Needing a sales boost for his new line of fashion catheters, Sy Noff, owner and President of Med, Inc., retained advertising gurus Draper & Olson. Their contract provided for signature by Sy Noff as “President and CEO” of “Med Catheter Corp, Inc.”

After a three-martini lunch, Draper & Olson run up a $100,000 bill creating an instantly iconic advertising campaign featuring the Medicorp Man, a rugged rancher who isn’t afeard to proudly use Medicorp’s “Healthy Heartland”-brand catheter whilst cow-punching on the range. Despite the instantly iconic advertising campaign, Med’s business goes down the tubes. Sy and Med stiff Draper & Olson on their $100,000 ad bill. Noticing that the ad contract was signed by Sy Noff using the wrong company name, Draper & Olson’s diligent attorneys sued Sy Noff himself for Med’s debt because he did not disclose the true legal name of the company he was signing for. But surely,” Sy says, “I cannot be held personally liable for Medicorp’s debt simply because the company name was wrong on the contract!”

First, don’t call us Shirley. Second, you bet he can.Continue Reading What and How You Sign a Contract Matters