In memory of Sas István
It has been two years since he stormed into our classroom on that cool spring morning. I was prepared for our meeting: the first edition of Advertising and Psychology was tucked away in my bag, and I was waiting for the right moment to finally show it to him. (When I approached him at the end of the class, he raised his eyebrow: „But this is an old edition! Bring me the latest one, and I'll sign that for you!)
His lecture was dynamic and interesting, a true one-man show – professionalism and love for the profession radiated from him. He meticulously and with great care put together his presentations. He boasted with almost childlike joy about each visual solution: „This text flows in so beautifully, look, I'll show it again. Isn't it fantastic?”
He loved to peek out of the lecture, perhaps those were the best moments. „Imagine, I might be getting old, but I find myself crying at commercials. Tears just flow down my face. Is this normal?” In the next moment, he was already talking about the Unique Emotional Position and the importance of emotional connection in advertising. The example he brought was the Saatchi & Saatchi 2006 commercial, Father and Son.
...and today, when I spoke to the students about the role of UEP in the METU digital marketing course, I showed them the same example, as I couldn't have found a better one. (It hit just as hard as it did then, two years ago).
The book was with me too, which he was finally willing to sign with a grumble, and I hope, a little bit of himself as well.
