Interview Essay: Jack Allay
Jackass. That’s what professor Allday asked we call him. Jack S. Allday to be formal. He didn’t want to be too formal. He immediately broke the ice with his off the cuff sense of humor; that, his sweater vests and his socks with garters. He was tall. He gave a brief synopsis of his background. Our first day of class, we did introductions: say your name, your age and your major. Everyone responds with a monotone, “hi (insert name)”. Almost like an AA meeting, but we were all dressed in business attire. So, in part it was like we were ready for a funeral but behaving like we were recovering alcoholics. He had this air about him that snapped us all back to reality. “What is advertising, in one word?” Talk about a curve ball. That question is more loaded than “what did you do this past summer”. The tenacity we had was draining in the silence. “Come on people. You can’t do this in a boardroom with Coke or Nike representatives sitting across the table in the dark. It was my first day of college, advertising 100, acquaintanceship at its finest. It was recommended not required that we read Ogilvy on Advertising. I’d read it all the week before class began. I still couldn’t find my own words out of the jumbled pile of verbs, adjectives and nouns in my mind. My first paper bled red ink: so much for my prized essay or my ostentatious vocabulary. His only comment read, “Use a $0.05 word for a dollar’s value”.
It was either the face he made while getting nostalgic about his first days in the biz or his argyle sweaters. I’m not sure, but he was passionate about the art of advertising: every detail, every brand, every year meant something to him and somehow related to his life story. His love for the composition and conveyance of various products in several media through a creative direction emblazoned his soul and filled his veins. When we were late to class or would show up in pajamas, he was heartbroken. He said something I’ll never forget. It moved me. “Where you go in this life and this industry is up to you. You pick your clothes out in the morning and without even knowing, you decide how others perceive you. It’s called positioning. We’re going for love marks. If you want to be given a step up, you must first stand on your own”. I stopped wearing pj’s. It seems like your typical fortune cookie advice slash roman proverb. However, it rang a bell inside. His voice echoed in the room and in my head. I spent the next few months trying to soak up every little bit about advertising and all that entailed.
My first advertising professor left an impression on me and the way I thought about advertising. I chose to interview him because he truly loved advertising. It was a part of him, like his arm—essential to his being, something that completed his person. It is his lifeblood. He is a go-getter, a mover and a shaker, a musician, a writer, a creator, and most importantly, an artist. He started his creative career in the newspaper business and soon went from writing articles to writing copy for different ads. He never lost his passion for designing a concept, creating a layout and writing an advertisement. He still plays jazz and takes time out to read books. He reads anything he can get his hands on. He is 65, still teaches, and still learns. He loves change and fears spiders. He’s my inspiration.