Back in September, 2003, the 23 automobile dealerships near Scottsdale and McDowell roads in Scottsdale, Arizona created a new business organization and held an agency review. While ECD at EB Lane, we were invited to pitch this business.

My partner, Mark Itkowitz and I, decided to rename the area as part of our creative approach. The name we came up with was — “Scottsdale Motor Mile”. We did this to reclaim “Scottsdale” from the auto dealers in North Phoenix who were calling themselves Scottsdale dealerships, yet their taxes were going to the city of Phoenix.

We won the account with our name change, graphic approach and by insisting that each dealer wrap two of their customer courtesy vans with the new Scottsdale Motor Mile graphics. That gave us the largest mobile billboard force in the Greater Phoenix area with 46 vehicles on the streets every day.

After the successful launch of this massive endeavourer, my wife and I got to go on our first true vacation in a few years. And as it never fails to happen in advertising, I also got the phone call from the CEO/President of EB Lane that Michael Famileti, head of SMM auto group and General Manager, United Auto, had personally requested I work on an emergency project for him.

The project was to develop a presentation for Bentley Motors, England in order to obtain additional Bentley dealership locations in the United States. Although this information was never communicated to me until I had my ass handed to me by the client at the meeting I cut my vacation short for and flew back early to attend. Now I had two, not so happy people to deal with — a client and my wife.

To make a long story short, I worked straight through the next day and a half building a killer Bentley presentation. And in doing so, I created, and earned a tremendous amount of respect and gratitude from Famileti. Below is the Bentley work I generated over that 38 hour period, — seriously 38 hours straight! And this is only part of what I created, but I think it’s the best part.

As part of the marketing plan I developed, we would extend the reach of Bentley Scottsdale beyond Greater Phoenix into larger metro areas and market the fact you could fly into Scottsdale, have a great mini-vacation and drive home in your beautiful new, or previously owned Bentley.

Part of this approach would also use Penske’s vast trucking industry to ship Bentleys from around the country to Scottsdale for what I called “The Bentley Ball”. A weekend, super event of Vegas-style entertaining, dining, dancing, food, drink, golf, all culminating in a major luxury car event/show (more focused than the Barrett-Jackson Auction).

As part of the creative I developed was the unique concept that Bentley could market by city and/or region using the people, homes, lifestyles, wealth, excitement, and so on that is unique to all major metropolitan areas, yet different. In this way, the ads would speak directly from the “local” dealer who would be providing the service Bentley owners have long come to expect from the a luxury automotive brand and speak to them using local visuals, not generic luxury.

Here are a few of the concepts I developed to create that “local” influence.

Just as the word back from the UK that they loved the presentation and wanted to know if this approach could be rolled out nationally, EB Lane was fired by Mercedes Benz of Chandler. Which we’d also won shortly after the Scottsdale Motor Mile award. Our CEO couldn’t believe it. “Why?” I asked. He said that there was some problem, but he didn’t have all the details, and this is why he didn’t want to pursue automotive accounts. I said I had to pass right by the dealership on my way home and if he didn’t mind, I was going to leave early and talk with them. “Why? We’re fired.”

I drove to the dealership and asked the receptionist if Bob was in. She said he was, but that he was in a meeting. I sat on the couch outside their executive offices for the next 2 hours. It was now 6 o’clock and Bob finally opened his door and asked me to come in. Before he could say anything, I told him that he was in the drivers seat. That he could do whatever he wanted. But, he could not fire us. The creative was done. It was under budget. And, it was good! To find another agency was going to cost him more time and more money. Two things he did not have a lot of. So please let the creative run. If you do not like it, and you still want to fire us, then — and only then would I accept his decision. I leaned over his desk and looked him square in the eyes and asked, “So what is the problem?”

20 minutes later I had all the information I needed. By 10 a.m. the next morning, we made one more presentation to Mercedes Benz with all of the problems (account people) removed. We were unfired at the end of the meeting.

Shortly there after I left EB Lane and opened my own advertising and design firm. Michael Famileti asked me if I’d like to help him out on a few of the luxury lines we hadn’t worked on at EB Lane.