Living Life...Boomer Style

Ed Evangelista, judge on American Inventor,  entrepreneur, Executive Creative Director, has won every creative award for his cutting edge advertising. Shares his top ten for living great.                                     Photograph Dawn Bonner

Ed Evangelista

Edward Evangelista
June 23, 1961
Born: Brooklyn, New York

"Who could go wrong with diamonds?  They’ve got style, grace, elegance, class and wonderful stories. I was lucky enough to create some classic work for one of the greatest brands in the world.  So was my wife. The most important thing I learned from this brand was that men and women are truly wired differently. And, with over $29 billion in sales--I don’t think we crossed any wires."
  
   ~Ed Evangelista


Some Call Him Guru
We Call Him Boomer Hot
Dawn Bonner

Driven, passionate, kind, intense, devoted family man, creative, direct, funny, and sexy are but a few attributes of multi-faceted adman & entrepreneur.  Ed Evangelista is a fast-moving, forthright man who is the ultimate New Yorker.  

He is also Boomer Hot. Evangelista was Boomer Hot in Living Life...Boomer Style's top 100 Boomer Hot men in 2008 and made it back onto this years list for 2009.  We felt we would be remiss if we didn't include him.  After all, he epitomizes Boomer Hot.
 
Boomer Hot is earned by growing into life full throttle. When life gets messy—if you’re Boomer Hot, life does get messy once in awhile (it’s part of what makes you interesting), you handle it with grace and honesty—or discretion. And then, there’s that sex appeal…the charisma. It's in the eyes...in the demeanor. The intensity is right there.  You see it.  You feel it.

Boomer Hot is the whole package.

Creative Talent

Evangelista has created some of the biggest marketing ideas for brands and products.

Known for award winning advertising campaigns such as; DeBeers diamonds the Three Stone Jewelry; For your past, present, and future, and the Right Hand Ring.  Rolex, Smirnoff, Elizabeth Arden, and LIFE magazine are a few of the fortune 500 companies who placed their business branding in his hands. 

 

Plus, Sex and the City addicts, Evangelista is the brain behind the Sunsilk campaign LoveBites. It consisted of 65 two-minute interstitials that ran after Sex and the City on TBS.

Ed Evangelista and Simon Cowell. Cowell, Executive Producer of American Inventor. said, "I want that guy."  And, Evangellista went on to be an American Inventor judge.  Image courtesy of Ed Evangelista.

 

Looking at the long list of awards Evangelista has received for his campaigns of almost 30 years is proof of a talented and inspired man.

American Inventor Judge

One day Evangelista ran into a friend who told him he was being looked at to be a judge for American Inventor, he totally discounted it, but his friend was persistent.

He went to the casting and Simon Cowell said, "I want that man."

Evangelista became one of four judges on the ABC-TV reality series produced by Cowell. Cowell, best known as creator of TVs American Idol, developed this series to showcase dreams of aspiring inventors and to help mentor inventors in getting their inventions to market.

"The experience of American Inventor was great.  It definitely opened my mind to other things in life," said Evangelista. "People still come up to me saying, I have an idea."

He also became friends with some of the inventors and mentors them from time to time.  Evangelista loves doing this, it is part of the juice in life for him.  And, when people approach him on the streets, saying 'I have an invention,'  well, he get's a kick out of it.

Where He Came From

Originally, his plan was to be an architect.  His family owned a construction business; he grew up in some of New York's best known buildings as a kid, Evangelista said.  Perhaps this is what developed his keen eye.

He was always good at art and was offered an architectural scholarship, which he turned down, because he realized he "hated math and drawing on a T-square & triangle".

"I was always working and making deals, always made money.  I was that kind of a kid, very street smart kind of guy," said Evangelista.

He remembers visiting a cousin in the ad business.  He loved the office.

 

"It was carefree, had pictures all over the wall," he said.  "I loved the environment and decided this was for me."

After getting into School of Visual Arts in New York City, Evangelista attended school by day and went to work after school; working until 12, 1 or 2 a.m.  He loved it.

Evangelista earned a Bachelors of Fine Art degree from SVA. Not only did he earn his degree, by the time Evangelista graduated, he was already an art director while other kids his age were just getting out of school.

From personal life to career choices, Evangelista has been a master architect, designing a life he absolutely loves.  Sleeping perhaps four to five hours a night, he is excited for a new day of adventure.

He took a break from the ad biz for a couple of years for a much needed rest and started a data syndication business.

Home is Where His Heart Is

It is easy to tell Evangelista adores his family when speaking of his personal life. He openly shares the adoration he has for his wife and two children.

When asked who he admired, Evangelista became very thoughtful.  Finally, he said his children. 

"I really admire my children, they are accomplished, they work hard, and I am not easy on them...but, they are really good people.  They are kind, too, really kind." he shared.
Hobbies

Don't worry, while Evangelista is a hard working, fast-paced city boy, he's not all work.  He does play, too.  And, what does he play at?  He restores and collects old cars. He has several cars in his collection, his favorites are the Italian Marques.

 

"Restoring the cars is a job never done," says Evangelista, "there is always something waiting for me.  I grab a half-hour here and an hour there, and I do everything old school.  I do it by hand, love getting my hands dirty, to get in there and roll up my sleeves." 

His other hobbies are watching his children play baseball, building houses, fishing, boating, boxing, and buying books; which he makes fun of himself.

 

"I love books, I go crazy in the bookstore, I buy all these books, have them around--but I never read them.  I think I just have to have these books. I'm an information junkie," he said.

 

And, now you have the picture of why he is Boomer Hot; it comes from his drive, creations, humor, and being a three-dimensional person.

Evangelista's Top Ten Philosophies on Living an Extraordinary Life

With a heart as big as Texas, he was generous and thoughtful in sharing 10 things which helped shape his successful and joyous life. 

Evangelista's Personal Guidelines 1. Be a leader, not a follower.     2. Got to have goals. Be sure to have a plan. Then follow it, don't let anything deter you.     3. Do not be motivated by fear. Fear paralyzes people. Take chances.     4. Surround yourself with people who want to help you.  Family and good friends.  Plus, encircle yourself with people who are better than you.     5. Everything works out for the best.  If something you were working on didn't happen, it wasn't meant to be. Move on.    6. I believe you make your own luck by the choices you make.     7. Everything you do is a choice.     8. Make sure you have a hobby or something you really like. Have your fingers in a lot of pies.  If you are one-sided, you are boring.     9. Be a sponge.  Absorb everything you can.    10. Have a 10 year plan.  If you don't have a 10 year plan by the time you are 35, you are in trouble.    11.  Be smart in what you invest in.  Get educated.    12. Help people.  What you give out, you will get back ten times.     13. Beware of people with "get rich quick" schemes.  There are a lot of schemers out there today. There is no easy way out, just hard work. "That's more than 10 points, isn't it?" said Evangelista laughing.

Final Thoughts on Living an Extraordinary Life

"Life is funny, you cant rush it. There is a master plan in place.  Build a solid foundation.  You will never get knocked down with a strong foundation.  Get the education, from school and life experiences and stay open.  Make sure you have a talent." 

"Nobody can ever take away your talent," said Evangelista.

 

 

Speaking of Talent a Few Glimpses of Evangelista's Brilliance

Central Park Created for Debeer's Diamond Company

 

 

Sunsilk Dragon

 

A Few More Glimpses of Ed Evangelista's Brilliance

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