Because our nengajo focused on evolution for this year of the monkey, I got to thinking about where we were 12 years ago (FYI: the Chinese zodiac runs in 12-year cycles). How has Native Creative evolved since the last monkey? Here’s what our nengajo looked like in 2004. It was another pithy creation by Dan Ward of DYW Design, who has produced many of our nengajo over the years. Monkey business? Hmmm. I’d say we’ve evolved a bunch. 

“The two most effective words you can use in a headline are ‘free’ and ‘new.’”

   —   David Ogilvy (1911-1999)

“We have a new idea for you, but it isn’t free.”

   —   Tom Boatman (1963-)

I hope David Ogilvy, whatever he’s doing in Advertising Heaven, can find it in his heart to forgive me for using a “gimmick.” Times have changed dramatically since “Confessions of An Advertising Man,” was published (the year of my birth) but his influence remains as strong as ever. Yet, many of us in “the industry” wonder where technology is taking our messages and who is really listening. Our traditional Japanese New Year’s greeting card, or nengajo, is an old school approach. For 2016 we take a playful look at the devolution of modern man.