Debriefer: Marketeer Extraordinaire Willie Mack
He may put the "Mack" in MACK Industries, a cutting-edge Soho marketing and branding agency, but president and creative director Willie Mack has more going on than just his memorable name. (Not to be confused with the eponymous country singer, mind you.) When he's not working on campaigns for Absolut or rubbing elbows with Al Gore and Gisele Bundchen (unfortunately not at the same time), you can find Mack frequenting his favorite haunts in his favorite city.
We're going to imprison you in the city of your choice for the rest of your natural life. You can do anything you want there, but you must stay in that city forever. Where would you choose?
New York.
Why would you live in this city forever and not somewhere else?
It stole my heart when I was 12, and I never looked back. The city has a cultural, art, ethnic food, creative mix unlike anywhere else in the world, and after living in London, DC, SF, Baltimore, Bangkok, and visiting so many other cities, there really isn't anywhere else in the world like NY. It has a bit of every culture and race here, so one can always experience something else neighborhood by neighborhood if they grow bored. Not happy about the lack of a beach, but sailing and boating would satisfy the need for water sports.
In what part of the city would you reside?
I would live in the West Village on the Westside highway in either a brownstone or duplex penthouse with views of the Hudson; I have to be near the water, with views of the water. Since London would be my second fave city to live in, the WV has a very European feel in the food, people, streets -- like a small village and still close to downtown and uptown via WSH, and close to my boat downtown, and the park and running paths are amazing.
Where and what would you eat?
Wallse -- amazing Austrian food and great wine list and wonderful people. Rai Rai Ken -- East Village Japanese soup, so good on cold day. Babbo -- speaks for itself. Nobu -- timeless. Matsuri -- always can get a table. Lever House -- beautiful. Indochine -- staple place. Landmarc -- great views of the city from Time Warner. Mexicana Mama -- great Mexican and mole sauce. Zucco: Le French Diner -- small, intimate, as French as one can be, very authentic, restaurant with character. Peasant -- don't be misled by the ground floor restaurant, to the side you will find a staircase that leads to the downstairs cellar where you may find the underground wine bar. The secret is Sunday nights, managed by an unforgettable, top hat maitre 'd. Old school English psychedelic rock in the background.
What would you do for fun?
Shopping like nowhere else; tons of hotels to have a secret weekend, weekday getaways with room service; spas and a great attitude towards holistic health; anything delivery anytime; 5 a.m. Chinese food in Chinatown (won't tell you the spot, it's amazing); people watching, sitting on the corner of Orchard and Stanton on a sunny day and watch the distinctive characters of the LES. Vintage shopping in the LES; art exhibitions -- Chelsea Art Museum, Whitney Museum, New Museum, Chelsea art galleries on weekend; movie theatres -- Angelica, Sunshine, Film Forum, IFC, Two Boots, and too many to name; Fashion Week and all of the street festivals, parties, rooftop parties, sunset parties, private clubs, and dinner parties at friends' homes.
Where would you go for a night on the town?
Martha Graham or Ailey at City; dinner at Wallse; hop around for drinks; hit the Box -- cabaret style night of visual amusement; run to Blue Ribbon for late-night oysters and champagne, then Welcome to the Johnsons for a nice game of pool; and a few after-hours spots I cannot mention here that will keep me up till 6 a.m. Chinese, and walking up Bowery watching the sunrise and that perfect time in the city where NY starts to wake up. The light is amazing, just walk around and with my digital SLR and snap away.
What kinds of shops are worth going to?
MoMa Design; B Blessing; Freemans Sporting Club; Barneys; Dior; If; Tom Ford; Cloak; Moss; Opening Ceremony; Puma McQueen Store.
And on the flip side: What city would you never, ever visit again, if you had a choice?
Sioux Falls, Miami, Dallas.
What are your top six (or more) favorite places or spaces in your favorite city?
Central Park; Rooftop of the Met; La Esquina; Jeremy Ale House near South Street Seaport, old cop hangout; Battery Park; West side bike path; Random rooftop parties downtown.
MACK Industries has thrown product launch parties for Absolut Vodka and Ray-Ban in recent months, and has work waiting in the wings; besides the complimentary alcohol and sunglasses, what do you just love about the planning process?
Seeing the result. It's just amazing to see the projects gain life. You look at it on paper for months, just sketches and words, then suddenly it becomes people dancing, smiling, drinks being passed, pictures being taken. It's so rewarding!
You threw the first ever runway show for eyewear fashions with Vogue Eyewear and Gisele Bundchen in Miami -- we imagine she smells like gold and the equally gorgeous Tom Brady. But you must know firsthand. Tell the public what it wants to know, what is Gisele's scent?
Butterflies. She smells like butterflies and sunshine.
What are you currently listening to, watching, and/or reading?
Reading: Monocle, Financial Times, Wired, Vanity Fair, Mother Jones, GOOD, Economist, BUTT. Blogs: nowincolour, Daily Swarm, Engadget, Guardian, and Chicken Dinner. Good Internet video content, user- and studio-generated together, and of course gaming and 3D becoming more integrated into daily visual communication. Smaller niche fashion labels with online presence only globally, like Spring Court Shoes. LES art, music, design, and the fashion scene will continue to blow up. Watching: Catherine Tate Show, classic noir from Two Boots Video, sci-fi pics, South Park, and Spanish, German, and Korean films. Listening to: Internet radio, the Brazilian Girls, the Knife, Delphonics, Stylistics, Codek, Aril Brikha, anything from K7, Beggars, or Nublu Records, and of course spank rock.
What should we be paying attention to?
China in Africa and South America, Russian oil money, the election in 2008, and what they are doing in Baltic States, SMS/mobile marketing, social marketing, the future of the planet and now the moon, adding sustainable design and thinking to the global educational curricula in all schools. We need to change how we think about the development of everything, and this needs to start in the schools and robots!
Debriefer is a weekly interview of random individuals about their favorite cities. If you'd like to be interviewed for Debriefer, let us know.
