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Greg Wagner, BJ '71, with FredBird.

Wagner with Clayton Moore, the original Lone Ranger.

What do you do? What are your responsibilities?
I am a Group Creative Director at Leo Burnett in Detroit, and I work out of my home office in Colorado. I send my partner, who's still based in Detroit, advertising copy for commercials and other materials by Internet. For the past few years my partner and I and another creative team have been responsible for all the national and regional broadcast and print advertising for Mr. Goodwrench. Our campaign is called "Looking for Mr. Goodwrench" and features Steven Cobert from the Daily Show. It's been fun focusing on just this one campaign. Before that I was creative director for Cadillac, Pontiac, Milk, Amoco, Six Flags, Crest and many others. My work allows me to do some international traveling while I'm working on different projects overseas.

You also teach a topics course at the J-School.
Every fall I come back to Mizzou to teach a one-hour course in advertising called "Just Creative: Bringing Home the Big Idea." The students get the creative brief on Monday and on Friday they get to present their work to the clients. This gives students real-world experience that is common in this business -- come up with ideas in a short amount of time. I also teach part-time at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

How did you get your job?
Almost right out of the Journalism School, I got a job as a part-time reporter at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I spent three months there before answering a classified ad that read, "Young, single, extensive travel for outdoor advertising." I worked in outdoor advertising for a year, another year in the media department, and finally worked my way into creative. I had been working on my portfolio for three years, and they gave me a chance.

Have you worked at any other ad agencies?
I've spent my whole career, 33 years with D'Arcy, working at the different offices in St. Louis, Chicago, and Detroit, each for 10 years, which is an unusual length of duty in our business. It's been a nice ride, and I've had a lot of fun. Advertising is an exciting business. It also attracts very interesting people who are very into the arts, who want to create things whether it's, film, print, sound, etc. I find it to be a very culturally rewarding business.

What has been your greatest professional achievement so far?
Bob Currie, my art director partner, and I came up with the idea for FredBird when we worked on the Cardinals account for three years. More people know me for that than for all the other campaigns I've ever worked on. At the time, in 1975, the Cardinals' record was not very good. The team didn't want to make any promises about winning games. Instead they wanted to attract more families to the game and wanted to bring more fun. So FredBird, a red, Big-Bird look-alike, was born.

Are there other campaigns you're especially proud of?
Other great achievements include the Crest toothpaste campaign, "Show 'em your Crest best," the Budweiser campaign, "Nothing Beats a Bud," Michelob's, "Some days are better than others," and working with Clayton Moore, The Lone Ranger, for Amoco Silver gasoline.

What is your secret to success?
The key is to really love and be passionate about what you're doing. If you enjoy whom you're working with, and you're positive, you're going to do well.

Best professional lesson learned at the J-School?
I worked at the Missourian copy editing at the sports desk. There you were always under pressure, and I learned respect for deadlines -- not only to do your best, but to do it fast! You have to be motivated and can't put things off. You have to jump on every assignment and give your best shot, even the assignments others don't want.

What would be your best advice to current students?
I would encourage students to network. I also would say to follow your dream. Don't give up and be persistent. Your first job may not be exactly your "dream job," but if you hang in there and be patient, you will achieve your ultimate goal.

Is there anything you wish you had done while you were at Mizzou?
I wish I had taken some photojournalism courses. It would've helped if I had more knowledge in composing visually, for film, etc. I go to a lot of commercial shoots, and I don't feel like I fit in in that aspect.

What did you want to be as a kid?
At times I wanted to be a professional athlete in baseball or basketball. I never thought I'd be a writer. I even wanted to be a doctor and was a pre-med student at St. Louis University for a year. Given my academic progress my adviser kept asking me if I was trying hard. I was and ultimately realized that medicine wasn't for me!

What is something about you that may surprise people?
After I retire from advertising, I want to write screenplays. I'd also like to teach full-time in college. Again, two things I never thought I'd be interested in pursuing. Life is full of surprises.

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