Louis M. Schultz

Former worldwide media and advertising executive, Louis M. Schultz, died on Wednesday, December 21, 2022, at age 78. Lou was a profoundly devoted husband, loving father, and adoring grandfather. To those who really knew him, he was and remains truly larger than life. “Bordering on Spectacular!” was his favorite retort when asked how he was doing. It inevitably elicited a smile or a laugh, but it was the underlying premise on how he lived his life. As an executive, he felt that he had to set the right tone every day. “Part of my job is to uplift everyone,” he said. “It’s the first step in getting the most productivity out of your team.” It naturally follows that Lou was an inspiration to everyone who truly knew him. Always willing to help anyone who asked, he put so much of his heart and brain in the pursuit of excellence in all that he did. Colleagues have described him as “the best mentor ever” who “went to bat for every person who worked for him as if they were his own child!” Adding that “His tough outer exterior was matched by his huge heart.” He cherished his role championing young executives, offering his unique style that cut right to the chase. An unbelievably fast study, he could read a situation or a person, offer an insightful decision, and tell a joke before most knew what hit them. He always attributed that skill to his early training in media research under Bernie Guggenheim at Campbell-Ewald (CE). He said that Bernie taught him how to organize and think by learning how to create an entire presentation in his mind and then dictate it. It was one of his strengths in winning so many new business presentations. Endlessly innovating, he helped shaped the evolving media landscape with a favorite quote, “The most effective way to cope with change is to help create it.” Perhaps he really should be remembered for his creativity and vision. And create things he did. For example, he helped create the first truly Global Media Planning and Buying Agency in 1987 and it became the largest agency of its type in the early 1990s. It was the platform that other advertising agency conglomerates followed several years later. In the early 1990s he led the team that created GM Media Works and then used many of his senior executives to staff it. He was well known for his negotiating skills. With General Motors management support, he negotiated the first $500 million all-media contract with Time Warner. In 1994, Lou forecast the upcoming internet revolution and created a division entitled, “TDAH” (“Ta-daa!” with a flourish) or “Think Digital, Act Human.” It was the first agency to deal with internet advertising. In 2003, while consulting for a Mobile Media Company, he helped create the first live MOBILE TV show in America, the launch of the new Corvette at the Detroit auto show. Most recently he consulted with one of the first USA Green Crypto Mining Companies that could revolutionize the crypto currency banking/monetary systems. If ever there was a person who lived in the present moment perpetually engaged in life, travel, sports, art, media and business, it was Lou. At the end of the day, it was a wonderful life. Lou was born in Detroit, Michigan to Henry R. Schultz and Genevieve (Jankowski) Schultz. He attended St. Louis the King grade school and spent two years at Sacred Heart Seminary. This might surprise those who experienced his colorful language and quick, often off-color sense of humor. Lou graduated from Notre Dame High School and received a bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts from Michigan State University (MSU). An ardent, often boisterous supporter of MSU, green and white was ever present. While working at CE, he joined the U.S. Army Reserves and attained an MBA from Wayne State University. He spent 35 years at CE or in the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG) system, finally leaving the advertising business as CEO of Initiative Media. Upon learning the news of his cancer prognosis last June, in typical Lou-ism humor he remarked, “Nothing rolls like a head.” His chosen epitaph: "Now I am truly spectacular." Lou is survived by his wife Diane L. Schultz, brother Michael A. (Ann Maragree) Schultz, son Christian D. (Leigh Ann) Schultz, daughter Kimberly A. Schultz, stepdaughter Andrea G. Meli (Thomas) Nolle, stepson Frank L. Meli, grandchildren Phoebe Schultz, Caiu A. Nolle, Alex Ihrig and Megan Ihrig. A mass will be held at St. Hugo’s of the Hills Stone Chapel in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, on Friday, February 17, 2023, at 10 a.m., a celebration of life immediately following. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Make-a-Wish Foundation or MSU’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences Department of Advertising, Https://givingto.msu.edu/gift/?sid=14247

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Louis M. Schultz

December 21, 2022