Madison Avenue and the Evolution of Modern Advertising: Case Studies and Key Figures

Madison Avenue: The Heart of the Advertising Industry

  • Historical Context: Madison Avenue had served as the unofficial home for the advertising business since the period preceding World War II.
  • Expansion: A massive building boom transformed the area into a "glistening canyon" of communications firms.
  • Symbolism: It became the definitive symbol of the United States advertising industry and was named after a President of the United States.

David Ogilvy: The Scholarly Entrepreneur

  • Background and Early Life:
    • Born in 1911 in West Horsley, England.
    • Education:
    • Attended Fettes College in Edinburgh, known for its "spartan disciplines."
    • Attended Christ Church in Oxford, from which he was expelled.
    • Medical Challenges: He suffered from a lack of concentration following two serious operations on his head.
    • Self-Perception: He viewed his expulsion as "the great failure of my life," which helped forge his "paradoxical personality" as both a scholarly entrepreneur and a daydreaming pragmatist.
  • Professional Evolution:
    • Hotel Majestic (Paris): Worked in the kitchen. He learned high-morale leadership from head chef Monsieur Pitard, later applying it to his agency. He stated: "No creative organization will produce a great body of work unless it is led by a formidable individual."
    • Aga Cooking Stoves (London): Worked as a salesman pitching stoves to French chefs. He wrote a sales manual that gained recognition 30 years later. He defined advertising as "a sophisticated form of selling."
    • Mather & Crowther Agency (London): His brother Francis showed David's sales manual to his bosses, leading to David being hired as an account executive. He later convinced the agency to send him to New York to study American advertising.
    • George Gallup: Worked for the researcher George Gallup, traveling across the US to research American life as a history scholar.
    • Military Intelligence: Served during the Second World War.
    • Amish Farming: After the war, he attempted to grow tobacco on an Amish farm in Pennsylvania; the venture failed.
  • Founding His Agency (1948):
    • Began at age 38.
    • Investment: Francis Ogilvy (Managing Director of Mather & Crowther) provided funding and name rights. The agency SH Benson also invested.
    • Original Name: Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather. Anderson Hewitt was named President (for his American experience), while Ogilvy was Vice President in charge of research.
    • Rebranding: After Hewitt left four years later, it became Ogilvy, Benson & Mather.
  • Famous Campaigns:
    • The Man in the Hathaway Shirt: Created for a small Maine clothing firm. Ogilvy used a small budget to achieve national fame. He cast model George Wrangell and added an eye patch, creating "Story Appeal." The ads ran exclusively in The New Yorker magazine. After four years, the image was so iconic the company name was not needed for recognition.
    • Schweppes Tonic Water: Recruited the company's advertising manager, Edward Whitehead, to star in the campaign, repeating the successful tactics used in the eye patch campaign.
  • Later Years and Legacy:
    • WPP Acquisition (1989): WPP bought the agency, which Ogilvy initially viewed as a personal affront, though he later accepted the role of non-executive chairman.
    • Death: David Ogilvy died in 1999 as a industry legend.

Ogilvy’s Advertising Values and Traits

  • Copywriting Strategy: Believed in combining a strong image with simple, catchy copy. He avoided complicated words, preferring sophistication through simplicity.
  • Research Depth: Believed in learning everything possible about a company (influenced by Claude Hopkins) to find sales insights.
  • Work Ethic: Noted for staying up until the early morning to polish pitches. He wrote 26 different headlines for the first Rolls-Royce advertisement (earned in 1957). He famously stated: "Nobody ever died from hard work."
  • Staff Management: Motivated staff through personal gestures (e.g., lunch at expensive restaurants) but maintained a "formidable" presence that occasionally intimidated employees.
  • Creativity: He was suspicious of "creativity" for its own sake. He believed the priority was to "Sell – or else." He viewed success based on sales increases rather than creative awards.

Bill Bernbach: The Creative Revolutionary

  • Background:
    • Born August 13, 1911, in The Bronx, New York.
    • Parents: Rebecca and Jacob Bernbach (a women's clothing designer).
    • Education: Studied music, business administration, and philosophy at New York University. He was known for having a significant ego.
  • Career Path:
    • Schenley Distillers Company: Started as a mail boy. Promoted to advertising after writing a successful ad for Schenley’s American Cream Whiskey.
    • 1939 New York World’s Fair: Worked as a copywriter.
    • William H. Weintraub Agency: An ethnic alternative to the white Anglo-Saxon protestant (WASP) culture of Madison Avenue. Collaborated with graphic designer Paul Rand to create the "creative team" concept. Bernbach favored photography for impact, while Rand focused on aesthetics.
    • Military Service: Served in the US Army during WWII.
    • Grey Advertising Agency: Rose from copy chief to VP and Creative Director. Met Art Director Bob Gage. In 1947, he wrote a letter to his bosses arguing that advertising is an art of persuasion, not a science, and eventually left to start his own firm.
  • Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB):
    • Founded in 1947/1949.
    • Partners: Ned Doyle (VP from Grey), Bill Bernbach, and Maxwell Dane (who ran a small agency). The lack of commas in the name "Doyle Dane Bernbach" symbolized that nothing came between them.

Famous DDB Campaigns

  • Ohrbach’s Department Store: Focused on high fashion at accessible prices. Example: "Bring your wife, and just a few dollars we’ll give you a new woman."
  • Levy’s Bakery: Targeted a non-Jewish audience for rye bread. Slogan: "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's," featuring diverse models like an Irish cop or a black child. Another ad showed three shots of a gradually eaten slice of bread with the copy "NY is eating up."
  • Polaroid: Used large, beautiful, unadorned photography to sell the quality of the pictures.
  • Avis: "We try harder." Emphasized that because the agency was number two in the market, it had to work harder for customers.
  • Volkswagen (VW):
    • Described as the most challenging campaign (selling a "Nazi car" in a Jewish town).
    • Creative Team: Art Director Helmut Krone and Copywriter Julian Koenig.
    • Layout: Used the "Ogilvy layout" (Header, Picture, Text) but with stark, raw images.
    • Revolutionary Details: The headline "The only water a VW needs is the water you wash it with" ended with a full stop, breaking the pace and inviting inspection. The "Think small" ad featured a tiny image of the car and became an icon of simplicity.

Wells Rich Greene and the "I Love New York" Campaign

  • Founding (1967): Created by Mary Wells along with Stewart Greene and Dick Rich. By 1970, Mary Wells was the highest-paid woman in advertising.
  • I Love New York Campaign:
    • Goal: Attract tourists to a bankrupt, crime-ridden New York City.
    • Execution: Featured Broadway-style commercials with celebrities like Gregory Peck, Henry Kissinger, and Frank Sinatra.
    • The Logo: Designer Milton Glaser presented a crumpled piece of paper with the "I Love New York" logo (the heart symbol). This became a global icon.

Leo Burnett: The Chicago Way

  • Background:
    • Born October 21, 1891, in St. Johns, Michigan.
    • Influenced by his father, who laid out ads on the dining room table using black pencils.
  • Career Path:
    • Worked as a "printer's devil," reporter, and journalist.
    • Cadillac Motor Car Company: Inspired by copywriter Theodore F. MacManus.
    • Military Service: Seamen second class in WWI.
    • Hommer McKee: A mentor who taught him: "Don’t try and sell manure spreaders with a Harvard accent."
    • Erwin, Wasey & Company: Chief copy editor during the Great Depression. Left to form his own agency because he disliked the style of Chicago ads.
  • The Leo Burnett Agency (1935):
    • Started with 50 00050\,000.
    • Culture: Kept a bowl of red apples on the reception desk. Established family values and extreme dedication.
    • The Logo: Created by Jack O’Kieffe, featuring a man reaching for the stars. Slogan: "When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either."
    • Traits: Used a "Lip Protrusion Index" to evaluate ads. Preferred memos and telegrams over oratory.
  • Famous Campaigns:
    • Procter & Gamble and Kellogg: Built strong relationships based on research-backed advertising.
    • Rice Krispies: Revolutionized the industry by using the cereal box itself as advertising space.
    • Marlboro Cigarettes: Repositioned a women's filter-tipped brand into a masculine brand. Created the "Cowboy" image, changed the logo to a capital "M," and moved to solid red packaging. "The Sheriff" ad made it the number-one brand in NYC within 30 days.
    • Characters: Created Tony the Tiger (Kellogg’s), Jolly Green Giant (B&G Foods), and Pillsbury Doughboy.
  • International Growth: Reached the 100 million100\,\text{million} mark by 1958. Merged with London Press Exchange in 1969. Leo Burnett died June 7, 1971.

Saatchi & Saatchi: Eighties Extravagance

  • Founders: Brothers Charles and Maurice Saatchi. Motto: "Nothing is impossible."
  • Soho: The "Madison Avenue of London," famous for advertising agencies due to nearby photography and cutting studios.
  • Political Impact: Appointed by the Conservatives. Invented the poster "Labor isn’t working" (created by Andrew Rutherford), showing a long queue at an unemployment office. It became one of the most cost-effective ads in history due to media coverage.
  • British Airways: Created the slogan "The world’s favorite airline." Their spectacular TV commercial showed the island of Manhattan landing at Heathrow Airport.
  • Crisis: In 1987, the agency lost 98% of its value during a slump. Maurice was ousted by stockholders in 1995 and formed M&C Saatchi.

Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) and AMV BBDO

  • John Hegarty (BBH): Inspired by Bill Bernbach. Formed BBH in 1983 in Soho.
    • Levi’s 501 Jeans: The "Launderette" commercial featuring Nick Kamen and the song "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." It sparked a trend in buying boxer shorts.
    • Audi: Created the line "Vorsprung Durch Technik."
  • David Abbot (AMV BBDO):
    • The Economist: Switched focus to brand identity. Changed the masthead to red and white. Created the famous "I never read the Economist" poster campaign.

Chiat/Day and the "1984" Apple Campaign

  • Jay Chiat: A perfectionist known for wearing flip-flops and using a pirate flag as an agency symbol. Created the Energizer Bunny and the 1984 Nike Olympics campaign.
  • Apple "1984" Macintosh Launch:
    • Production: Cost 1 billion1\,\text{billion} (context implies budget/impact scale). Directed by Ridley Scott, written by Steve Hayden, Art Director Lee Clow.
    • Concept: Portrayed IBM as "Big Brother" from the Orwellian novel. A female athlete smashes a screen featuring a dictator. The slogan was: "You will see why 1984 won’t be like 1984."
    • Impact: Aired during the Super Bowl. Established the Super Bowl as a premier showcase for advertising.

Wieden & Kennedy, 180, and Fallon

  • Wieden & Kennedy: Based in Portland (1982). Created the Nike "Just do it" slogan. First to challenge the dominance of Madison Avenue firms.
  • 180: Founded by Alex Melvin. Won the Adidas account after being fired from Wieden & Kennedy. Created the "Forever Sport" campaign. In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, they used comedian Lee Evans in films that the BBC screened for free.
  • Fallon: Founded in Minneapolis (1981).
    • BMW Campaign (2001): Developed "The Hire," a series of action short films by Hollywood directors broadcast only on the internet. Logged 10 million views in 9 months. This established the internet as a legitimate medium for "branded content."

Questions & Discussion (Exam Prep)

  • Q: Most famous line for British Conservatives (1979)?
    • A: "Labor isn't working."
  • Q: Three highlights of Ogilvy’s background?
    • A: Working in the kitchen of the Hotel Majestic, selling Aga cooking stoves, and working for researcher George Gallup.
  • Q: Key people behind the VW "Think Small" campaign?
    • A: Helmut Krone and Julian Koenig.
  • Q: Context of "I Love New York" campaign?
    • A: NYC was losing tourists due to bankruptcy, crime, and a garbage strike. Key names: Mary Wells and Milton Glaser.
  • Q: Importance of BMW Films?
    • A: Established the internet as a medium for mainstream brands and branded content.
  • Q: Implications of Apple's "1984"?
    • A: It referred to George Orwell's novel. Portrayed IBM as a controlling "Big Brother" and the Mac as a revolutionary female athlete smashing conformity.
  • Q: Main agency for Nike?
    • A: Wieden & Kennedy.
  • Q: Three icons by Leo Burnett?
    • A: Tony the Tiger, Jolly Green Giant, and the Marlboro Man.