It’s official. This is AAAA chief O. Burtch Drake’s last media conference. He said so in his opening remarks at this morning’s general session here. On the other hand, if people honor the
city’s advertising theme, nobody may ever know about that. “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,†Drake assured. But just to make sure that theme doesn’t also apply toward giving recognition
to the AAAA member who created the campaign, Drake noted that it was conceived by Las Vegas-based R&R Advertising. That Drake made his retirement plans official at the AAAA’s media conference is
fitting for several reasons, not the least of which is that he began his career in the media department of Dancer Fitzgerald Sample (now part of Saatchi & Saatchi). It also was no coincidence that his
tenure as AAAA chief coincided with a pronounced focus on media issues, and the media conference now is the trade group’s largest annual show.
