After 60 Years in Advertising, I Believe True Creativity Is More Powerful Than Ever

Influence may shift, but ideas endure

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A good thing about getting old in this business is that you've actually lived through all the changes and survived the perennial predictions of ad agency extinction.

Along the way you've also observed, maybe even been a part of, any number of power shifts. But when I was asked by Adweek's editors to contribute a few lines about the evolution of power within our industry, my thoughts went immediately to the one thing that's remained constant throughout my 60 years in the business: creative power—the power of an idea to transform the meaning, and thus the fortunes, of brands.

Keith Reinhard Headshot: Alex Fine

In the '50s, it was creative power, certainly not horsepower, that transformed an ugly little German car into the most popular import of its time.

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