Curvin O'Rielly, R.I.P.

Curvin O'Rielly died last week. Curvin was a wonderful copywriter -- which, in my opinion, is about the highest compliment you can pay to an ad person. Curvin worked at many of the world's best ad agencies

I never met Curvin, but I knew him by reputation and from his astute comments on George Parker's blog (AdScam.)

Curvin wrote to me once. He had just finished my book (101 Contrarian Ideas...) and wrote to say that he had enjoyed it. He also wrote that it contained a serious error.

In the book I have a piece about Saturn, the car. In the piece I credited Hal Riney with creating the brilliant campaign that transformed a mediocre car into a great brand. I wrote, "He did it with his unique blend of plain-talk, humor, beauty, and bullshit."

Curvin wrote and said, "It wasn't Hal Riney who created the Saturn brand. When I arrived at his agency in Feb. 1990, he didn't have squat."

 

So let me belatedly, officially correct the record. 

 

And credit Curvin with possessing the gift of all great copywriters -- the unique blend of plain-talk, humor, beauty, and bullshit.

Curvin O'Rielly, R.I.P.