← GO BACK IN TIME

1968
The Parisian Pilot

Jed relocated to Paris to help open Y&R’s new European office, focused on TV advertising.

He pitched an ad entirely in mime. The client applauded, then asked what it was for. Jed wasn’t sure. It aired anyway — and boosted sales of striped shirts by 14%.

Mmm... did that actually happen?

Tell us about something that did:-)

Ohnafalby added this comment:

This is a comment made by Roger Mader back in 2016... Life transcends life as we lost Roger in 2022. But here goes: The year was 1968, the month was May, the city was Paris and there was a student revolution going on. The city was at a standstill but at Young and Rubicam they were pitching the Simca (a car) account. Jed and I were part of a team sent to Paris to work on the pitch. There were six of us and our leader was Dermott McCarthy. We were living and working in the hotel Price de Galles on Avenue George Cinq not far from the Y&R office. As the city was in turmoil we were restricted to the neighborhood around the hotel. Fortunately the bistro Chez Andre was in striking distance. It's was a wonderful old traditional Paris bistro and we had lunch there almost every day. One fine day we had our traditional lunch with very generous portions if I remember correctly. But the highlight of this particular lunch was the sight of J.E.D. Falby eating three desserts. THREE! I think they were a millefeuille, a baba au rum and profiteroles. Just amazing and we didn't have to hose him down either. Bon appetit, Roger

Or add more detail about 1968 — what happened exactly?