POOLHOUSE: AMALGAMATED’S ERIC SILVER ANSWERS THE QUESTIONNAIRE.

from copywriter to chief creative officer, eric silver has been involved in creating a great body of work at agencies including wieden and kennedy, cliff freeman & partners, bbdo and now amalgamated, new york where he oversees the shop’s creative and has added a new title, business owner. our thanks to mr. silver for taking a little time to let us know more about him on the poolhouse questionnaire.

where is your hometown?
i grew up in a small town outside of new haven, ct.

where do you currently live?
short hills, nj.

what led you to working as a copywriter when you first started out?
i was in law school and blown away by some nike tv commercials i saw in the early 90s. god, i can’t believe it was that long ago.

who influenced or inspired your career path the most?
the people i met at wieden and kennedy in the mid-90s were amazing. it was truly an honor to work there then. at the time, it felt like getting into harvard or something. dan wieden begged me to write from my heart and his lieutenants lambasted me if i created anything that felt like an “ad.”

what is your most marked characteristic?
i would say my two most distinct qualities are: not caring and caring way too much. kind of an odd dichotomy

what is your favorite aspect the creative process?
my favorite part of the creative process is watching the idea come to life. irrespective of the medium, i love watching words on paper take take flight.

how did you land at amalgamated?
i was faced with a few offers to join big agencies and, ultimately, i thought this might be my last shot to own a small agency. the success rates of small agencies in manhattan are very daunting… but, fuck it, you gotta try, right?

what are your thoughts on digital advertising vs. traditional?
i loathe the terms “digital” and “traditional.” i think the two necessarily overlap. some of the very best digital ideas utilize film and some of the very best traditional ideas use digital elements. for example, i know chalkbot out of wieden was great. but is that digital or traditional?

what’s your biggest passion right now?
figuring out this whole business owner thing.

if you could have another skill what would it be?
patience.

what do you consider your greatest achievement?
the thing that i will always take the most pride in are the people who used to work under me… who are now cds. i’m in no way taking credit for their success, but i am proud to have mentored them in some way.

the bbdo group was amazing and, of course, i fondly think back on the cliff freeman crew: william gelner, dan kelleher, rick ardito, grant smith, jason gaboriau, steve doppelt, ian reichenthal, scott vitrone, kevin roddy, ari weiss, aaron adler, roger camp, richard bullock, reed collins, adam chasnow, rob carducci, etc.

what would you like to do next?
rest.

-Poolhouse, June 21, 2011