Touch the Heart and the Head Will Follow
Visionary Advertising and Marketing Strategies
STEVEN “ACE” ACKER
From the 1950s through the late 1970s few areas of the country boasted a more dynamic or more exciting popular music scene than Northeast Ohio and Southwest Pennsylvania. Many of the rock era’s most celebrated rock stars spent their formative years in this area
One of most popular area bands throughout the 70s was Youngstown, Ohio’s LAW, featuring 21-year old Steve Acker on guitar and vocals. Acker was the band’s principal songwriter and on the strength of his songs—and the band’s amazing live show—LAW was discovered and signed to MCA Records by Roger Daltrey of the Who. The band opened one leg of The Who’s 1976 Summer Tour. Three albums later the band disbanded.
Acker (aka “Ace”) moved to Mississippi in 1978 to re-join his family, who had moved there in 1972. While attending Mississippi College he also commenced a lengthy career in adverting. He obtained a B.S.B.A. degree in business and communications at Mississippi College while also working as a copywriter, broadcast producer, and jingle producer at Mississippi’s largest ad agency, GodwinGroup. In 1985 he accepted a job as Creative Director at Bill Hudson and Associates in Nashville, where he directed campaigns for numerous national and regional clients such as McDonald’s, Bridgestone Tires, Sara Lee Foods, Dockers, and Johnston & Murphy Shoes.
In 1987, Acker created and implemented the Dollar General Stores Adult Literacy Program, for which President Reagan presented his Presidential Award for Private to Dollar General Chairman, Cal Turner, Jr., in a White House ceremony. Saturday Evening Post honored the program with its 1988 Benjamin Franklin Award. In 1992, Acker’s original program evolved into the present day Dollar General Literacy Foundation. To date, more than 6 million Dollar General customers have earned their GED Certificates and/or learned to read as a result of Dollar General’s educational efforts.
In 2007, Acker re-entered the music business when he was signed to the Studios. Acker re-entered the music business when he was signed to the Studios @ SST inNew York City as a staff writer and producer. In that capacity he wrote and produced songs for several NYC recording artists and produced new hit fight songs for several major universities. Following the destruction of the recording studio by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 he returned to Jackson, MS to resume his advertising career.
In August 2017 Acker moved back to his Youngstown, Ohio home.
As an advertising and marketing professional, Acker boasts an unprecedented
range of skills, from writing to graphic design to social media planning to web
marketing and email campaigns. His work can be seen and heard on numerous
websites:
www.elance.com/s/tunesmith3000
www.steveacker.com
www.facebook.com/ackercommunications/
www.steveacker.com/anthology
www.steveacker.com/ujstory
Work Terms
Although Guru asks us to state an hourly rate, I generally work on a project basis. I ask for 1/3 in advance, 1/3 upon completion of the first draft, and 1/3 upon completion. Payments through Paypal.