From the creative revolution of the 1960s to the explosion of new media in the 1990s and beyond, advertising creatives have always looked for new ways to promote brands while redefining the field of advertising itself. On the following pages is a sampling of work and commentary from just a few of the agencies and creative leaders we’ve profiled in the last 60 years.
Right: American Petrofina newspaper ad, 1961. Robert Freeman/George Dippel, art directors; Howard Gossage, writer; Marget Larsen, designer; Weiner & Gossage, Inc., ad agency.
“Our audience deserves discreet, intelligent, artistic handling of commercial messages. I say, by all means, let’s accommodate them.” —Stan Freberg, Freberg, Ltd., 1960
Right: Avis print ad, 1963. Helmut Krone, art director; Paula Green, writer; Doyle Dane Bernbach, ad agency.
“You know, art directors are the luckiest people in the world. They get paid for doing what they like to do. Where else could misfits like us earn a good living?”
—Bob Gage, Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1966
Right: Fiat newspaper ad, 1971. Ralph Ammirati, art director/designer; Marty Puris, writer; George Gomes, photographer; Carl Ally, Inc., ad agency.
“If you keep busy making ads, it’s amazing how little you have to be bothered with administrative problems.”
—Jay Chiat, Chiat/Day, 1970
Right: Napier magazine ad, 1972. Gene Federico, art director; Nancy Haynes/Cynthia Johnson, writers; Bill Helburn, photographer; Lord, Geller, Federico, Peterson, ad agency.
“There’s no reason why you can’t do a good commercial on a small budget. You’ve just got to think with the budget you’re working with.” —Joe Sedelmaier, Sedelmaier Film Productions, 1976
Right: Gingiss Formalwear magazine ad, 1974. Barry Vetere, art director; Jan Zechman, writer; Richard Noble, photographer; Zechman Lyke Vetere, ad agency.
“Someday, who knows? Maybe New York ad people will study Minneapolis work the way we studied New York ads.”
—Tom McElligott, Bozell & Jacobs, 1978
“It’s fascinating to see how many people there are out there, all trying to protect us. What they are really protecting us from, most of the time, is excellence.”
—Hal Riney, Ogilvy & Mather, 1980
Right: Federal Express “Fast Talker” TV commercial, 1981. Michael Tesch, art director; Patrick Kelly, writer; Amil Gargano, creative director; Joe Sedelmaier, director; Ally & Gargano, ad agency.
“Quantity has nothing to do with what we aspire to as an agency. If you haven’t got great creative, you haven’t got anything.” —Roy Spence, GSD&M, 1987
Right: Rolling Stone print ad, 1985. Nancy Rice, art director; Bill Miller, writer; Tom McElligott, creative director; Mark Hauser, photographer; Fallon McElligott Rice, ad agency.
“A client has a product to sell. What difference should it make to them if they need a catalog or need an ad? Why should they have to go to two different firms for these?” —Cheryl Heller, Heller Breene, 1988
Right: Nike “Bo Knows” TV commercial, 1989. David Jenkins, art director; Jim Riswold, writer; David Kennedy/Dan Wieden, creative directors; Joe Pytka, director; Wieden & Kennedy, ad agency.
“Radio is really the most intimate medium of all, which is why you have to be so careful in how you create it. It’s so intimate because the listener is actually the art director.” —Joy Golden, Joy Radio, 1989
Right: California Fluid Milk Processor Advisory Board “Aaron Burr” TV commercial, 1993. Erich Joiner, art director; Scott Burns/Chuck McBride, writers; Jeff Goodby/Rich Silverstein, creative directors; Michael Bay, director; Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, ad agency.
“It’s not the size of the budget that’s important; it’s the size of the idea.”
—John Butler, Butler, Shine & Stern, 1998
Right: Apple poster, 1998. Jennifer Golub/Jessica Schulman, art directors; Eric Grunbaum/Craig Tanimoto, writers; Lee Clow, creative director; TBWA\Chiat\Day, ad agency.
“People complain because the client didn’t buy their great idea. But the reality is, there’s a huge circle of great ideas out there—and within that, there’s a smaller circle of great ideas that the client will buy. You have to find ideas from the smaller circle.”
—Gary Goldsmith, Goldsmith/Jeffrey, 1994
“If one person has a problem with your idea, you can ignore it. If two people have a problem, you should listen. If three people have a problem, change it.”
—Chris Staples, Palmer Jarvis DDB, 1999
Right: Anheuser-Busch “Whassup” TV commercial, 2000. Justin Reardon/Chuck Taylor, art directors; Vinny Warren, writer; Don Pogany, creative director; Charles Stone III, director; DDB Chicago, ad agency.
“It is hard to explain how a successful creative partnership works. Part of it, I believe, is the fact that we are both women in a male-dominated industry.”
—Elspeth Lynn, zig, 2006
Right: Dove “Evolution” TV commercial, 2007. Mike Kirkland/Tim Piper, art directors; Tim Piper, writer; Janet Kestin/Nancy Vonk, chief creative officers; Tim Piper/Yael Staav, directors; Ogilvy & Mather Canada, ad agency.
“The one-agency relationship is going away. It’s amazing the industry has stayed together as long as it has. It’s been held together by Scotch tape and Band-Aids.” —Scott Goodson, StrawberryFrog, 2008
Right: Old Spice “Smell Like a Man, Man” TV commercial, 2010. Craig Allen, art director; Eric Kallman, writer; Jason Bagley/Eric Baldwin/Mark Fitzloff/Susan Hoffman, creative directors; Tom Kuntz, director; Wieden+Kennedy, ad agency.
“Unless you make people laugh or cry or dream, the rest of the world will see you as just another commercial, or they won’t see you at all.”
—Jaime Robinson, Pereira & O’Dell, 2014
Right: REI #OptOutside campaign, 2016. Avery Oldfield, art director; Adam Wolinsky, writer; Lee Einhorn, creative director; Will McGinness/Paul Venables, executive creative directors; Victor Bivol/Nicola Broderick/Jarrett Carr, designers; Craig Allen, director; Venables Bell & Partners, ad agency.
“Being independent provides the freedom to do what you feel is right. And that includes the freedom to tell a difficult client to screw off.” —Dan Wieden, Wieden+Kennedy, 2014
Right: Nike OOH, 2018. Sara Phillips, art director; Dylan Lee/Alex Romans, writers; Antony Goldstein/Chris Groom/Ryan O’Rourke/Alberto Ponte, creative directors; Joan Comellas, designer; Martin Schoeller, photographer; Wieden+Kennedy, ad agency.
“I’m not scared of failure. I’m scared of repetition.” —David Droga, Droga5, 2012
