• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, February 12, 2017

Steve Greenblatt, otherwise known as the Creative Overlord, runs a Dayton, Ohio-based creative shop called Steve Greenblatt Creative. Greenblatt has been in the ad business for 45 years and counts among his ad agency experience the likes of Digitas, Wunderman, Hill Holliday, Zimmerman and others. As he likes to say, "Been there, done that."

And indeed he has. He's worked on American Express, AT&T, Teradata, Crown Royal, Airstream and others. 

According to LinkedIn, Greenblatt has been running his creative shop since early 2015 and has been freelancing in general since 2002.

With the headline "You don't need the whole cube farm to have great advertising," Greenblatt has taken to Craig'slist to promote his business. In the ad, he writes, "I'm a Dayton-based, award-winning freelance Creative Director with more than 40 years of experience in print, direct marketing, broadcast, branding, and web. I offer a full range of ad agency creative services -- without the layers and associated costs."

Greenblatt, however, is also quick to point out that he's not some lame, make-the-logo-bigger sort either, writing: "For the record, I don't do $50 logos (your brand should have more value than that); I don't offer free trials; And I don't view a business card as marketing campaign. My fees are sensitive to small businesses and startups, but consistent with the quality of my work and the depth of my experience."

I leave it to you to judge his creative acumen, but it's nice to see a person still grinding after 45 years in business. Especially this business.