Podcast
This American Life
The book was referenced as a 1972 memoir in which the author recounted a fabricated story about creating a chair advertisement by sliding a matchbook under a leg to generate copy. The narrator highlighted this anecdote to illustrate the author's unconventional approach to advertising during his career. The mention served mainly as an illustrative example rather than an endorsement.
Episode: 535: Origin Story
He published the book in 1972 and used it to recount a fabricated story about a Harvey Prober chair ad, claiming he had slid a matchbook under a chair leg to create the copy.
In 1972, George Lois published a book, the first of many, about his career, called George Be Careful. In it, he describes going to the Harvey Prober Furniture Factory in Massachusetts with my dad. Each chair was placed on an electronic test platform to be sure it was absolutely level, Lois wrote. Got a book of matches, I asked Julian, a heavy smoker. He handed me a matchbook, and I slid it under one leg of the chair on the test platform. I've got the ad, I said. If your Harvey Prober chair is crooked, straighten your floor.