We said goodbye to our precious dog 3 days before Christmas and a month shy of her 19th birthday.

 

Merry Christmas and condolences to any who have cause to mourn. Our little Chenoa couldn't quite make it to her 19th birthday. One of our neighbors called her "The dog of a lifetime." Everyone knew she was special.

Talk about mellow! She only barked when the doorbell rang, making sure we knew someone had come to say hello. And when other neighborhood dogs barked and got aggressive, she just looked at them with a curious expression on her face.

Three years ago in October, she had a herniated disc in her spine, and the vet said we should consider putting her down. My sports chiropractor Russ Harward came to the resuce. Utah is only one of five states where a chiropractor can work on an animal without a referral from a vet. Russ adjusted her spine and bought us over three more years.

So today, Rita and I are having a mellow but heartfelt Christmas.

Part III: BigFix Gets a "Cease and Desist" from a Game Manufacturer

 

Who would have thought that the term "BFG" was copyrighted/trademarked?

So instead of continuing to run this ad with "BFG" on the gun, we wrote "BIGFIX" on the gun. Sigh.

Sincerely,
Rick Bennett
Ad Hit Man

Part 2: Big Fix Continues to Pound the Competition

 

Between their patents and killing all the competition in a particularly snarky way, Big Fix quickly took over the end-to-end/single-console security business.

Sincerly yours,
Rick Bennett
Ad Hit Man

Part I: Getting Big Fix on the Map

If you're wondering why I write sci-fi novels, Big Fix is a prime case in point. This is the start of a campaign that eventually saw computer-security client Big Fix acquired by IBM.

I found a sci-fi artist in Canada named Daryl Mandryk, and this is the start of a wonderful campaign that shook up the world.

Stay tuned.

Sincerely yours,
Rick Bennett
Ad Hit Man

Me and Artist Peter Max, making a $25K investment turn into $500K in gifts to the Data General sales force.

After I ran for the US Congress (and lost), Data General hired me to do advertising and "special projects." My literary agent also represented famous artist Peter Max, and we did a $25,000 deal with him.

He delivered an original piece of artwork, with 250 signed and numbered prints for awards to the Data General sales force. I told the recipients that they could hold the art prints for one year, and then donate them to schools and libraries after getting them appraised. The art prints appraised at over $2000 each, and that gave the sales guys (all high-income/high-tax-bracket people) a great tax write-off. The company had the option of donating the original at a much higher price, getting the same tax write-off.

I say "To heck with gold pens and special wristwatches. Give your high-performing salespeople something of REAL value."

As I was exiting Data General and heading to Silicon Valley, I did another art deal with Peter Max. The first year went over really well with people.

Sincerely yours,
Rick Bennett
Ad Hit Man

The Very First Ad I Ever Created

 

Back in 1971, I was an applications engineer for Data General in Phoenix. I helped our customers design interfaces to the Nova minicomputers. About then, a James Coburn and Rod Steiger movie called A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE (later renamed DUCK YOU SUCKER) came out. I caught the theater throwing away the movie poster, which they gave to me. James Coburn sat on a motorcycle with an open raincoat loaded with lit sticks of dynamite. The copy:  "In the market for a computer? Let Rick Bennett blow your mind."

About that time, I was responsible for putting together a local church membership directory and sold advertising to help with production costs. Naturally, I bought the center spread, and put my face on the poster. Now comes the interesting part.

I had a blowup of the ad and sent it to the shipping department of Data General, along with cases of root beer (we depended upon them for good customer relationships). Later that year, when I went back to the home office in Massachusetts with some customers, I saw my prominently on the wall. Turns out, everybody loved the "wild man from Phoenix" and his irreverent company promotion.

I don't remember if anyone in our Arizona church population ever bought a Data General minicomputer.

Sincerely yours,
Rick Bennett
Ad Hit Man

My Draft Anti-Islamic-Terrorism ad concept: "We Bury Terrorists with Pigs."

 

Again, one of my morning "mental calisthenics" exercises. Since burying Islamic terrorists with pigs would keep their souls out of heaven and those 72 virgins waiting for them, hey!

Yeah I know, this would evoke world-wide condemnation as a US tactic. But would it work?

Sincerely yours,
Rick Bennett
Ad Hit Man

My "Hot Button" is Animal Testing

 

Sometimes, in my morning "mental calisthenics" I imagine ads I'd like to run worldwide. For any of you with beloved pets, this might pull your heartstrings.

Here is my beautiful and about-to-go-to-doggie-heaven Chenoa. She'll turn 19 years old on January 20th. I put some words into her mouth to speak to a dog's loyalty and forgiveness. May we all try to develop those qualities in our own lives.

Merry Christmas from
Rick Bennett
Ad Hit Man

"Killing Ingres" - Larry Ellison's Greatest Speeches

 

I figured some guerrilla warfare was in order, so I took my teenage son Matthew Bennett and slapped this FOR SALE BY OWNER. I sent the image to Larry Ellison. This prompted one his greatest speeches.

At the Million Dollar Club annual award banquet in Hawaii, he literally brought down the house with the following as he showed this picture:

"I'm going to put these guys out of business."
[applause]
"Then, I'm going to bulldoze their building."
[louder applause]
"Then, I'm going to salt the earth."
[even louder applause and laughter]
"And then, I'm going after their families!"
[the rafters shook with one inspired salesforce]

Ingres was a quired by Ask who was acquired by CA. Larry commented "Every ecosystem needs a scavenger."

Sincerely yours,
Rick Bennett
Ad Hit Man