other two had to be flown in for interviews.
And always, there was the new ad campaign. Work on the project was in full swing now, which meant that she and Paul spent more time together than ever before. He had unbent so far as to occasionally call her Leah, but even though she thought of him as Paul, she was careful never to say the name aloud. Now that she had finally gotten control of her subconscious, she didn't want anything rocking the boat.
At her suggestion, Paul had decided to use Universal personnel in the campaign rather than hire an actor or sports figure as spokesperson. It wouldn't be the Fly Me type of thing that showed cute, young flight attendants flirting with the camera. They would use
mechanics, food-service people, ticket-counter personnel—everyone who made Universal the airline it was.
To her surprise, Paul had put Leah in charge of finding just the right people for the commercials. It wasn't a surprise, however, to find that she loved being in charge. Promising candidates were flown in from all over the world so that she could interview them. Out of hundreds, she and Paul had chosen the brightest, the most enthusiastic, the most photogenic.
Then, one evening in early fall, it all came together. All the people involved in the new campaign—people from both Universal and the advertising agency—gathered together in one of Universale largest conference rooms.
The room was packed tight with people, all waiting anxiously for the same thing. The newspaper ads had come out that morning, and the radio spots had run several times during the day. Now they were gathered for the most important part—the airing of the first television commercial.
Leah had seen it before, but test runs at the ad agency weren't the same as the real thing. She could never really judge the quality of a commercial until she knew that millions of other people were watching it at the same time. For some reason, then she could see it through their eyes.
"Quiet!" someone shouted. "Everbody shut up. Ten seconds until it airs."
The low rumble in the room died instantly, and Leah turned with everyone else to watch the televi-
sion mounted high on the wall at the end of the conference table. She saw Paul standing on the other side of the room and took a moment to wonder if he felt as nervous as she did. When their eyes met for an instant, she could detect nothing vulnerable in his stern features. Slowly, he raised a dark eyebrow, and somehow it almost seemed a sign of encouragement.
Turning back to the television, Leah felt every muscle tense as the situation comedy faded to black for a commercial break. Then, as the screen brightened with a vivid scene, she relaxed, and a smile of pure joy dissolved the tension in her features.
Three seconds into the commercial, she knew it was exactly right. It was a quality piece, the tone perfect—it wasn't glamorous, but neither was it ordinary. It sparkled with vitality and excitement. Without actually saying the words, it used bright shots and enthusiastic people to say, "Life is made to enjoy—let Universal Air show you how."
When the commercial faded, the silence exploded with the sound of applause and popping champagne corks. Relief and exhilaration spread across the room in an almost visible wave. People began moving— laughing, patting themselves and others on the back, grabbing glasses filled with sparkling wine. Over and over again they repeated to each other that they had known all along it would be a success.
Leah soon found herself surrounded by a swarm of people, all offering congratulations. More than once she heard herself called a genius, and a couple of times the praise even sounded sincere. If she hadn't pos-
sessed such a stable personality, she might have had trouble keeping her head from floating skyward. But she had been in the business long enough to know that within a week she would be just another advertising executive.
Later, when the noise had built to a
And always, there was the new ad campaign. Work on the project was in full swing now, which meant that she and Paul spent more time together than ever before. He had unbent so far as to occasionally call her Leah, but even though she thought of him as Paul, she was careful never to say the name aloud. Now that she had finally gotten control of her subconscious, she didn't want anything rocking the boat.
At her suggestion, Paul had decided to use Universal personnel in the campaign rather than hire an actor or sports figure as spokesperson. It wouldn't be the Fly Me type of thing that showed cute, young flight attendants flirting with the camera. They would use
mechanics, food-service people, ticket-counter personnel—everyone who made Universal the airline it was.
To her surprise, Paul had put Leah in charge of finding just the right people for the commercials. It wasn't a surprise, however, to find that she loved being in charge. Promising candidates were flown in from all over the world so that she could interview them. Out of hundreds, she and Paul had chosen the brightest, the most enthusiastic, the most photogenic.
Then, one evening in early fall, it all came together. All the people involved in the new campaign—people from both Universal and the advertising agency—gathered together in one of Universale largest conference rooms.
The room was packed tight with people, all waiting anxiously for the same thing. The newspaper ads had come out that morning, and the radio spots had run several times during the day. Now they were gathered for the most important part—the airing of the first television commercial.
Leah had seen it before, but test runs at the ad agency weren't the same as the real thing. She could never really judge the quality of a commercial until she knew that millions of other people were watching it at the same time. For some reason, then she could see it through their eyes.
"Quiet!" someone shouted. "Everbody shut up. Ten seconds until it airs."
The low rumble in the room died instantly, and Leah turned with everyone else to watch the televi-
sion mounted high on the wall at the end of the conference table. She saw Paul standing on the other side of the room and took a moment to wonder if he felt as nervous as she did. When their eyes met for an instant, she could detect nothing vulnerable in his stern features. Slowly, he raised a dark eyebrow, and somehow it almost seemed a sign of encouragement.
Turning back to the television, Leah felt every muscle tense as the situation comedy faded to black for a commercial break. Then, as the screen brightened with a vivid scene, she relaxed, and a smile of pure joy dissolved the tension in her features.
Three seconds into the commercial, she knew it was exactly right. It was a quality piece, the tone perfect—it wasn't glamorous, but neither was it ordinary. It sparkled with vitality and excitement. Without actually saying the words, it used bright shots and enthusiastic people to say, "Life is made to enjoy—let Universal Air show you how."
When the commercial faded, the silence exploded with the sound of applause and popping champagne corks. Relief and exhilaration spread across the room in an almost visible wave. People began moving— laughing, patting themselves and others on the back, grabbing glasses filled with sparkling wine. Over and over again they repeated to each other that they had known all along it would be a success.
Leah soon found herself surrounded by a swarm of people, all offering congratulations. More than once she heard herself called a genius, and a couple of times the praise even sounded sincere. If she hadn't pos-
sessed such a stable personality, she might have had trouble keeping her head from floating skyward. But she had been in the business long enough to know that within a week she would be just another advertising executive.
Later, when the noise had built to a
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