Paul Royko poses with OhDee, back in the last century.
OhDee the Dog is down from my studio wall during a Spring repainting project. His 27-inch-wide presence was crafted in multiple kinds of wood by my friend and business partner Paul Royko, when we set up a two-man advertising service. Paul died at the tender age of 52 in April of 1998, so almost exactly 14 years ago. His rendering of our OhDee mascot/logo says quite a bit about the guy.
Our little creative shop was called Old Dogs, New Tricks and OhDee obviously comes from the initials. To give ourselves a bit of credibility, our letterhead read ODNT Creative Services.
Paul and I were the Old Dogs, of course, and the New Tricks we were learning had to do with computer graphics and running a business. We had been a creative team, he a copywriter and me an art director, in a big ad agency until we were pushed aside. As the writer, Paul came up with our company name and I got to do the logo.
Frankly, I don’t think Paul really liked my scribble dog at first. He had in mind something more aggressive and snarly. I thought we should take ourselves less seriously and try to look fun and original.
Paul’s coming to terms with OhDee was a creative process. First he satisfied his snarly need by making a large patch for the back of a team jacket. He had his artwork, based on clipart of a tough-looking husky, embroidered on the back, with the slogan “Beware of Old Dogs”. This he wore proudly to the pub.
Finally, Paul crafted the wooden wall piece of OhDee and surprised me by hanging it on our office wall. He had come to accept my scribble dog in his own way, literally making the best of it.