2. The Jolly Green Giant, the Marlboro Man, and countless other brand
characters were created by ad men. Actually, those two characters — in
addition to Toucan Sam, the Pillsbury Doughboy, Tony the Tiger, the 7UP
“Spot,” and many others — were created by one ad man.
3. Leo Burnett was born on October 21, 1891, in St. Johns,
Michigan, He attended the University of Michigan,
receiving a bachelor's degree in 1914. His first job was as a
police reporter for a newspaper in Peoria, Illinois.
On August 5, 1935, Burnett founded the Leo Burnett
Company, Inc., in Chicago with $50,000 and several
creative employees . The first years were hard. The Leo
Burnett Company's first accounts were "women's
products," including The Hoover Company, Minnesota
Valley Canning Company, and Realsilk Hosiery Mills.
Biography
The company billed less than $1 million in 1935-36.
By the end of World War II, Burnett's billings began to increase, more than doubling
to $22 million in 1950. By 1954, they doubled again to $55 million. Burnett's success
increased for a number of reasons. He hired Richard Heath, who promoted the agency
and brought in new, bigger clients, including Kellogg, Pillsbury, Procter & Gamble,
and Campbell Soup. They were attracted by Burnett's creative ads.
4. Though the company and its clients had grown exponentially,
Burnett remained very involved with his company. He headed the
planning board, through which every ad had to pass. Burnett
wanted to ensure consumers focused on the product, not the ad.
Though he was in charge, the atmosphere at the agency was a
true collaborative process. In the 1960s, Burnett received the
recognition of his peers, as his ideas became more widespread
and affected the industry as whole. In 1961, Burnett was one of
the four original inductees into the Copywriters Hall of Fame.
Burnett died of a heart attack on June 7, 1971, at his home
in Lake Zurich, Illinois. He was buried in the Rosehill
Biography
Cemetery of Chicago. At the time of his death, the Burnett
Company had over $400 million in billings that year, and
was the fifth largest advertising agency in the world.
Burnett's most famous characters became a part of the American vernacular. They included
the Jolly Green Giant, Morris the Cat, the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Marlboro Man and
Tony the Tiger. Many of his advertising characters are still at work today.
5. One of Burnett's most famous
advertising icons was the Marlboro
Man. When first introduced, in 1955,
filter cigarettes were considered
unmanly, intended for a female
consumer. By using the manliest man-a
tattooed cowboy astride a horse-filter
Marlboros became viewed as a very
masculine product by consumers.
Burnett changed the way filter
cigarettes were marketed and
Marlboros became the best selling
cigarettes on the market. By the end of
the 1950s, the Leo Burnett Company
was billing over $100 million annually.
6. "I have learned that any fool can write a bad ad, but that it
takes a real genius to keep his hands off a good one."
