ABSTRACT
Jerry Della Femina has been quoted as describing the business of advertising as “the most fun you can have with your clothes on.” Born 22 July 1936 in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian immigrant parents, Della Femina claimed that he learned to write by reading the newspaper. Before getting his first copywriting job with the Daniel & Charles Agency in 1961, Della Femina had spent seven years doing odd jobs as a messenger, shipping clerk, waiter, and salesclerk. But it was not long before he made a name for himself in the advertising world. The irreverent humor in his ad campaign for Talon zippers, in which a baseball catcher approaches the mound to tell the pitcher, “Your fly is open,” was a signal of more daring things to come.
