For decades, advertising worshipped a consistent pantheon of dapper demigods. They founded scrappy agencies that became global juggernauts, several wrote books with their own names in the titles and most left behind legacies of inspirational leadership speckled with quotable witticisms. But do names like Bill Bernbach, Leo Burnett, Jay Chiat and David Ogilvy–or the many…
In February, Google will begin implementing the seismic changes to how it treats cookies in its browser, first announced in May, as part of its Chrome 80 rollout. And while this does not go as far as Apple’s prohibition of third-party cookies, some argue that it signifies the end of an era. Add to this…
When she was in the third grade, Rashida Jones, now svp of specials, NBC News and MSNBC, knew she wanted to be a writer. She thought her future was as an English teacher or in print journalism and spent high school looking for new ways to tell stories. It wasn’t until she reached college, however,…
If the annals of branding prove one maxim over and over, it’s this: The best ideas often hit when you least expect. Case in point: the kitchen of a Kansas City, Mo., adman named Bob Bernstein. It was sometime in 1975. His agency, Bernstein-Rein, was sitting on a prestigious regional account for McDonald’s, which had…
According to Nielsen, women consume dozens of hours of media a week. Within that consumption come ads, so the research firm also looked at how ads influence women to try new products in a disparate age of brand disloyalty. Data shows women are really looking for proven value, and are likely to be heavily influenced…
Thank you, Mr. Bernbach. In the late ’60s and early ’70s, a creative revolution was going on in New York. Agency Doyle Dane Bernbach was dramatically changing the advertising business forever. The revolution was being led by Bill Bernbach, Roy Grace, Helmut Krone, George Lois, Phyllis Robinson, Mary Wells and agency Scali, McCabe, Sloves. They…
On a chilly night in November 1977, Time Inc. veteran Jack Thomas invited his old friend Pen Tudor out to dinner in New York. Thomas had a business venture he wanted to discuss. A Los Angeles-based publisher was looking to sell three regional trade papers aimed at ad executives: Advertising News of New York, Serving…
This article is part of a series celebrating our being 40 Years Bold, highlighting four decades–and counting–of Adweek, whose editors look back at notable news, trends and people, and at what could be in store for the next 40 years. If you are a human adult participating in today’s world, I have some bad news…
This article is part of a series celebrating our being 40 Years Bold, highlighting four decades–and counting–of Adweek, whose editors look back at notable news, trends and people, and at what could be in store for the next 40 years. Our 20s are a transitional time. We leave the confines of our parents’ rule and…
Advertising–perhaps business, period–has historically been a fraternity house and, well, to a great degree it still is. But while women have finally begun getting a well-earned spotlight in recent years, Adweek was on the lookout for female talent from the start. We might not have written about as many influential women as we should have,…
This article is part of a series celebrating our being 40 Years Bold, highlighting four decades–and counting–of Adweek, whose editors look back at notable news, trends and people, and at what could be in store for the next 40 years. “I swear my phone is listening to me,” said everyone with a smartphone. And they’re…
This article is part of a series celebrating our being 40 Years Bold, highlighting four decades–and counting–of Adweek, whose editors look back at notable news, trends and people, and at what could be in store for the next 40 years. In January 1991, as the Gulf War’s Operation Desert Storm was underway, my family and…
Thirty-five years ago, Adweek revealed findings from a shocking survey showing that women in advertising were making 67% of what men earned. So, how are we doing today? Unfortunately, things haven’t changed all that much. Women on average make 82% of what men do, and many women of color make even less (black women, for…
This article is part of a series celebrating our being 40 Years Bold, highlighting four decades–and counting–of Adweek, whose editors look back at notable news, trends and people, and at what could be in store for the next 40 years. The mission was to sell a train. So they got in a car and drove…
Marketers have always chased eyeballs. Now, they’re chasing influencers across the far corners of the internet. Better to fish where the fish are than to cast a line into the void. And where these fish are–the social platforms–marketers are finding that the water is welcoming if they understand how influencers treat each platform. “Right now,…
Two decades ago, toy inventor Ron Dubren heard giggles coming from a playground. It was a bunch of kids tickling one other. Inspired, Dubren created Tickles the Chimp. Tickles didn’t make it very far, but after Tyco Preschool combined Dubren’s invention with a Sesame Street licensing deal, the toy became Tickle Me Elmo–so popular that…
At 45 years old, Todd Lancaster has been a lot of things: punk rock musician, sculptor, mural painter, cartoonist, art director and toy designer, to name a few. But somehow, that winding 25-year journey led Lancaster to exactly where he wanted to be, living out his “forever plan” as chief creative officer and co-owner of…
Ever since the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 passed in late December, merchants have been counting down the days until ecommerce platforms and payment providers made it easier to sell, fulfill and operate a CBD business. Over the past few months, BigCommerce, Shopify and Square started rolling out capabilities, both on their platforms and in…
When media companies merge, questions of redundancies in operations, strategies and staffing naturally arise. Oftentimes, employees are left confused. But what happens to two newsrooms that have both unionized under different unions? Seeking fair working conditions amid a tumultuous time in the industry, staffers at Vox Media and New York Media unionized, New York Media…
Lego, one of the world’s most beloved brands, has an internal agency that handles much of its creative output. But when it came time to launch a massive global brand campaign, the Danish toymaker’s first in 30 years, it was BETC that Remi Marcelli, Lego’s svp and head of its 500-person in-house agency, hired to…
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