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Orange County's a nice place to visit an ad agency, but for some reason, creative people don't want to live here.
Back in the '60s, the rest of the world worried about the brain drain - the fact that many countries' best-educated people were emigrating to the United States. But if you want to worry about a brain drain much closer to home, look to the Orange County advertising industry. Since way back when Leland Oliver comped the first ad ever created by an Orange County ad agency, creative people have been fleeing the friendly confines of this county.
I'm not just talking about run-of-the-mill creative people. I'm talking about Advertising Hall of Fame, portfolio-you'd-kill-to-have creative talent.
To prove my point, take a look at a few of the huge advertising talents that started in Orange County, but found the gold at end of the rainbow somewhere else.
Jay Chiat
Yes, that Jay Chiat. Most people don't know that the first guy from west of Chicago to make it into the Advertising Hall of Fame got his start in Orange County.
Someone once asked Jay why he moved his fledging agency to Los Angeles and he answered, "Because nobody ever woke up in the morning and said, "I thin I'll hire...