Explanation: The word “collateral” has a special meaning in the advertising agency world. To quote from a source on Google: “Collateral is the collection of media used to support sales of a product or service. It differs from advertising in that it is used later in the sales cycle. Common examples include: sales brochures and other printed product information, posters and signs, visual aids in sales presentations, web content, sales scripts and demonstration scripts.”
So this adman, or as we would call him today, Madman, is looking for a loan and he has brought along his “collateral”. Yes, I agree it's an awful pun, but I thought it worked as a gag, and apparently so did the editors at Advertising Age back in 1983.
End of Lesson Number 1 in today's Advertising 101 class.
For those of you who are scratching your heads and asking, what's funny about this: well, the cartoon was printed in 1983 and 1998 was a very, very distant time in the future.
CAPTION: “The agency hasn't been selected yet, but we're leaning toward Benton 'n Bowles, Young 'n Rubicam or Ogilvy 'n Mather.”
CAPTION: “Actually, this is just a sideline with me — my major emphasis is in tv and direct mail.”
If you would like to reprint any cartoon found on this site, please contact me at elilast@verizon.net. Reproduction or publication for commercial purposes of any of the cartoons on this site without prior permission is strictly prohibited.
EliSteinCartoons.com
