Stephen J. Kaplan

Remembering Steve by Michele

Steve was a modest man. Few knew of his many accomplishments. Spending 25 years in his orbit, I learned many things that he never spoke of. He did things to be proud of, but never boasted of them. He was a kind and gracious man. To all that knew him, he enhanced our lives with his special energy and his dry sense of humor.

At the age of 17 at Wildwood High, he played baseball and basketball where Steve proved himself a top basketball scorer - for the school team earning his letter, as well as making it to the South Jersey playoffs with the Jewish league team. With a team of only five, hard play led to major leg cramps, and they missed winning the game and the tournament by only one point. Their top scorer gave it everything he could, as he did throughout his life.

Although he was a great athlete, Steve envisioned his future as an artist. His true passion, his love and commitment to art, ensured that his hands would be taking up a paint brush instead of shooting hoops.

With his friend Richard Bonelli, a good writer in his own right, and Dennis Grant, a savvy businessman, they merged their talents to publish SHOUT, a nightlife publication with a notable circulation from Atlantic City to Cape May. Realizing that the shore area could use a publication to inform residents & visitors about the rock’n’roll scene, it blossomed into coverage of all areas of entertainment. Not only did Steve do the illustrations and art direction, but he also landed interviews with great talents such as Lenny Bruce (in his Atlantic City hotel bathroom while getting ready for his show!). Then Mr. Bruce invited Steve and friends to a front row table at the club. Being underage, SHOUT accomplished a ‘lesser known’ goal of getting into clubs.

Before owning his own ad agencies – Catboys and then Bionic Crayon - Steve began his career as an art director at a top-level Philadelphia advertising agency, Spiro & Associates, and later transitioned to a major New York ad agency, Marschalk. He was the creative director for the first American Subaru commercials. He worked with a wide range of celebrities – from George Harrison to Howdy Doody, from Julie Newmar to Alex Trebek, and from Governor Cuomo to Tony Randall. He was the creative director for Ortega, and for Philadelphia’s Bicentennial TV ad campaign with Tony Randall. On the AI account, he again moved the revenue needle, steering the messaging from using it only on steaks to a pour-on for burgers.

Back in high school, Steve made a film that incorporated a Rolls Royce, a harbinger of what was to become an iconic commercial, integrated into the culture with a slogan uttered by the likes of President Obama, Martha Stewart, Jon Stewart, Jay Leno, and Stephen Colbert. Bringing together his longtime love of Rolls with a little-known brand of mustard, the campaign was so impactful that its slogan is now a classic: “Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?”. And with its undeniable success, the car company rolled out a marketing initiative to deliver new cars with the condiment in the glove box.

In 2020, National Geographic came knocking. They were doing a series of shows devoted to the ‘80s. These would be ‘Top 10’ shows covering subjects such as fashion and music, and . . . the Top 10 commercials. Steve went to New York in December 2020 to be interviewed, at the height of the pandemic and with no vaccine on the horizon. But this was an opportunity that could not be missed, to document a truly brilliant career. He was in great company as Ridley Scott was there for his Apple commercial.

Steve found his work energizing, and he never considered stopping, continuing to make cold calls and visiting trade shows. In the last few years his agency worked with a chocolatier, a skincare launch, an international diamond manufacturer, an energy drink company, and a 100-year -old condiment brand. Steve always took great joy in his work, and he was always committed.

As for the two of us, we found one another in January 1998 when I was working at Philly Mag and the Garden Restaurant was an account of mine. Steve was responsible for their ad campaign creative and branding. He came in from New York to visit his old buddies from Wildwood, dine at The Garden, and go to an opera. Having lost my Dad over the holidays, the Philly Mag ad director and I made plans to take my mother out for dinner. Fate was definitely working overtime given that Steve was based in New York, and I didn’t typically dine at The Garden. For us both to be at that restaurant at the same time on the same night demonstrates the mysterious ways of the universe. We went on our first date the following week, and everything else fell into place.

We shared many happy hours in the city, enjoying favorite restaurants and shopping, museums and galleries, or just walking around enjoying Rittenhouse Square, or the park by the Schuylkill. Our Maryland condo by the Susquehanna balanced out the city experience where we could just unwind, bird watch from our terrace, take long hikes through the parks, and take beautiful, scenic drives. And, of course, visit with good friends. We took advantage of the proximity to St. Michaels, Annapolis, and Washington where we shared special experiences like enjoying a Lagavulin (or two) at the famous Round Robin Bar at The Willard Hotel.

From the city, we moved to something slightly more bucolic in Penn Valley, taking day trips to Longwood Gardens, lavender farms, and hiking in so many of the area parks, making sure to keep those close bonds with our Maryland friends. Our cruise to Alaska, trips to Spain, San Francisco, and the vineyards of Napa Valley are incredible memories. But some of our best memories were of being holed up on a snowy day, watching old movies and grazing on a plate of cheese and fruit while enjoying a bottle of red.