Telecommuting Works … Unless You Backed McGovern in '72

In case you missed it, Tony Schwartz, the guy who created the infamous "daisy girl" ad for Lyndon Johnson, died last month.

Three things are fascinating about this:

1. When I watched the below Slate.com video, I was shocked to realize how many of his ads I remembered from childhood … and I mean very early childhood. It's a testament to how innovative they were and how often I was parked in front of the TV as a toddler. What will my kids remember? Probably ads for erectile dysfunction drugs.


2. The New York Times obit on Schwartz describes him as an agoraphobic since age 13. Nearly all his work was done without straying more than a few blocks from his Manhattan home. A telecommuter without parallel well before his time. Bring this up next time Dinosaur Boss puts the kibosh on your work-at-home plans. Of course, Dinosaur Boss also probably voted for Nixon, twice, and will sack your ass on the spot. Hey, you're better off without him.


3. Schwartz's obit ran 382 words longer than Cyd Charisse's did the next day in the Times even though I heard he had the worst white man's overbite ever when he did the Electric Boogaloo.