The Work: 25 Years of Fallon

Insanity is contagious. How else do you explain five fresh-faced Minnesotans who were crazy enough to believe, way back in 1981, that a start-up agency in Minneapolis could fire a warning shot of creativity across the bow of Madison Avenue? How else do you explain these same five camping out, uninvited, in the lobby of their first new business pitch with a portfolio full of ads, and then actually winning the damn thing-against 16 other agencies? How else do you explain the restless clients, big and small, who quickly came running? Or the hundreds of amazingly talented people who flocked here to be part of this crazy experiment on the prairie? From the world's largest bank to the Episcopal Church; from The Wall Street Journal to Rolling Stone, from Hush Puppies to United Airlines. Celebrating 25 years of creativity that has helped drive results and ultimately outsmart the competition.

Pat Fallon, Chairman Fallon Worldwide Pat founded Fallon in 1981 with the single-minded desire to stand for excellence-in the people hired, in the partnerships forged, in the work produced, and in the results achieved. He spends his time today nurturing the company's culture, managing and evolving the global vision across four continents, and working on clients' businesses from the frontlines. Pat's deep knowledge of branding issues, combined with a strong strategic approach to marketing problems of all kinds and his relentless need to achieve, make him particularly valuable to our clients' CEOs. In creating Fallon, Pat carefully considered every facet of achievement in order to build an organization where great people came, stayed, did the best work of their careers, and had fun in the process. That culture flourishes today. Pat makes sure that everyone at Fallon knows that marketplace accountability must always be the ultimate measure of success. Pat has won virtually every recognition in the business during his career. But his most valued achievement is the trust he has earned from his clients. Pat still spends 80% of his time on client business. That is why to this day Fallon limits itself to a very small group of accounts, so that Pat and his senior executives can be intimately involved with each and every client. Bob Barrie, Art Director Fallon Worldwide Bob moved to Minneapolis from his hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin to study architecture at the University of Minnesota. He switched his major to advertising after learning that he would probably spend the first half of his career designing the restrooms in other architects' buildings. Bob joined Fallon in 1983 from Bozell/Minneapolis. Over the years, he's worked on a variety of successful campaigns for clients that include TIME Magazine, United Airlines, Coca-Cola, Hush Puppies, Porsche, Purina, Jim Beam, Lee, Citibank, BMW, Nikon, and the introduction of Ted Airlines. He has had a record 270 entries accepted into the One Show, including 43 medals. He's also won numerous New York Art Director medals, Clios, Communication Arts awards, EFFIEs, Lions at the Cannes Advertising Festival, and other oddly shaped pieces of metal. The 49-year-old art director has lectured on the subject of advertising in locations as diverse as Stockholm, San Francisco, Singapore, and the Cleveland Zoo.