winnie-the-pooh turns 92

On this day in 1921, A.A. (Alan Alexander) Milne brought home a stuffed bear for his son Christopher Robin's first birthday. A.A. was a playwright, but that writing (to his annoyance) came to be overshadowed by the success of stories he'd write about Pooh. The original Pooh, along with the rest of his son's menagerie which inspired the series-- Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga and Tigger--are on display in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (sadly, the new name for the New York Public Library Main Branch) in New York.

Photo: Chae Kihn

it's mourning in adland

Hal Riney, advertising legend, died yesterday of cancer at 75. An "adman's adman" he was considered by many peers (including David Ogilvy) to be the best in the business, responsible for ground-breaking campaigns for Perrier, Saturn, Gallo, even presidents. He created (and narrated) some of the best political campaign spots ever made, one of which (Bear) could probably get a candidate elected today.

From AdAge:

During his career of almost 50 years, Mr. Riney developed advertising around the notion that understatement sold better than overstatement, and any conclusions about a product were better left to the audience. He also pushed against advertising that was intrusive or insulting, and he wasn't ashamed of ads that made people laugh or cry.

Mr. Riney also worked for Republican political candidates and in the 1980s was part of the so-called Tuesday Team, a group of admen working on Ronald Reagan's campaign. His "Bear in the Woods" spot, which subtly compared the Russian communists to a bear in the woods that some declined to see, and his "Morning in America" campaign for Mr. Reagan are political classics.