Could it be that they aren’t polar opposites after all?

Here’s a thought: instead of throwing statistics and insults at each other all the time, let’s look at common ground. We both want to do what’s right for the client. Let’s stop being arrogant and defensive. Let’s be the voice of reason. Most of all, let’s quit fighting and get back to the business at hand: selling product.

“We’re thrilled to continue working with the top resort destination in the nation,” said Peggy Lander, partner and executive vice president of advertising at Richter7. “We will continue putting all resources and efforts into strategic marketing that builds strong brand awareness and attracts visitors worldwide to Park City from a multitude of platforms.”

Richter7 was selected after a thorough review alongside other prominent agencies in Utah. Park City, known for its ease of accessibility from most US markets, is expecting a record winter season due to its early snow, major resort improvements and new brand-name lodging properties.

“With snow already in the mountains and all the amenities of Park City, skiers flock here to enjoy three world-class mountain resorts and a great town,” said Lander.

Established in 1971, Richter7 has been named Utah’s “Best of State” advertising agency seven times in the past decade and is nationally recognized for effective advertising, public relations, online interactive and design for clients from Minneapolis to Hawaii.