Ad man marks 50 years of service for 80-year-old Fort Worth agency

Mike Wilie started at Witherspoon Advertising & PR running errands, collecting mail and making deliveries to clients. His official title was General Office. Fifty years later, he’s President and CEO of the Fort Worth agency, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary. Founded in 1946 by Guy Witherspoon, the firm is Fort Worth’s oldest operating advertising agency. Roger Rienstra succeeded the founder as President and CEO in 1973 and hired Wilie in September 1976, after Wilie had graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied radio, television and film. Like many college graduates, Wilie simply needed a job. Rienstra told him his future at the agency would be whatever he made it. Wilie never imagined he’d stay 50 years, but an early client offered advice that stuck. A representative of Hobbs Trailers, a manufacturer of commercial truck trailers, told him, “Stick and stay and make it pay.” Wilie did just that. In 2003, he became the agency’s Chairman and CEO, later adding the president’s title. During five decades, Wilie has witnessed a sweeping transformation of the advertising business. When he started, art directors drew concepts by hand, and production departments assembled type and artwork manually. Computers, cellphones and the internet changed nearly every aspect of the business, accelerating deadlines and raising client expectations. The latest disruption is artificial intelligence, which Wilie considers an opportunity and a threat. “I think people rely too much on AI, hoping it will do the thinking for them,” he said. “It cannot add the passion, emotion or the soul of what you want to accomplish. At least not yet.”

Some of his most memorable assignments have involved Fort Worth institutions. For the Fort Worth Stock Show’s centennial celebration in 1996, Witherspoon helped stage a Red Steagall production during rodeo performances, created special graphics and managed a public relations campaign. “It was amazing to be a part of,” Wilie said. The agency also helped introduce Central Market to Fort Worth in 2001, beginning a client relationship that continues today. Despite advances in technology, Wilie says the fundamentals of advertising have remained largely unchanged. His definition of a brand is simple: “A brand is what people say about you behind your back.” Asked how Witherspoon has survived 80 years in a highly competitive industry, Wilie points to a saying he attributes to a famous advertising executive: “Great clients make great agencies.” Putting clients first, he said, has been the key to the agency’s longevity. Wilie learned much of the business from Rienstra and long-time creative executive Frank Burkett. The agency had an informal atmosphere in those days. At lunch, Wilie sometimes rode around Fort Worth in Burkett’s 1966 Mustang convertible. After work, employees occasionally played basketball in the parking lot of the agency’s former office on South Henderson Street, followed by a beer run. Wilie also recalls after-hours games of Jeopardy in Rienstra’s office, where he played host Alex Trebek. The agency endured one of its greatest disruptions on March 28, 2000, when an F3 tornado struck its long-time office at 1000 W. Weatherford St. The damage forced employees to work remotely for a good portion of three years, long before the practice became commonplace. Outside the office, Wilie collects vintage commercial signage, including more than 100 neon signs, illuminated clocks and porcelain gasoline signs. About 25 are displayed in his garage, connected to separate switches so he can illuminate different groups. Another 10 or so are at the agency, and the remainder are in climate-controlled storage. Among his prized pieces are neon clocks, a porcelain Pegasus sign, and vintage Jax and Pearl beer signs. Wilie has reduced his work schedule, but hasn’t lost his enthusiasm for the business. “I love working with people,” he said. “Every client has different markets and goals. That keeps me from getting bored.”