A couple of us have been with Rosenberg Advertising since its beginning (we’re looking at you, Daves Rosenberg and Simon), another few have been here for 10+ years, and those of us who have been here for less became part of the family right away. 34 years in business is important to us and we’re having a fun time reminiscing about the past, living in the moment, and looking toward a future that lasts for another 34+ years!
If Rosenberg Advertising were a cocktail, which one would it be and why?
Melissa: Trick question! We’d never be a fancy cocktail because we’re too down to earth! We’d be an ice cold beer, and we’d definitely be a Budweiser. We’re purposefully simple, true to ourselves, and know who we are and what we stand for. We’ve been around forever and you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t enjoy us. We’ve also got two Clydesdales in our parking lot, but that’s purely coincidental.
When you started working here, what was the hot “trend” in your specific department of work or the advertising industry as a whole? Were you skeptical or open to it?
Dave Simon: When Dave Rosenberg hired me in April of 1983 as the first employee of Rosenberg Advertising, I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. I was a young (hard to believe, but true) guy fresh out of the U.S. Army, where I had worked as a graphic designer and illustrator. I knew nothing about advertising. I would not have been able to identify a “hot advertising trend” if it had snuck up behind me and bitten me on the butt. Still, I knew how to make things look good, and Dave gave me a chance to learn the rest, for which I’ll be forever grateful. 1983 was a weird and not particularly cutting edge year in fashion and graphic design. It was off-the-shoulder sweatshirts (thanks to Flashdance), Members Only jackets, and Hawaiian shirts (thanks to Magnum P.I.). “Digital” and “advertising” were two words that did not make sense together. The work we did at Rosenberg that year was overwhelmingly retail price item, and overwhelmingly newspaper oriented. The first hint I had of what the future might hold came in January of 1984, when Apple ran the infamous “1984” commercial for the first Macintosh computer.
What is your favorite Rosenberg tradition and why?
Dave Rosenberg: I know I have to pick one and most people would think I’d pick Whirlyball, but I will chose our cutting-of-the-cake and subsequent passing around of the cut up pieces. The cake cutting is so simple yet has taken on a life of its own. I think it is so funny that this has even made its way into our company handbook . So much good-natured ribbing and critiquing over how a new hire cuts a cake, this has taken something pretty ordinary and made it into an event that is so special. Also I love the way we pass each person’s piece of cake around so everyone in the company touches that plate. I guess you could say that’s how we pass around so many germs but I will say that is how we bond!
Marisa: My favorite RA tradition is birthday celebrations! I love that everyone’s birthday gets acknowledged and always look forward to having lunch with my co-workers and of course – cake! Seeing what sort of card is created by our designers is always entertaining – who doesn’t love seeing the birthday person’s head photoshopped onto someone else’s body?! I still have all the RA birthday cards that I’ve ever received.
What was the first project you were assigned when you started working here and how did it evolve/what was the result of it?
Rachel: One of my first Rosenberg projects was to help build out Professional Travel’s blog by brainstorming topics and writing posts. Because the client is a travel management company, we came up with a lot of fun and interesting travel topics that immediately started to draw new visitors to the site. To this day, their blog is a huge driver of traffic to the website!
How do you imagine our agency will operate in the year 2040?
Kara: In 25 years, Dave Rosenberg will still tell me that I look exactly the same as the day I started (wishful thinking!). Maybe the next generation of Rosenbergs will be doing their summer internships here. Starbucks will have a delivery service and I will place frequent orders on my iPhone22. Our values as a company will remain the same – we will still provide our clients with fresh, innovative ideas and we will still remain honest to our roots as a fun-loving advertising family. We will still value each and every client and provide them with creative, high-quality work. Our magnolia tree will still be the focal point of our front yard and beautifully bloom every spring.
Austin: At the core, I think RA will operate the same in 2040. Family atmosphere, driven by client satisfaction and awesome leadership (wink face). However the mediums we will be working on don’t even exist yet. In 2040 hologram branding will be all the rage and so will interactive walls. These walls will be a combination of social media and websites but they will literally be digital walls on buildings. By that time we will no longer have desks, desktop computers, or traditional phones. They will have all morphed into interactive workstations.
Jared: In the year 2040, Rosenberg will be operated by highly functional humanoids that closely resemble their living and breathing counterparts. Man will be free to pursue its passions and hobbies while our cyborg slaves spend all day at the office. This also means that humanoids will be doing business with other humanoids throughout the day. Once work is finished, our humanoid partners will come back to our homes and we will then plug into the machine. At this point, all of the day’s information and business dealings will be downloaded into the database which has been implanted into our brains by way of nano-microchip technology. It will be as though we were sitting at the office, writing proposals, getting quotes, brainstorming, designing, and helping others to build their businesses. However, during this information transfer, the humanoids will also be learning from us. They will experience what we learned that day, feel the emotions we experienced, the happiness, the heartache. Man and robot will become one and the same.
The lines will be blurred.
They will eventually call it Rosenborg Advertising.
