Have you ever wondered who creates those great album covers for all those great bands you love so much?
Or those awesome logos from Earth, Wind and Fire, The Rolling Stones or even Jesus Christ Superstar?
Meethas been presented with 25 gold & platinum albums and a triple platinum album by the bands whose album covers he designed.
Ernie’s drive and passion for excellence led him to a new chapter in 1970 when he joined forces with Craig Braun, Inc. in New York. Knowing the importance of first impressions, he wanted to make a mark on his first assignments. The results have become rock icons – the tongue logo for The Rolling Stones and the rule-breaking Sticky Fingers album. Three months later, Ernie opened a satellite office for the agency in California where he would be the head Art Director. The hits kept coming for Ernie..Led Zeppelin III, Alice Cooper’s School’s Out, Cheech & Chong’s Big Bambu, and Captain Beyond, among others.
In 1972, Ernie was at the top of his game and knew it was time to leave and start his own agency. He opened the legendary “Pacific Eye and Ear” agency where, over the next 13 years, he created another 183 album covers for rock legends such as The Doors, Aerosmith, The Bee Gees, The Guess Who, Black Sabbath, Jefferson Airplane, Grand Funk Railroad, and Iron Butterfly. Pacific Eye and Ear was now on the map forever – easily recognized as one of the top three album design companies in the country.
In the late 80’s, as work in the music business was slowing, Ernie knew it was time to reinvent himself. He would “go mainstream” where traditional advertising was expected, but he would offer clients a very different kind of service and product. If they were half as bored as he was with status quo in advertising, packaging design, consumer promotions, and merchandising materials in stores, he knew he would have an exciting, thriving business. He felt he was really in touch with people – he understood how they thought, how they felt and how they acted. Ernie felt different businesses require different solutions…but they all need an attitude, a heart and a soul. Ernie could provide that connection.
In 1989, Ernie added an unlikely account to his client roster – Nestlé USA. Over the next decade, his work helped over 20 brands in Nestlé’s five divisions post double-digit sales growth. As word of mouth grew, he added Sara Lee, Wolfgang Puck, Sizzler, La Brea Bakery, Jerbeau Chocolates, Adams and Brooks and many more food companies to his client base. At InBev USA, he worked on all the national promotions for Beck’s, Bass, Stella Artois, Labatt and Koknee Beer Brands. He soon cut across industries and added clients including K-Mart, Disney, Universal, Game Works, Valvoline, Nature Made, The National Hot RodAssociation, Mopar, Baskin Robbins Ice Cream and Matell/NASCAR, among others.
Today, he is retained by Avery Dennison and Honeywell/Novar and Odyssey Gear as their in-house Creative Director, with Cott Beverage (the #1 non-name brand beverage company in the World), HSBC Financial, Chang Beer (Southeast Asia’s #1 Beer), Coca Cola and Energy Club being the most recent additions to Ernie’s client roster.
Ernie is a dynamic speaker who captivates and electrifies audiences as he travels the country. If you ask him to reflect on his illustrious career his response is always the same…”Career? What do you mean, I’m just warming up. Wait till you see what’s next”.
Ernie will be doing an exclusive live interview Monday March 19th at 8pmEST on UNIR1 Radio. Senior program director DJ Ted Vanboort from Ontario Canada will host the show.
To see more of Ernie’s work – and to purchase an original work from his collection, please visit his web site at http://www.originalalbumcoverart.com
YES HE SOUNDS VERY TALANTED AND INTERESTING.....AND I BET HE WAS RELENTLESS :)
ReplyDeletelove that he will be here on your radio station on www.unir1.fm march 19...monday 8 eastern time
ReplyDeleteYou've whet my appetite for more of Ernie Cefalu, the artist. Looking forward to seeing him on the radio.
ReplyDelete