He's been behind the most amazing work for decades
Lee Clow is stepping down as the leader of the Media Arts Lab at Chiat, which is the group devoted to Apple’s advertising. He will, of course, remain the global creative chief of Chiat and in that capacity will still be involved with Apple.
So let us not speak of Lee in the past tense. But absolutely, let’s take a moment to give him the huge credit he deserves for his devotion to Apple and undying love of great creative. He played a huge role in making Apple what it is today, and for setting what many companies see as the gold standard in advertising.
It was a dark time in 1997. So dark, Apple stock was more like kryptonite than the platinum it’s become. Every day, there were more takeover rumors. Steve Jobs had just returned from exile and regained control of the company. First order of business on the marketing side was to blow up the agency review process that his predecessor had started. No time for that. Life signs were dangerously faint. Steve narrowed the choices to Chiat in LA (his old agency when Macintosh was born) and Arnold in Boston (VW’s old agency, who had wowed Steve with a very cool video). Chiat won.
It would be folly to suggest that Lee didn’t see this as a great business opportunity. But if ever there was a moment of pure passion in the ad biz, this was it. Lee was driven by his love of Apple, his respect for Steve and the opportunity to re-create the magic of the birth of the Mac.
Lee’s talent, as it has been for decades, is to create defining moments for a variety of clients, including Nike and Nissan. That’s exactly what he’s done with Apple. It’s Lee who enlists and discovers the most amazing people, and let’s them do what they’re capable of. Once or twice you might say it’s a fluke. Year after year, for over 30 years, not so much.
So let all Apple enthusiasts appreciate what this man has done. From Apple II to Macintosh to iMac, iPod and iPhone, Lee’s been there every step of the way. And now he’s stepping back. Duncan Milner is officially taking over the day-to-day executive creative duties at Media Arts. Knowing him well, I can assure you that this jewel of advertising is in very good hands. Thanks Lee, and godspeed Duncan.
Tags: apple, duncan milner, ken segall, lee clow
