This combination of a childlike, almost naïve aesthetic vision with commercial savvy is one key to Lassen’s remarkable success. Shrewd marketing strategies have made Lassen’s work known worldwide, embraced enthusiastically by individual enthusiasts and collectors, and by corporate giants around the world -- from the Walt Disney Company to Japan’s Sumitomo Bank. One key strategy is marketing not just his paintings, but Lassen himself. His blonde, bare-chested image is reproduced on his website, in his books, and in every press release issued by his company. (In this case, the style is the man…and apparently, the marketing strategy is the man, too.)Another strategy is aggressive licensing; Lassen imagery is found on backpacks, wristwatches, collector plates, neckties, jewelry and even bank checks. A third marketing strategy is crafting major corporate alliances. In the case of Disney, for example, the iconic Mickey Mouse has been permitted to appear in some of Lassen’s creations.But Lassen shows it’s possible to be a savvy salesman and a genuine idealist at the same time. If the meek ever actually do inherit the earth, Lassen’s example may offer one successful model for how to go about it.