GEORGE LOIS

Mr. Big Idea

“THE GOLDEN GREEK.”

One of the pioneers of the “Creative Revolution,” George Lois set the advertising

world on fire with his in your face, unapologetic approach to product marketing.

Graphic designer, author, entrepreneur, and marketing extraordinaire,

he is known to his clients and competitors as

BACKGROUND George Lois was born June 26, 1931 in The Bronx,

NY City.

He was the son of Greek immigrants, Haralampos

and Vasilike, who owned a flower shop. He was

raised strictly Greek Orthodox, and although born in

the States, was a member of the Sons of Pericles.

This group was started in the 1920’s in Georgia, and

helped Greeks immigrate and assimilate to the States.

They were a group that stood up to racism, including

the Ku Klux Klan, and their spirit of equality is

evident in many of Lois’ later works.

George attended the High School of Music and Art

in NY City.

PRATT INSTITUTE George attended the Pratt Institute (a private, non-profit learning institution) for just over a year. There he had a professor, who could see his talents, named Herschel Levitt. Levitt felt that Lois was wasting time; he was convinced that there was nothing more the school could teach him. Levitt sent him to meet Reba Sochis, owner of a design studio, who hired Lois on the spot after seeing his portfolio.

Six months after leaving the Pratt Institute George was drafted into the army, serving during the Korean War.

K O R E A N

In reference to his time in the war, Lois refers to himself as the “ultimate impenitent rebel.” After being injured by

shrapnel, he was incarcerated on numerous occasions and in various military prisons for incorrigible behaviour.

After the war, George was sent back to the States. In January, 1954, Lois was (somehow) honourably discharged

after assaulting a sergeant in Camp Brunswick, New Jersey. According to Lois, he “threw a punch at a fat cracker

sergeant.” He had successfully ended his career in the U.S. Military. Lois was free to head back into the heart of

graphic design and commercial marketing. While others at the time thought of his field as dull and cold, the ego

driven Lois knew he would blaze a trail right through it. The night is darkest before the dawn.

W R

P.K.L. After his discharge from the military, George worked several jobs before being headhunted by Julian Koenig, Fred Papert, and Diane Papert. The four of them started PKL (Papert, Koenig & Lois), which was arguably the first public advertising agency ever. Lois learned to hone his craft there. This milestone was reached in January, 1960, and their office was located on Park Avenue, in Manhattan.

They are most famous for their Maypo and Xerox campaigns.

Lois left the agency in 1967 due to a disagreement over a potential merger.

ESQUIRE Lois reached his peak of personal expression when he was hired at Esquire magazine. He worked for the magazine from 1962 – 1972, and was the primary cover designer. He designed 92 covers during this time. He used his position not only to market the magazine to customers, but to make rebellious, provocative cultural statements. He used the covers to promote public debate on such topics as racism and feminism. He was also awarded a permanent display in the Museum of Modern Art for many of his Esquire designs.

GEORGE LOIS’ FAMOUS WORKS

“The statements inside (of a magazine) are useless unless

there is a statement on the outside.” - George Lois

The following are various examples, with brief synopses, of

SONNY LISTON Esquire asked Lois for a Christmas themed cover of this December issue of the magazine. This was released in 1963, amidst a time of extreme racism in America; a time of activists such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

Liston was known as “the meanest man in the world;” he had served time for armed robbery, had recently won the boxing heavyweight title, and had no qualms with his boisterous image or mob affiliations.

Esquire lost about $750,000 in advertisement funding as the result.

Time magazine described the cover as “one of the greatest social statements in the plastic arts since Picasso’s Guernica.”

MUHAMMAD ALI In 1967, Ali was drafted to serve in the U.S. Military during the Vietnam War. Ali was a practicing Muslim minister, and because of his religious beliefs, refused to go to war. He was convicted of refusing induction into the armed forces, stripped of his boxing title and banned from wrestling for 3 years. The court ruled his stand was political, not religious.

This picture depicts Ali as St. Sebastian, an early Christian saint who was declared a martyr after being killed for his religious beliefs. Sebastian is most famously depicted as being tied to a post and shot with arrows, and according to legend, survived.

Lois felt that Ali had been wrongfully charged, and used this cover to take a stab at the Christian dominated justice system, using one of their own religious icons against them.

RUBY KILLS OSWALD 70 minutes after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested, and that night charged with the murder. He never made it to trial. 2 days after the murder, while in transit from Dallas Police Headquarters to the county jail, Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby on national television.

In this piece, Lois is describing his displeasure with an ever growing violent society. He drew a provocative comparison to the American media’s glorification of violence, and it’s effect on a generation that it is fed to.

URSULA ANDRESS At the time of this issue’s release, domestic violence was common in many households, and a growing problem in American society. It also was never discussed, and was seen as taboo by the status quo.

Andress was famous for her role in the movie “Dr. No,” and courageous enough to be the face for Lois’ shocking image of violence against women.

This design is Lois’ way of getting the issue to be noticed and considered by the general public, and he was successful.

This design was heavily criticised by many groups at the time, but Lois’ message against domestic violence is quite clear.

LOIS, THE AUTHOR During his illustrious career as a graphic designer, George published ten books. They are mostly about sharing his vast knowledge and unique perspective when it comes to design and marketing. There are several books based around his explanation of how to develop outrageous ideas into powerful messages fit for mass consumption. There are also many stories from his time in the visual marketing business and his influences at the time, as well as collections of his work.

RELEVANCE George Lois is a visual designer with a sharp tongue, extremely pointed expressive style and favors directness in his images. Early in his career he used more dramatic coloring, characters, and cartoon images for marketing; later he developed his visually sarcastic wit and stuck to realistic, simplistic photography based imagery. He often based his images off of iconic historical photos, paintings and literature; but twisted them in a new direction, with a new message.

I appreciate his poignant, unambiguous vision and it’s power to convey a message. His Esquire covers never fail to make one think, and must have had a massive impact during the timeframe of their release. Magazine covers at the time were tame and cluttered, whereas he simplified them down to a photo with a small amount of contextual text. They were, needless to say, unique.

Lois changed the face of visual design and marketing forever, and didn’t let his critics get in the way. His works, and their messages, have become timeless, and will be stirring moralistic thought for many years.

HONOURABLE MENTION

• Lois earned several installations of his Esquire covers at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and published a book that showcased them.

• He worked on political campaigns including Robert Kennedy’s.

• George co-directed the music video for Bob Dylan’s “Jokerman.”

• He was inducted into : the Art Directors’ Hall of Fame, the American Advertising Hall of Fame, and the Copywriters’ Hall of Fame.

• He has also received lifetime achievement awards from the American Institute of Graphic Arts and the Society of Publication Designers.

REFERENCES

http://georgelois.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lois http://wikipedia.org http://www.adcglobal.org/adc/directors/past/?id=157 http://slamxhype.com/blogs/great-magazine-covers-1-sonny-liston-esquire/