Creative Hall of Fame
Mike Hughes
Inducted: 2010
The Truth About Mike Hughes
Mike Hughes is not what he seems.
To the world, he is a rare and talented writer and an even more skilled creative director, an icon of advertising. I've known the man for thirty-two years now and I love him dearly, but as he prepares to receive this singular and noble honor, there are things that must be said.
Mike's name isn't Mike.
It's James. James is a perfectly good name. Let's start there.
Mike's writing is awful.
My first impression of him came from his handwriting, which is like that of a five year old. Mike left The Martin Agency for a few years. I arrived about a week after he left and was handed a pile of his notes and God-awful scribbles for a brochure he had started that I was going to finish. As I looked over his notes, I remember thinking to myself, "What's wrong with this guy? Why does he suddenly start writing sentences vertically? By the way, there are some interesting ideas here."
Mike has a big head.
It's physically imposing. His shoulders are immensely broad to provide adequate support for this head. He doesn't stand, he looms. His mother, a charming and lovely woman, thinks he is handsome. She is unique in this respect. We'll leave it at that. A year or so after I met Mike's handwriting, I met him in person. He was the creative director of a competing agency and our two agencies were collaborating on a campaign for the United Way. We were on a shoot for a television commercial Mike had written. He was in charge and had recruited this beautiful young woman to appear as volunteer talent. As she stood there and he loomed, someone mentioned to me that they were very much in love and were, in fact, engaged. I remember thinking to myself, "What the hell does a woman like that see in this guy? How did he get to be a creative director at his age? By the way, it's a damn good commercial."
Mike has no talent.
What he has is more regularly referred to as genius. Not a word to be taken lightly. If it was Edison who identified the ingredients of the elixir we call by that name, it was Hughes who perfected the chemistry: 30 percent inspiration and 170 percent perspiration. The inspiration comes from an astounding diet of current events, literature, business news, film, music, commentary and soft drinks. While I've only rarely seen him literally perspire, his work hours are legendary.
Of course, what happens during those hours is what separates Mike from the drudges. He listens more intently than most people are willing to listen. He requires himself to be more inventive in solving problems than most people require themselves to be. He allows himself less comfort and complacency than most people allow themselves. And he periodically shows us all how it's done by writing breathtaking copy. All this creates a phenomenon that physicists might call bending time. The longer his hours, the faster the world spins for the rest of us. It's disconcerting, but exhilarating.
Mike intimidates people.
He talks about the kind of advertising he wants them to do. He tells them he wants them to change the world. He insists that they think bigger than they're able to think. Then, as they sit there unnerved, he tells them what he finds remarkable about them and their work and how knocked out he is by their talent. He admires the things they can do that he can't do. They leave scared and proud, off to find a wall to walk through for him.
Mike has no taste.
The other four senses are fine, but his taste buds appear not to function: the only explanation for his preternatural ability to swallow a large plate of food with such stunning speed. When you inquire about the meal, he says it was great. He can't possibly know that.
Mike doesn't get it.
He has no idea what impact he has on people. When people are with him, they laugh more, learn more, feel more hopeful. They want to be with him and they want to be like him. When he gets notes of admiration from people, he always seems a little surprised. When he's asked to talk about the effect he has on people, it's as though a fish has been asked to describe water.
Mike isn't nice.
He's called that a lot. "He's such a nice man." "Nice" is a pale, diminutive shorthand we often use to describe someone whose character we only glimpse in casual encounters. On the surface we see only courtesy, attentiveness, appreciation. Those things are nice. But when you get to know Mike well, you stop calling him a nice man. You call him a good man, a loyal man, a loving man. The kind of extraordinary man you will meet once or twice in your life.
I've known Mike Hughes for thirty-two years. "Nice" is the last word I'd ever use to describe him.
John Adams
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer
The Martin Agency
Peter Frampton
Agency: The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client: GEICO Category: Consumer Radio / Single
Year: 2008
Cavem Airport
Agency: The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client: GEICO Category: Consumer Television / :30/:25 - Single
Year: 2007
Burt Bacharach
Agency: The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client: GEICO Category: Consumer Television / :30/:25 - Single
Year: 2007
Movie Guy
Agency: The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client: GEICO Category: Consumer Television / :30/:25 - Single
Year: 2007
Onion #2
Agency: The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client: The Onion Category: Small Space - Print / Black and White: Less than a Page - Campaign
Year: 2006
Complaints
Agency: The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client: The Onion Category: Small Space - Print / Black and White: Less than a Page - Single
Year: 2006
Survivor
Agency: The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client: CBS Category: Small Space - Print / Color: Less than a Page - Campaign
Year: 2006
Where do you see yourself?
Agency: The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client: Dick Gerdes Category: Collateral Advertising / Collateral: Self-Promotion
Year: 2005
Caveman Insult
Agency: The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client: GEICO Category: Consumer Television / Consumer Television :20 and Under: Single
Year: 2005
Hollywood Kisses
Agency: The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client: Turner Classic Movies Category: Consumer Magazine / Magazine B/W Full Page or Spread: Campaign
Year: 2004
How to Create a Newspaper Ad: Luke Sullivan, Mike Hughes, Lee Clow
Agency: The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client: Newspaper Association of America Category: Newspaper / Newspaper Over 600 Lines: Campaign
Year: 2003
Jacques Lowe Tribute
Agency: The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client: John F. Kennedy Library Foundation Category: Public Service/Political / Public Service/Political Newspaper or Magazine: Single
Year: 2003
Yahoo Scratch
Agency: Martin Agency, The/ Martin Interactive / New York
Client: Saralee Corp./Hanes Tagless Tee Category: Banners / Banner - Single
Year: 2003
Award:
2008 Advertising Merit Award
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
GEICO
Title:
Peter Frampton
Category:
Consumer Radio / Single
Annual ID:
08343R
Award:
2007 Advertising Merit Award
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
GEICO
Title:
Cavem Airport
Category:
Consumer Television / :30/:25 - Single
Annual ID:
07435T
Award:
2007 Advertising Merit Award
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
GEICO
Title:
Burt Bacharach
Category:
Consumer Television / :30/:25 - Single
Annual ID:
07436T
Award:
2007 Advertising Merit Award
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
GEICO
Title:
Movie Guy
Category:
Consumer Television / :30/:25 - Single
Annual ID:
07437T
Award:
2006 Advertising Silver Pencil
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
The Onion
Title:
Onion #2
Category:
Small Space - Print / Black and White: Less than a Page - Campaign
Annual ID:
06016A
Award:
2006 Advertising Silver Pencil
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
The Onion
Title:
Complaints
Category:
Small Space - Print / Black and White: Less than a Page - Single
Annual ID:
06014A
Award:
2006 Advertising Merit Award
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
CBS
Title:
Survivor
Category:
Small Space - Print / Color: Less than a Page - Campaign
Annual ID:
06125A
Award:
2005 Advertising Silver Pencil
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
Dick Gerdes
Title:
Where do you see yourself?
Category:
Collateral Advertising / Collateral: Self-Promotion
Annual ID:
05038A
Award:
2005 Advertising Silver Pencil
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
GEICO
Title:
Caveman Insult
Category:
Consumer Television / Consumer Television :20 and Under: Single
Annual ID:
05022T
Award:
2004 Advertising Merit Award
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
Turner Classic Movies
Title:
Hollywood Kisses
Category:
Consumer Magazine / Magazine B/W Full Page or Spread: Campaign
Annual ID:
04201A
Award:
2003 Advertising Bronze Pencil
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
Newspaper Association of America
Title:
How to Create a Newspaper Ad: Luke Sullivan, Mike Hughes, Lee Clow
Category:
Newspaper / Newspaper Over 600 Lines: Campaign
Annual ID:
03007A
Award:
2003 Advertising Merit Award
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
Title:
Jacques Lowe Tribute
Category:
Public Service/Political / Public Service/Political Newspaper or Magazine: Single
Annual ID:
03337A
Award:
2003 Interactive Merit Award
Agency:
Martin Agency, The/ Martin Interactive / New York
Client:
Saralee Corp./Hanes Tagless Tee
Title:
Yahoo Scratch
Category:
Banners / Banner - Single
Annual ID:
03075N
Award:
2001 Advertising Merit Award
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
TV Land
Title:
Category:
Newspaper / Newspaper 600 Lines or Less: Campaign
Annual ID:
010150A
Award:
2000 Advertising Gold Pencil
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
Virginia Holocaust Museum
Title:
Category:
Public Service/Political / Public Service/Political: Outdoor and Posters
Annual ID:
00_0061A
Award:
2000 Advertising Merit Award
Agency:
The Martin Agency / Richmond
Client:
Satterwhite's Restaurant
Title:
Category:
Collateral Advertising / Collateral: Posters
Annual ID:
00_0463A