I first met George Lois when I invited him to come to Houston to speak at a Houston Ad Federation luncheon back in 2003. I was the Program Director for HAF and I was on a mission to bring nationally known speakers to Houston and have them talk about themselves and their work.
Quite honestly, when I first thought of inviting George I was a little hesitant. Mr. Lois had quite a reputation for being foul-mouthed and tough to work with but I called him anyway.
The person who answered the phone was George himself. He said he would be delighted to come speak in Houston and thanked me for thinking of him.
Obviously, there was more to this advertising giant than the bad PR he was getting.
Well, George came down and had the entire Junior League in the palm of his hand. He raced from one expletive to another as he presented a lifetime of work and the thinking behind it.
The night before his presentation, I was honored to host a special kick-off party for George at STANANDLOU where he graciously signed copies of his new book. Afterward, a few of us took George to dinner downtown and had the thrill of our lives. We got to see a side of George that many don't ever have an opportunity to see — a gentle, caring, beautiful man who is as passionate about life as he is for his art.
I will never forget the two days I spent with George and I am incredibly honored to call him a friend.
Recently, I accepted a very prestigioous award from the American Advertising Federation and during the speech, I used a few expletives to get my feelings across. The next day I was called "a potty mouth" by a well known editor in Houston. I felt really badly that anyone took offense to my language and immediately became depressed.
Then I asked myself, "I wonder what George Lois would say about all of this." So I emailed him. This is what he replied:
Dear Lou,
Fuck 'em. (And I'm not kidding.)
I use curse words as part of my communicating. So be it.
In a review of the film ART & COPY, the New York Times wrote, "The foul-mouth George Lois was the most interesting (of those in the film), and certainly the most endearing..."
"Foul- mouth" is offset by speaking interestingly and passionately. Don't feel bad for one second.
Love,
George
I love you. George Lois!
