Today, August 13, DDB Worldwide marks the centennial of Bill Bernbach: The ‘Real Mad Man’

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Bernbach 4028.jpgTo mark the centennial of William “Bill” Bernbach’s birth (August 13, 1911), DDB is looking back at the lasting influence he had on the advertising industry.  

Hailed as one of the ‘original mad men’, Bernbach directed many of the agency’s breakthrough ad campaigns such as Volkswagen, Avis, Chivas Regal and Alka-Seltzer. Devoted to creativity, Bernbach had a lasting impact on creative team structures, being the first to combine copywriters and art directors into two-person teams, now his legacy and the traditional industry standard.

Before Bernbach’s success with such well-known campaigns as those for Volkswagen, Avis Rent A Car, Polaroid, Levy’s Jewish Rye Bread, Mobil Oil, American Airlines, Colombian Coffee and Ohrbach’s, advertising was loud, clangorous, repetitive, often repellent. With low-pressure, uncluttered, believable statements such as “Think Small,” “We try harder because we’re only Number 2” and “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s,” Bernbach’s agency changed all that.

Screen shot 2011-08-13 at 8.32.43 AM.jpgScreen shot 2011-08-13 at 8.33.23 AM.jpgScreen shot 2011-08-13 at 8.34.18 AM.jpgScreen shot 2011-08-13 at 8.48.32 AM.jpgAcknowledged as the leader of the creative revolution in advertising, Bernbach began his career as an advertising copywriter after serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. He rose to Vice President in charge of art and copy at Grey Advertising, where he worked closely with Ned Doyle. On July 1, 1949, Bernbach and Doyle joined with Maxwell Dane, to form Doyle Dane Bernbach, now known as DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc. Bernbach was chosen to be President, a title he held until 1967 when he became Chairman. He was later named Chairman of the Executive Committee. The agency he founded opened with under a half-million dollars in billings. By 2002, it had $19.1 billion in billings and 206 offices in 96 countries.

During his career, Bernbach won numerous honours and was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame and the Copywriters Hall of Fame. In addition to his other numerous awards, Advertising Age’s 20th-century honour roll in 1999 named him the most influential person in the industry.

Nick Fox, Chief Client Officer, DDB UK, said: “When he co-founded DDB, Bernbach started a legacy – an agency that had the gumption to do things differently, with an honest approach that cut to the quick. DDB Worldwide was founded on the power of creativity, the ability to see things in a way others didn’t. The agency took the notion that social stance was no longer important but intelligence – appealing to customers not by what they did or didn’t have, but by who they were as individuals. We at DDB UK would like to pay our respects to a truly great man who revolutionised our industry. An advertising icon whose work and thinking is still fresh and contemporary today.”