Photo by Bill HornsteinOn Monday, May 11, 2009, the statement “I’ve yet to hire a writer who uses ellipses in an ad” echoed out across the Twitterverse and into the feeds of 15 followers*. And so began the long, steady, often donut-powered accumulation of once-a-day crumbs of (alleged) ad wisdom that is @leeclowsbeard.
And today it ends. Kind of.
A few moments ago, I tweeted Crumb O’ (Again, Alleged) Wisdom No. 1,000. That seems as good a milestone as any to give it a rest before I grow even more repetitive. Maybe for a few weeks or months. Maybe forever. Who knows. But unless a hue and cry rises from the Beardist Collective (or an outpouring of PayPal donations to jfox-at-jasonfox.net), I need a break. But, I suspect as long as I’m in this business I’ll have something to say about it. Just not every day. Spewing is easy. Spewing with purpose and meaning, less so.
If you’ve followed LCB for a while, you know what strange trip it has been. You can read much about that journey here, but to summarize: LCB started in May 2009 while I was freelancing. Three months later, I took a job back at an agency that had laid me off nearly three years prior. LCB gained followers, including then CCO of the Los Angeles TBWA/Chiat/Day office, Rob Schwartz. Eventually, I asked Rob if Lee knew what I was up to. “Yes! Who are you? Let’s have lunch,” replied Rob. So, in July 2010 I flew to L.A. for lunch with Lee and Rob, and the idea for the book was spawned. More tweeting, more followers, more value ensued. The day I signed the book production agreement with Chiat, I got fired. A year passed. The book, beautifully designed by Bill Hornstein, was released in June 2012. I became the ECD at a design firm (don’t forget, I’m a writer) in Omaha. The one in Nebraska. Strange indeed.
The @leeclowsbeard book is still available in hardcover, iBook and Kindle versions, along with the free iOS app. I do not know how many hardcover copies remain. Also, as an aside, the book was never intended to be a moneymaker. Although if you buy through these links, I may get to take my wife out to dinner again.
As of this writing, LCB has just over 34,100 followers. I thank you all, even the bots I didn’t manage to weed out. I hope that, more often than not, what I said helped get you through another day in adland. Or at least provided ammo for an overlong meeting. Yes, I know the “overlong” was unnecessary.
And so, until time and brainpower permit a return to my hirsute ways, I bid you all adieu.
Grow long and prosper,
Fox
I enjoyed every second of it! 🙂
It was fun while it lasted. The beard will be missed.
Huge loss for the world with LCB leaving. But that is the way it should be, good things winding down while they are still good things.