Five Old Friends Create “Get Out the Vote” Cartoons

Fifty years ago we worked together at a legendary ad agency—today we’re using our talents in a different way

During the late 1960s, we five friends were part of a legendary creative department at Young & Rubicam. The agency’s home office was in New York City on Madison Avenue. And within those energetic walls 150 talented art directors and writers worked (and played) while we created ads for America’s biggest brands.

Four of us — Jed Falby, Mike Slosberg, Alan Zwiebel, and me — shared a common quirk. We loved to scribble cartoons in our spare time. Roger Mader, the 5th member of our gang, was a truly fine artist. Although those halcyon days (of Mad Man fame) have receded into history — and some members of our band have scattered — we have stayed in touch. And cartoons have been part of the glue.

Recently, we decided to enter our works in a special private exhibition of “Get Out the Vote” cartoons. We put our ink-smudged fingers to the task of nudging a few more Americans to the polls (or the mailbox). So here are the “Vote!” cartoons done by five old codgers from Y&R — two of whom no longer live, or vote, in America. (You’ll find brief artist bios at end of story.)

Jed Falby

Jed sent the top cartoon—and these next two vote reminders— via the Royal Mail from Budleigh-Salterton, England:

Roger Mader

Roger now lives in Normandy, France and sent cartoons that look like paintings. (Wait! They ARE paintings!)

Roger’s title for the above painting is a genteel—“Message from the pasture.” (A more urgent title might have been: “Vote til the cows come home!”)

Mike Slosberg

Mike was my first boss at Y&R. He sat in a copy supervisor’s window office … wore an expensive Brooks Brothers tie … and sported flashy cufflinks. We bonded over a mutual love of cartooning.

Alan Zwiebel

Alan was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. However, he WAS discovered—shortly after birth—with a crayon in his hand. He then clearly said to his mother: “Want help with the birth announcement?”

John Emmerling

These next three cartoons have a consistent theme—they’re almost sort of a campaign (the Madison Avenue habit is tough to shake).

The blessings of enduring friendships

On a personal note, let me say I love these guys. As we’ve wandered beyond our Mad Men days we have kept our bond of friendship. How? We schedule regular lunches and attend the occasional festive reunion gatherings. And we stay in frequent touch via email, social media, and the world’s postal systems.

Important — time’s-a wastin’ —

With only days to go before the election, please consider forwarding these cartoons. Send this “friend share link” to your largest email list — and post with abandon to all forms of social media.

Cartoonists in the cast

More info about the five cartoonists pestering you to vote.

Jed Falby — After completing art school in London Jed spent two years as an aerial photographer in the RAF. In 1960 he came to New York and joined Y&R as an art director. He developed a special knack for doing TV storyboards. In 1968 he transferred to Y&R’s Paris office — they needed a pro to head their new TV art department. (France had just approved commercial television.) In 1970 he left Y&R to become an award-winning commercial film director based in Paris. In 1990 he put aside his director’s camera and retired to England to paint, cartoon, and publish his book, Le Train De Michel, a graphic novel (except it’s true) of the French resistance during World War II. BTW, whenever Jed sends someone a letter the envelope is sure to make postal clerks chuckle. A recent example:

Roger Mader— After graduating from New York’s Pratt Institute (BFA), Roger took the subway uptown to join Y&R as an assistant art director. Within a year his talents got him promoted to art director. In 1968 he began a series of moves around Y&R’s worldwide network. He served as creative director at Y&R offices in Frankfurt, Paris, Mexico City, Brussels, and Toronto. A 1987 promotion made him European Creative Director — and he moved back to Paris. Upon retiring to Normandy in 1993 he pursued etching. But his hand never strayed far from the painter’s palette. Since 2012 he has written and illustrated three children’s books (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.) One of the books— Lost Cat—features paintings of his favorite feline, Pete, who agreed to model for free.

Mike Slosberg— After college Mike enlisted in the air force and learned to maintain B-25s. In 1960 he joined Y&R as a copywriter. For the next 24 years he served in various creative and management roles at the agency. (He also found time to write his first novel, The August Strangers, a book that was excerpted in Cosmopolitan.) In 1978 he became president of Y&R’s direct-marketing unit, Wunderman. He left in 1984 to be president of Bozell Jacobs, another DM agency. In 1987 Mike took a wild entrepreneurial leap. He co-founded a creative/techie DM agency that mushroomed to a staff of 2,000 — with offices in four cities. The company went public as Digitas in 2001. Today, Mike writes books and draws cartoons (he’s currently learning how to draw cartoons on an iPad).

Alan Zwiebel— After graduating cum laude from Brooklyn College (degree in Fine Arts) Alan did a stint in the army. He was hired by the Y&R New York office in 1963. But the job was in the “mount room” — a place of glue-pot servitude for wannabe art directors. So he set an agency record for promotion to assistant art director — then quickly became an award-winning art director. In 1968 he was sent to Australia to open a new Y&R office in Sydney. After four years he helped open another Y&R office in Sao Paulo. Then on to be creative director of the Los Angeles office. Finally, full circle back to New York for bigger jobs. He left Y&R in 1990 to pursue other creative adventures. Today, he’s retired in Manhattan where he continues to draw funny cartoons and write funny stuff.

John Emmerling — At the University of Michigan I drew cartoons for the campus humor magazine and sold whimsical greeting card ideas to Hallmark. After graduating in 1960, and a 6-month stint in the army, I headed west. The Y&R San Francisco office offered me their traditional (menial) starting position — mailroom boy. I got lucky; became a copywriter in three months (the funny Hallmark cards helped.) In 1965 I transferred to Y&R’s New York office — and stayed for four more happy years. I left in 1970 to be an agency creative director then in 1976 founded my own agency on Madison Avenue. Today I’m an author, speaker, and writer for Medium. My most-recent book, Woofileaks, is devoted to helping dog lovers decipher their dog’s inner dog.