A few months after the iPhone came out, I forgot what a landline looked like. Well into the 21st century I couldn’t for the life of me remember what devices that played videotapes were called. VHS player? Video box? Tape thing? It didn’t matter, the world had changed and no one bothered to rewind. Today’s interview is in the same vein – a bulging equine vein that is. François Cheval has held nearly every position within an ad agency (but mostly modeling ones). He offers a unique perspective on many things, but especially automation. I caught up with him at his stable in southern France. He’s a retired horse on a pension, living there in the twilight of his life.
MTP: Good morning. Or should I say, “bonjour mon ami”?
FC: My mother was American. Plus, it’s nighttime here.
MTP: I see.
FC: No, you don’t see. This is a phoner.
MTP: What do you miss most about agency life?
FC: Look, when I started, “horsepower” actually meant something. By the time I left, most people thought jockeys were gnomes and fillies were cheesesteaks.
MTP: How have you changed?
FC: Not much. I know a lot of horses, like my friend Etienne who did some modeling for Renault in the 70s, who get a little fame and immediately are too big for their horseshoes. Prancing around on their hind legs eating chocolate-covered frog legs. Me? I never lost my taste for hay. That was the only thing keeping me sane.
MTP: What does hay taste like?
FC: Poulet.
MTP: Do you have any advice for people worried about the automation revolution?
FC: I’ll tell you a quick story. Back then I knew a lot of horses. More than I know today. I had a fairly good relationship with Secretariat. An oft-repeated fact about Big Red is that when he died, doctors discovered that his heart was two and a half times bigger than your average horse. What they don’t tell you is the size of his –
MTP: This is a family blog. So if you’re about to –
FC: Brain. He had a tiny brain. He was a dumb jock, okay? Nice guy. Great guy even.
MTP: And?
FC: I thought my playing the game, studying Quark and Adobe I’d be valued for things besides my looks. But Musk won’t return my calls. People haven’t relied on horses for transportation in years. I have a few decent connections with the Amish community – who, I might add, have been great to me. Here in France, it doesn’t help much though. The point is that horseracing hasn’t really changed. Maybe I was the dumb one, after all.
MTP: What are you saying?
FC: The robots are coming. But they aren’t coming for professional sports. Not yet anyway.
MTP: What's the biggest difference between agencies when you started and now?
FC: Back in my day, no one ever talked about unicorns. It simply wasn't done. How can a guy like me compete with a horned demigod like that?
MTP: What are you reading?
FC: F.A. Hayek’s The Constitution of Liberty. I got the time.
MTP: As do I. Anything else you’d like to add before we call it?
FC: Why don’t major thoroughfares in big cities have horse lanes in addition to bike lanes? We were here first.
MTP: Thanks and good night.
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