The Dailey Series...Hunt's Barbecue Sauce/The Coupon...

In my long career, I can honestly say that I was never "stiffed" for a job. I always got paid, but there are many other ways to screw illustrators besides not compensating them for a job well done... or a job poorly done. Here's one example...

My wife, the coupon expert, actually found the above coupon in the food section of the LA Times. My first reaction was, wow, I've got a nationally printed piece, but my elation lasted about all of a minute or two. I quickly realized I was taken advantage of. I was angry as well as disappointed that my comp work was doubling as illustration.

In the beginning, I naively rendered tight comps to impress art directors that would surely see my talent and offer me real live illustrative jobs. I was angry because they used one of my pieces without paying me another nickel for it, but I was also disheartened that the agency used a comp that was not only one of my lesser pieces, but that it was being used as an illustration. Although I didn't complain to anyone at that time, I was livid. At that time, I didn't understand why they couldn't see this was not my best work and why they would not give me the opportunity to redo the comp as an illustration. For the record, I probably would have done the illustration gratis just to say, proudly, that I created artwork for a national client. On the flip side of the coupon, there was an altered portrait of Dick Van Dyke that I did for the storyboard. It too was poorly illustrated to imitate my comp style. In a strange way, I was glad that the agency didn't use my signature for this or any other promo that I illustrated without my knowledge. The irony of it all was more than I could handle as a rookie!

It was a lesson well-learned...

Copyright Ben Bensen III / 2011

The Dailey Series...A Storyboard With Dennis Weaver.

Dennis Weaver Replaced John Wayne as GW Bank spokesperson

This was one of a series of storyboards featuring Dennis Weaver who spoke of the greatness of Southern California and Great Western Bank. Of course, this was a long time ago when all the frames were done in markers and paint. Guess you can say I had a style of rendering that eventually was banned by OSHA. I know you think that that sounds silly or nearly impossible, the details of which I can discuss later in this blog, but it was true... In a roundabout way!

There's always stories that accompany these concepts since so many people are involved in the production of a commercial. I really don't recall who the art director was on this piece. It might have been Don Gilles because he later told me a story about the location. Or it could have been Victoria Aenlle or Mike Faulkner. I really don't remember, though I must have worked on about a dozen full blown storyboards similar to this one over the period of a year or so. Usually, storyboards like this were either six, eight or ten frame concepts with the last frame being a logo or logo type frame. I do remember that there was more to this board then I have here. This concept was one that got bought and produced and aired in SoCal.

But, it almost didn't happen because the original concept, which I did draw up, was to have Mr. Weaver on top a noble SoCal steed. Dennis Weaver, being a horseman of some statue, did not want to sit atop a real horse on the roof of a twenty story building overlooking Wilshire Blvd. Horses do have a penchant for getting spooked and the thought of one "going lemming" with a Hollywood actor atop it, would be horrifying, as well as, being not good publicity. Eventually, I was told, in other commercials, he was put on a stuffed horse, shot wide and then, cut to a closeup of him in the saddle.

Regardless, it was a pretty impressively photographed commercial, and I feel, I had a large part in selling the concept. It was always exciting to see a commercial I worked on on television.