Final Friday marked 20 years of Marketoonist. On October 21, 2002, I revealed my very first advertising cartoon, then referred to as Model Camp. It was a cartoon on the 8 Forms of Model Managers.

I had simply began as an Affiliate Advertising and marketing Supervisor at Normal Mills, engaged on Yoplait. I emailed this primary cartoon to 35 co-workers from my cubicle on the 4th ground, linking to a e-newsletter sign-up.

I imagined this advertising cartoon sequence can be primarily for my co-workers within the workplace. However I quickly began listening to from folks working in advertising in all kinds of corporations all around the world. I realized all of us share related tales and experiences on this humorous advertising trade of ours (and enterprise generally).

Advertising and marketing is continually in a state of flux, with an limitless stream of shiny new issues to distract us. However the extra issues change, the extra they keep the identical.

Over time, I’ve cherished this communal feeling that we’re all figuring it out collectively.

I by no means imagined that this cartoon would have lasted 20 years, and positively not that it might evolve into my profession. I stored drawing as I labored at totally different corporations (Normal Mills, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream (Nestle), Methodology Merchandise, HotelTonight) and somewhere else (Minneapolis, San Francisco, London).

In October 2010, I made the leap to deal with Marketoonist full-time, rising it right into a customized cartoon studio and giving keynote talks around the globe. This gave me the chance to fulfill a lot of you in individual.

I principally need this cartoon sequence to be a reminder to not take ourselves too severely. And I believe that laughing at a number of the humorous issues in advertising can assist us grow to be higher entrepreneurs.

I’m grateful for all of you who’ve been studying this cartoon through the years. Thanks for becoming a member of me on this journey and supporting me alongside the best way.

Later this week, I’ll share an interview with MarketingWeek on a few of what I’ve noticed on this 20-year journey, and the backstories on a few of my favourite cartoons during the last 20 years.