William Bernbach

William (Bill) Bernbach (August 13, 1911, New York City - October 2, 1982, New York City) was a legendary figure in the history of American advertising. He was one of the three founders of Doyle Dane Bernbach and directed ad campaigns such as "Think Small" for Volkswagen Beetle (recognized by Advertising Age as the top advertising campaign of the 20th Century). Bernbach was noted for his devotion to creativity and offbeat themes, a legacy that has hailed him as a major force behind the Creative Revolution of the 1960s and 70s. He is also credited with being the first to combine copywriters and art directors into two-person teams—they had commonly been in separate departments—a model that still flourishes in advertising agencies today.

Other notable campaigns of Bernbach's are "We Try Harder" (Avis Car Rental), "Mikey" (Life Cereal), "You Don't Have to be Jewish to Love Levy's" (Levy's Rye Bread) and "It's so simple" (Polaroid).

The AMC program, "Mad Men," which takes place in 1960, referenced Bernbach.

Quotes

• "Let us prove to the world that good taste, good art, and good writing can be good selling."
• "All of us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of society. We can vulgarize that society. We can brutalize it. Or we can help lift it onto a higher level."
• "Nobody counts the number of ads you run;they just remember the impression you make."

References

"Rules are what the artist breaks; the memorable never emerged from a formula." -- Bill Bernbach

External links

• Biography at American Advertising Foundation's Advertising Hall of Fame
• CONELRAD's definitive history of the Daisy ad
• Ad Age Advertising Century: William Bernbach
• DDB Worldwide
• Bio and Ads at The Center for Interactive Advertising
• Art Directors Club biography