Writers such as Jim Kirk and predecessor George Lazarus rarely get mentioned or credited for some of the so-called “dull” reporting they engage in every day concerning the work of advertising agencies. But once in a while a scintilla of humor appears that strikes a chord in readers who know and experienced what they write about.
Kirk’s Jan. 10 column, “Knock, knock: How do you make deodorant funny,” triggered a memory of some 50 or 60 years ago, when the one and only Ogden Nash, then in his glory, wrote and talked about “odorarm deunderant,” and a wag of that same period announced that he was working on a radical new and different deodorant. He thought he might call it “Vanish,” because, he explained, you just rubbed it on and you vanished. The smell would still be there, but nobody would know where it was coming from.
Ah, well. DDB Chicago and Unilever, feel free to copy.
