How About A Martini?

The Battle Cry of Madison Ave

In the Broadway Show "Little Shop of Horrors'" Don Morrow's contract reads: "A voice not unlike that of God" A legend in his field whose experience goes back as far as television itself (63 years to be exact), you will soon discover another side to this man. From Clint Eastwood's "A Fist Full of Dollars" to James Cameron's "Titanic" and beyond, from the beginning of Crest and Zest to IBM, Ford Motor, Shell Oil and Sun Microsystems, DON MORROW has been the spokesman and on camera for over 20,000 national and international commercials and motion picture campaigns. Why the title? When I got to New York in the spring of 1951, I soon learned that most business deals were discussed and closed in bars rather than offices. The Martini (Gin) was the drink of choice back then and did we ever go through a lot of olives! This practice came as somewhat of a surprise to me at first…but I adjusted, believe me. To get a job, FIRST you had to find the sympathetic ear of a person with whom you could have a Martini. That slowed things up a bit, but, as one made the “rounds,” you eventually found sympathetic ears. Let me explain the “rounds.” You visited casting directors, show producers and their assistants, network employees, secretaries, almost anyone who would let you through the door and was open to your proffered coffee and doughnuts – and a good pitch. Step two was inviting them out for the Martini or libation of their choice. If you completed step two without fumbling, you were almost surely getting a job. I made lots of real friends in that manner and it worked well for all of five decades. Whoever could do this best, won the day.