Sig Rogich

Last updated
Sig Rogich
Sig-Rogich.jpg
United States Ambassador to Iceland
In office
June 4, 1992 –October 14, 1993
Political party Republican
SpouseLori Rogich
Residence(s) Southern Highlands, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Alma mater University of Nevada, Reno
OccupationAdvertising Executive
Businessman
Adviser
Diplomat

Sigmund Aronson "Sig" Rogich (born May 17, 1944) is an Icelandic/American businessman and is president of The Rogich Communications Group, [1] a business facilitator, public relations, and crisis management firm. [2] He is also a former US Ambassador to Iceland.

Contents

Rogich also founded in 1973 Las Vegas based R&R Advertising, now R&R Partners, Nevada's largest advertising and marketing firm, and has been involved with Las Vegas marketing for more than 30 years. [3] His entertainment and business relationships have included Frank Sinatra, Donald Trump, Mike Tyson, [4] Steve Wynn, Kirk Kerkorian, and Sheldon Adelson, among others.

Rogich was a senior media consultant to Republican candidates for office, including Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. He was senior campaign consultant for former Nevada governors Mike O'Callaghan, Kenny Guinn and Jim Gibbons.

Early life

Born in Iceland, his family moved outside of Las Vegas in 1954 while his father worked in a titanium metals factory. His father went on to be a foreman at a company that made neon casino signs and his sister was a dancer in Folies Bergère, a review that toured with Sammy Davis Jr. [5] Rogich worked odd jobs from the time he was small, and as he got older toiled as a busboy at casinos in Las Vegas, and as a bellman at The Lake Tahoe Hotel. He graduated from Las Vegas High School and studied journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno. While a student, he became a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity in the institution.

Politics

Rogich was a longtime close friend and adviser to Paul Laxalt, former governor and United States Senator from Nevada. In 1984, Rogich was co-director of the "Tuesday Team," [6] an advertising agency created specifically to produce campaign ads for the re-election campaign of President Reagan (a.k.a. Reagan-Bush '84).

In 1987 and 1988, Rogich worked as the Director of Advertising with Roger Ailes, Chief Media Advisor for Vice President George H. W. Bush's 1988 campaign. He directed, produced and scripted numerous television ads for the campaign (Bush-Quayle '88), as well as others for the Republican National Committee.

Other ads include the famous "Revolving Door" spot for Bush-Quayle '88 (shot at a Utah penitentiary), which highlighted the crime record of Democratic nominee, Gov. Michael Dukakis. Rogich is also credited with devising the Bush ads that prominently featured Michael Dukakis cruising in a tank at a General Dynamics plant in Michigan. George H. W. Bush said, "Roger Ailes and Sig Rogich get credit for that ad - it was the best of all." [7]

Another Rogich spot, "I Remember You," aired by the RNC in July and August 1988, used the 1940s song of the same name as background to a video collage of the Carter years, depicting oil sheiks, gas lines and malaise. Dukakis' lead over Bush—17 points at the end of the Democratic Convention in July—evaporated by the end of the GOP Convention in August. The Wall Street Journal and New York Times gave credit in good part to the unanswered "I Remember You" commercial for eliminating much of that deficit. [8]

Although he supervised the making of many of Mr. Bush's comparative commercials, Rogich insisted he preferred the softer advertisements, like the one of Mr. Bush's granddaughter running into his arms. [9]

From 1989 to 1992, he worked in the West Wing of the White House as Assistant to the President for activities and initiatives for President George H.W. Bush. In 1991, at the request of the President, Rogich accompanied former Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on his nationwide tour of the U.S.

In 1992, Rogich was named United States Ambassador to his native country of Iceland by President Bush, Sr. Within months, he gave up his appointive post to run the advertising campaign efforts in the latter months of Bush Sr.'s re-election campaign (Bush-Quayle '92) at the request of the President and his Chief of Staff, Jim Baker.

Rogich was National Finance Co-chairman for The Republican Governors Association and has served in the same capacity in Nevada for President George W. Bush. He was a Bush Pioneer and an early supporter and senior advisor of longtime friend John McCain in the 2008 presidential contest.

Communications

Before his time in Washington, Rogich founded R&R Advertising in 1973 and built it into the largest advertising agency in Nevada. Through his creative endeavors with R&R, he has been integrally involved in the reinvention of Las Vegas' image for more than 25 years. [10]

Following his time in Washington, Rogich returned to his native Nevada and founded The Rogich Communications Group in 1995. His company has worked with clients both nationally and globally and has been involved with most of the major gaming companies in Las Vegas. Ex-heavyweight champ Mike Tyson hired Rogich to burnish his image after biting Evander Holyfield's ear in their infamous 1997 match. [11] Rogich is a former Nevada Athletic Commission chairman and state boxing commissioner as well as the former CEO of World Series of Fighting (WSOF). [12] [13]

Community

In 2000, Sig Rogich Middle School was named after him to honor his contribution to education in Nevada and was built in Summerlin, Nevada. Additionally, Rogich has served as chairman of the board for the Public Education Foundation in Clark County since 1997.

Other involvements include: the board of directors for Opportunity Village, a non-profit organization in Las Vegas that serves people with intellectual disabilities; Keep Memory Alive, a philanthropy organization which raises awareness about brain disorders and Alzheimer's; [14] Board of Trustees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum; Board of Governors for the Valley Health System in Las Vegas; [15] Advisory board member for the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism, the Las Vegas Valley Water District and the Nevada Athletic Commission's Committee on Boxer Health and Safety. [16] In October 2021, Sig Rogich and his wife Lori won a federal lawsuit against the Clark County Nevada School District on behalf of their daughter and her educational needs. [17]

Personal

Rogich is a collector of first-edition books, papers and photographs involving his two heroes, Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Quayle</span> Vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993

James Danforth Quayle is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, Quayle represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981 and in the U.S. Senate from 1981 to 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 United States presidential election</span> 51st quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1988 United States presidential election was the 51st quadrennial presidential election held on Tuesday, November 8, 1988. In what was the third consecutive landslide election for the Republican Party, their ticket of incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush and Indiana senator Dan Quayle defeated the Democratic ticket of Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis and Texas senator Lloyd Bentsen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Dukakis</span> American politician (born 1933)

Michael Stanley Dukakis is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and only the second Greek-American governor in U.S. history, after Spiro Agnew. He was nominated by the Democratic Party for president in the 1988 election, losing to the Republican nominee, Vice President George H. W. Bush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lloyd Bentsen</span> American politician (1921–2006)

Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. was an American politician who was a four-term United States Senator (1971–1993) from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served as the 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton.

William R. Horton, commonly referred to as "Willie Horton", is an American convicted murderer who was the subject of a major political controversy in the 1988 presidential election. Horton had committed violent crimes while on furlough from prison, where he was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for murder. Released for a weekend as the beneficiary of a Massachusetts furlough program, he failed to return, and was later recaptured and convicted of committing assault, armed robbery, and rape in Maryland, where he remains incarcerated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Laxalt</span> 22nd Governor of Nevada; United States Senator from Nevada (1974–1987)

Paul Dominique Laxalt was an American attorney and politician who served as the 22nd governor of Nevada from 1967 to 1971 and a United States senator representing Nevada from 1974 until 1987. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of Ronald Reagan's closest friends in politics. After Reagan was elected president in 1980, many in the national press referred to Laxalt as "the first friend". He was the older brother of writer Robert Laxalt and maternal grandfather of Adam Laxalt, who served as the 33rd attorney general of Nevada from 2015 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy</span> Remark made by Lloyd Bentsen in 1988

"Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" was a remark made during the 1988 United States vice presidential debate by Democratic nominee Senator Lloyd Bentsen to Republican nominee Senator Dan Quayle in response to Quayle's comparison of his experience in Congress to that of John F. Kennedy, the Democratic 35th president of the United States, whom Bentsen knew from their time as congressmen from the 80th to 82nd Congresses. Since then, the words "You're no Jack Kennedy," or some variation on the remark, have become a part of the political lexicon as a way to deflate politicians or other individuals perceived as thinking too highly of themselves. Michael Dukakis and Bentsen later went on to lose the 1988 United States presidential election to George H. W. Bush and Quayle, who thus succeeded Bush as vice president of the United States.

R&R Partners is an American advertising, marketing, public relations, and public affairs firm based in Las Vegas, Nevada. They are known for creating the ad campaign "What Happens Here, Stays Here," for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). R&R maintains domestic and international clients through its headquarters in Las Vegas, and eight locations in ; Mexico. In 2013, Adweek named R&R Partners the top marketing agency in the state of Nevada. It was also named one of the best places to work in marketing and media by Advertising Age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 Republican Party presidential primaries</span>

From January 14 to June 14, 1988, Republican voters chose their nominee for president in the 1988 United States presidential election. Incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1988 Republican National Convention held from August 15 to August 18, 1988, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 United States Senate election in Florida</span>

The 1988 United States Senate election in Florida was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican Connie Mack III won the open seat, becoming the first Republican to hold this seat since Reconstruction in 1875.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 United States elections</span>

The 1988 United States elections were held on November 8 and elected the President of the United States and members of the 101st United States Congress. Republican Vice President George H. W. Bush defeated Democratic Governor of Massachusetts Michael Dukakis. Despite Dukakis' defeat, the Democratic Party built on their majorities in Congress.

Lawrence C. "Larry" McCarthy is an American political consultant and media advisor to Republican Party (GOP) campaigns. He is best known as a master of the attack ad, having produced the infamous Willie Horton TV spot during the 1988 presidential election. He serves as President of McCarthy, Marcus, Hennings, Ltd., whose clients include American Crossroads and pro-Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 United States presidential election in Mississippi</span>

The 1988 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 8, 1988. All fifty states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Mississippi voters chose seven electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 United States presidential election in Nevada</span>

The 1988 United States presidential election in Nevada took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. State voters chose four electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 United States presidential election in Tennessee</span>

The 1988 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Tennessee voters chose 11 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president. Tennessee was won by incumbent United States Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas, who was running against Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. Bush ran with Indiana Senator Dan Quayle as Vice President, and Dukakis ran with Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 United States presidential election in Hawaii</span>

The 1988 United States presidential election in Hawaii took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Hawaii voters chose 4 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection</span>

This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1988 election. Incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush won the 1988 Republican nomination for President of the United States, and chose Indiana Senator Dan Quayle as his running mate. The selection of Quayle surprised many of Bush's closest advisers, who had expected Bush to pick a more well-known running mate. However, Bush adviser Roger Ailes helped convince Bush that Quayle would be able to effectively attack the Democratic presidential nominee, Michael Dukakis. Bush also liked Quayle's youth and felt that Quayle would make for a loyal vice president. The Bush–Quayle ticket would go on to defeat the Dukakis–Bentsen ticket in the general election but ultimately lost to the Clinton–Gore ticket in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George H. W. Bush 1988 presidential campaign</span> American political campaign

The 1988 presidential campaign of George H. W. Bush, the 43rd vice president of the United States under President Ronald Reagan, began when he announced he was running for the Republican Party's nomination in the 1988 U.S. presidential election on October 13, 1987. Bush won the 1988 election against Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis on November 8, 1988. He was subsequently inaugurated as president on January 20, 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Dukakis 1988 presidential campaign</span> American political campaign

The 1988 presidential campaign of Michael Dukakis began when he announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States on March 16, 1987, in a speech in Boston. After winning the nomination, he was formally selected as the Democratic Party's nominee at the party's convention in Atlanta, Georgia on July 21, 1988. He lost the 1988 election to his Republican opponent George H. W. Bush, who was the sitting Vice President at the time. Dukakis won 10 states and the District of Columbia, receiving a total of 111 electoral votes compared to Bush's 426. Dukakis received 45% of the popular vote to Bush's 53%. Many commentators blamed Dukakis' loss on the embarrassing photograph of him in a tank taken on September 13, 1988, which subsequently formed the basis of a successful Republican attack ad. Much of the blame was also laid on Dukakis' campaign, which was criticized for being poorly managed despite being well funded. Had Dukakis been elected, he would have been the first Greek American president, the first non-Western European American president, and the second governor of Massachusetts to accomplish this feat, after Calvin Coolidge. Bentsen would have been the second senator from Texas to be elected vice president, after Lyndon B. Johnson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George H. W. Bush 1992 presidential campaign</span> American political campaign

The 1992 presidential campaign of George H. W. Bush was an unsuccessful re-election campaign for 1992 United States presidential election by incumbent president George H. W. Bush, who had taken office on January 20, 1989. Bush and incumbent vice president Dan Quayle were defeated by Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton and vice presidential nominee Al Gore. Bush, a Republican president and former vice president under Ronald Reagan, launched his presidential bid on October 11, 1991, and secured nomination for his re-election on August 20, 1992. He was challenged in the Republican primaries by former White House Communications Director Pat Buchanan, who received less than one percent of the delegates in the Republican National Convention.

References

  1. ↑ Rogich Communications Group
  2. ↑ "RCG" . Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  3. ↑ "Vegas on a Roll," Alan Prendergast, L.A. Times, Dec. 17, 1989
  4. ↑ "Nevada passes rules to make boxing safer," USA Today, Dec 23, 2013
  5. ↑ Meraji, Shereen. "Folies Bergere To Close In Las Vegas". National Public Radio . Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  6. ↑ Bickford, Jim. "American Comeback". excerpt on web from book. Las Vegas Dreams. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  7. ↑ My Father, My President
  8. ↑ "Dukakis Barely Leading Bush in New Poll". The New York Times . Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  9. 1 2 Dowd, Maureen (3 October 1989). "Washington at Work; An Image Polisher Leaves Nevada Neon to Sharpen a 'Beige' White House". The New York Times .
  10. ↑ Rogich Communications Group
  11. ↑ "Nevada Passes Rules to Make Boxing Safer," USA Today, July 13, 2006
  12. ↑ "New Local Mixed Martial Arts Promotion Has Support," Las Vegas Sun, Sep 7,2012
  13. ↑ State Gaming Control Board Meeting, March 19, 2009
  14. ↑ "Keep Memory Alive Board Members". web. KeepMemoryAlive.org. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  15. ↑ "Valley Health System Board of Governors". Spring Valley Hospital. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  16. ↑ Kanigher, Steve. "Boxing safety committee optimistic". newspaper. The Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  17. ↑ Ashton-Cirillo, Sarah (2021-12-21). "On heels of RESOUNDING win against CCSD, Rogich family to convene special education forum". Political.tips. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by U.S. Ambassador to Iceland
1992–1993		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.