DDB's Garfinkel Hits Back at Critics; Defends His Moustache

Former DDB chief creative officer Lee Garfinkel has penned a column for Adweek addressing his detractors. Garfinkel was the subject of more than 250 comments on a run-of-the-mill news story that noted he was to be replaced as DDB’s top creative exec by BBDO’s Eric Silver.

Most of those comments were searingly negative, personal, and vengeful. And, of course, written anonymously. Sample comment: “Lee’s larger than life ego & baffling narcissism caused his path to end here & now.”

(The episode also brought back memories of another DDB creative who was subjected to an anonymous internet crucifiction by his subordinates — that of Paul Tilley, who committed suicide a few weeks later.)

Garfinkel’s column is a humorous rejoinder, and, given the vitriol that has been directed at him, fairly graceful.

Here’s a dissection of parts of the column, with some commentary for good measure:

While I haven’t actually read these comments…

He’s definitely read those comments.

I heard some of them are pretty wild. But perhaps most surprising is how many there have been.

Many of the comments suggested Garfinkel was tone deaf to his staff. So perhaps it is not surprising that Garfinkel is surprised at how many people he’s annoyed down the years.

Which got me thinking that maybe there is an opportunity here. If people actually enjoy writing about me, why not help them out? So, I am officially announcing BlogAboutLee.com. For an annual fee of just 5 cents (I will accept major credit cards), you can blog about me 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

This is the least successful part of the essay. The blog doesn’t exist. If Garfinkel really wanted to rise above his naysayers, he would have had a working URL. Also, the idea, even in jest, that anyone would pay to blog suggests that Garfinkel still hasn’t quite gotten the hang of this inter-web thingy.

I will periodically offer up new topics for you to blog about, such as “How many black T-shirts do I own?” and “What shade of grey socks am I wearing today?”

This was a winner. Especially as he gave Adweek a handout pic of himself wearing a black T. The man has a self-deprecating side.

There is only one subject that is taboo. And that is my mustache. I hear some people made comments about my mustache, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s hitting below the belt.

Again, touche! He’s proving that he’s a better wordsmith than the folks writing on the bulletin boards about him.

He loses it over the next 11 — eleven! — paragraphs, however, which are solely devoted to the history and caring of the moustache. He obliquely compares himself to Friedrich Nietzsche, Albert Einstein, Chaplin, Hitler (!) and the porn star Harry Reems.

like many a rapper, I trimmed my beard to just around my chin, which made me look like Maynard G. Krebs and half of the advertising community. But it also opened my eyes to all types of new styles and trimming techniques. Having tried thin looks, minimal looks, little patches under the lip and the Pete Barbutti look, I went back to the simple goatee.

Too much information. I don’t want to hear about your “trimming techniques.”

So, here’s the deal. I invite anyone and everyone with absolutely nothing better to do to visit BlogAboutLee.com. You can write positive or negative things, as long as you don’t go after the mustache.

And remember, hiding behind an anonymous name is a lot more cowardly than hiding behind a mustache.

If he hasn’t read those comments, how does he know they’re all anonymous?

Shame about the non-existent blog, but the final point is a good one. He’s made the best of a bad job, and his bashers now look a bit more like a bunch of humorless ingrates than an aggrieved class of serfs. The strategy has been somewhat successful, with comments underneath the piece leaning a little more toward “Bravo to you for having the balls to address directly and in an amusing way” than “What a douche.”