Name Dropping, Part 1 – By @Orla27Marie
By Orla O’Connor
Name Dropping, Part 1
The ad industry is like name dropping central. But who are these all important famous names. I’ve started a name dropping list to try and get to know the who’s who of advertising. All these are name I’ve come across in books, talks and some have cropped up in research of other names. This is by no means a finished list, but it’s a good start to get to learn the greats that have paved the way for newbies such as myself, as Alex Taylor would say – learn your fucking history.
Retired or Dead
Paul Arden
Was ECD at Saatchi’s and was at the height of his fame in the 70 – 80 roughly. He left school at 16 and is said to have distrusted the education system, believing that qualifications were proof of what someone has done rather than showing what a person is capable of achieving. This is speculated to have influenced his book It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be (2003). He also published Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite (2005).
Before settling down at Saatchi’s he worked at Ogilvy and Mather Lintas, Claman&Partners and DDB. Infact he was fired 5 times before Saatchi’s and owes his success to lessons he learnt from these incidents.
Paul Arden died April 2008.
Silk Cut Slash – http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/images/michaelwalford/2007/01/28/silk_cut_advert_1.jpg?maxWidth=500
The Independent tagline – It Is. Are You? – http://www.adslogans.co.uk/site/media/.gallery/main8405.jpg
Anchor Butter Football Cows – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRf_NUgv90s
British Airways Face (In Graham Fink Section)
His Wiki Page – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Arden
Connections:
Graham Fink
Alexandra Taylor
Bill Bernbach
Along with Ned Doyle and Maxwell Dane setup DDB (1949). He founded the AD – CW partnership in creative departments. Hailed as an advertising god and had a lot of lasting influence and inspired many people in the industry.
VW Lemon and Think Small
Avis We Try Harder
Ohrbach’s Cat – http://www.ddb.com/BillBernbachSaid/why_bernbach_matters/revolutionary-work/
Born 1911 and died 1982
Connections:
Helmut Krone
Paul Rand
William Weintraub
Alexey Brodavich
Was a photographer and designer that is largely known for his art direction on Harper’s Bazaar. Before starting his artistic career he was in the Military. His artstic life kicked off after winning a poster competition for a local theater (2nd place was Picasso).
His experimental photography became widely popular in the 40’s and 50’s.
Examples of his layouts – http://www.designishistory.com/1940/alexey-brodovitch/
Includes colour examples – http://www.aiga.org/medalist-alexeybrodovitch/
Howard Gossage
He operated out of San Francisco in the 1950s. He never made a TV ad and would turn away business so his agency wouldn’t grow above 13 members of staff. His peers the likes of Bernbach and Ogilvy described him as a scoundrel. He used coupons in print ads to start conversations with his audience rather than broadcasting at them. Started to experiment that advertising could be used to make the world a better place rather than to just shift product.
Born 1917 and died 1969.
Examples of his work – http://sofii.org/article/howard-luck-gossage-the-mad-man-who-changed-the-world-1
Steve Harrison on Gossage – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxI2SCp8rQM
Connections:
Steve Harrison
David Ogilvy
Bill Bernbach
Roy Grace
Grace spent almost 4 decades in advertising and was seen as a pioner in the 1950/1960s ad heyday. In 1986 he formed his own agency Grace and Rothchild, which close in 2000.
Born 1936 and died 2003.
Alka-Seltzer Spicy Meatballs – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQhwNtY3N2k
Volkswagen Funeral – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPLNhqca0Qc
American Tourister Gorilla – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C-e96m4730
Lois Korey
She began her career as a TV writer specialising in comedy for the likes of Woody Allen. She met Mr Kay and they went on to work at McCann Erickson in Manhattan. They later left to set up Korey, Kay & Partners Ageny. Was hight of fame in the 1960s. When talking about clients being to scared to make risky ads she was quoted saying “A fish sticks from the head”. (hey whipple squeeze this).
Died 1990
Helmut Krone
Partner Marty Cooke. Said there mission was to reinvent the art of advertising. Worked for 30 years at DDB in New York. He was obsessed with making every page look different every day.
Born 1925, died 1996.
VW Beetle Lemon
Avis We Try Harder
Audi FOX Layout – http://designobserver.com/feature/helmut-krone-period/4657/
VW Box – http://beachpackagingdesign.com/boxvox/volkswagen-box
Bernbach and Krone on advertising – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlLYHL8Y0O0
Conections:
Bernbach
Paul Rand
An American Art Director and Graphic Designer. Specialised in corporate logos and design. Famous for embracing Swiss design. Inducted into the NY Art Director’s Hall of Fame 1972. When working at William Weintraub agency in NY he collaborated with Bernbach
Born 1914 and died 1996.
IMB Poster – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Rand#/media/File:Eye-Bee-M-Poster.jpg
Anatomy of a Murer – http://eleakearth.blogspot.co.uk/
Jazz Ways – http://eleakearth.blogspot.co.uk/
Connected:
William Weintraub
Bill Bernbach
Rosser Reeves
Is hailed as being the inventor of the USP (Unique Selling Proposition). Which is still used today and is largely just referred to as the proposition.
Rules to a good Proposition:
- Each ad must make a proposition to the consumer
- The proposition must be something competitor cannot or do not offer.
- The proposition must be so strong it can move the masses.
He wrote his theory on advertising while at the Ted Bates agency, now known as the Bates agency.
Born 1910 and died 1984
John Webster
He was originally a photographer and went to arts school age 30 to become a painter. He help found BMP and that is where he spent the best half of his career. This is where Account Planning was born to bridge the gap between research and creative. He is hailed as an all round modest nice guy, who was definitely a team player.
Born 1934 and died 2006
Smash Martians
Sugar Puff Honey Monster
The Guardian Points of view – http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/john-webster-adman-made-history/1154224
John Webster Documentary – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX70c0HFQVg&feature=youtu.be
Connections:
Patrick Collister
William Weintraub
Not much is know about him. He heavily influence Rand. They met at Esquire – Coronet magazine and he left in 1941 to set up an agency. Rand followed him and was afforded free rein within the agency to explore his art direction. That’s pretty much all i could find.
James Webb Young
Seems to be most famous for writing A Technique for Producing Ideas (1939). Bernbach was thought to support Youngs 5 techniques to produce great ideas.
Those Steps are:
- Gathering raw material
- Digesting the raw material
- Unconscious processing (No effort of a direct nature)
- The A-HA moment
- Idea meets reality
More on his techniques https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/05/04/a-technique-for-producing-ideas-young/
Born 1886 and died 1973.
Connections:
Bill Bernbach
If I’ve missed anyone or some of the information is wildly wrong please tweet me @orla27marie
