In 1968, the American Advertising Federation in Washington, D.C., aided in setting up local clubs including Orange County.

In the 70s most of the advertising community centered around Santa Ana. The OCAF meetings were generally held at the Saddleback Inn on Fourth Street. Lee Oliver, head of his own agency, was one of the pioneer members.

Here's a snapshot of the club in 1977: the OCAF boasted of 110 members. The 10th Annual Ad Awards, with over 645 entries, was held at the Disneyland Hotel. The crowd of over 600 saw Cochrane Chase & Company as the big agency winner, followed by Basso/Boatman. Ted Knorr of CASA Advertising was president with Bob Hiscock of Avco Financial as president-elect.

The picture of Cochrane Chase & Company sweepstakes winning team includes Phil Salvati and Ken Sakoda, as well as creative chief Carolyn Johnson who would go on to establish their own advertising firms.

Local media aiding in publicizing OCAF events were now-forgotten newspapers in Corona del Mar, Westminster and Anaheim. Both KWIZ and KEZY local radio stations were based in Santa Ana and their personnel were OCAF members.

In 1977 monthly dinner meetings with speakers were held at a variety of locales including the Airporter Inn, Reuben E. Lee, Newporter Resort and others. Two fundraisers included a "Tahiti Trip Sweepstakes" and the annual Media Auction. And the AAF Western Region Conference in November also turned a profit.

We peeked ahead at the 1978 Ad Awards to find among the presenters were Cal Worthington and his dog Spot and Joe Karbo, former TV pitchman and millionaire author of "Lazy Man's Way to Riches." (He used classified newspaper ads)

The OC Ad Club continued to grow throughout the 1980s and 1990s, as major national agencies such as Bates, Foote Cone & Belding, and Young & Rubicam established a local presence within our community, attracting talent from across the country.