Tom of Finland was a pioneering gay artist who also had a successful career in advertising. This document outlines five lessons modern creatives can learn from his career: 1) Pessimists don't win while pain and unhappiness can drive creative work; 2) Tom's artwork promoted safe sex during the AIDS crisis showing reason can outweigh passion; 3) Counter-culture respects the past while looking to the future; 4) Tom depicted masculine, powerful gay men which helped shape self-identity and soften stereotypes; 5) Changing how people see themselves can change how they are seen by society.

1. How does an
ad man inspire a
B y P h i l i p E l l i s f o r
O g i lv y & M at h e r
Insights from “EROTICA BEFORE INTERNET:
HOW MUSCLES CHANGED THE WORLD”

2. Insights from “EROTICA BEFORE INTERNET:
HOW MUSCLES CHANGED THE WORLD”
T
om of Finland is known
for his saucy portraits,
but he also worked in
advertising for seventeen
years. He held the role of Senior
Art Director at McCann, and even
won the Key To Women’s Hearts
Prize. Petteri Lillberg, CEO of
McCann Helsinki, outlines five
lessons that modern creatives
can learn from Tom’s scandalous
but undeniably influential career.

3. Insights from “EROTICA BEFORE INTERNET:
HOW MUSCLES CHANGED THE WORLD”
Pessimists
don’t
win.
1
“All creative people have
pain,” says Lillberg. But there is
no motivator quite as strong as
unhappiness; this is what drives
artists, musicians and writers to
expel their demons in their work.

4. Insights from “EROTICA BEFORE INTERNET:
HOW MUSCLES CHANGED THE WORLD”
Why, in meetings, are the major
decisions almost always made
by the most pessimistic, cynical
person at the table? According
to Lillberg, honesty and integrity
are what will get you to the top.
Painis
good.
2

5. Insights from “EROTICA BEFORE INTERNET:
HOW MUSCLES CHANGED THE WORLD”
Tom Of Finland inspired gay men to
embrace their sexuality. But when the AIDS
crisis hit in the 1980s, Tom also encouraged
men to take responsibility, through racy
artwork which promoted safe sex.
Theheartmightwin
thebrainover,buta
littlebitofreason
goes a
long way.
3

6. Insights from “EROTICA BEFORE INTERNET:
HOW MUSCLES CHANGED THE WORLD”
Counter-culture is all about
right now, with one eye on the
future. Brands need to respect
and understand this. “You
can’t take the cookie cutter
approach with subcultures and
civil rights movements,” says
Durk Dehner, President of the
Tom Of Finland Foundation.
Cultureisbasedon
the past.
4

7. Insights from “EROTICA BEFORE INTERNET:
HOW MUSCLES CHANGED THE WORLD”
5
Tom Of Finland’s artwork is full of burly,
powerful, masculine characters—a refreshing
change from the depiction of gay men
as sissies in the Fifties and Sixties. This
helped shape the self-image of young gay
men in America, resulting in the softening
of stereotypes and increasing tolerance
towards homosexuality in society.
Changehowpeople
seethemselves,
and the rest
will follow.