#billbernbach

The Ads. The Genius. The Creative Revolution.

This is how you do it folks…Everything we know about marketing today can be summed up right here. The 1960s Volkswagen campaign.

Believe it or not, prior to the 1950s, the words “creative” and “advertising” were never uttered in the same sentence. Traditional agencies cranked out a cookie-cutter assortment of styles, images and verbiage basically telling you what the product DID that the other competitors’ products DIDN’T.

Then, in comes Bill Bernbach. His thoughts on how to market products not only broke the mold, they completely revolutionized the entire advertising industry as we know it. He & the rest of the infamous Madison Avenue men became the key players in what we call “The Creative Revolution”.

DDB (Doyle Dane Bernbach) & their “Think Small” campaign was a game changer.

Here are some of the classics. They’re simple. They’re hilarious. They’re just flat out awesome…

#VivivInsights #Marketing101 #TheAdAge #ClassicAdvertising #Volkswagen #VW #ThinkSmall #BillBernbach #DDB

Biography:

• Born in New York City in 1911

• One of the founding members of Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB)

• Earned a B.A. from NYU in 1932

• Always had an interest in the arts

• Visionary; valued intuition over science and rules

• Fundamentally believed that advertising was an art form

• People working in communications had a strong role in shaping society 

• Wanted to learn about the client's needs, how the product relates to their customers, and what kind of emotions are involved; the challenge was then to chose the best medium to communicate that message

• Died in 1982

Ad #1:

Volkswagen 

- Wanted to sell German cars to Americans

- This car is honest, simple and reliable; he wanted the ads to reflect these qualities 

- Car is ugly, but gets you from point A to point B

- Not gimmicky

- Simple black and white imagery 

- "Think small"- catchy phrase

- Car became popular after these ads circulated 

Going against that grain, the “Think small” message encouraged investment in a reliable, affordable car rather than an oversized, flashy one. Visually and linguistically, the message of the campaign was to consume less, not more. Yet the ad’s critique of big consumerism performed well for corporate capitalism: many cars were sold, and the ad itself is credited with creating a sea change in the way advertising is created.

Ad #2:

Avis

- Avis was the 2nd in car rental companies at the time

- Company wanted a makeover 

- Embracing being No.2

- Honest/self-deprecating humor 

- Respectful/low-key 

- Reach to those who struggle to have a No.1 status

- Peace sign; sign of compassion and care 

Ad #3:

Levy's

- An ad for Levy's rye bread

- The name Levy sounds Jewish

- Everyone loves the bread 

- Faces of NYC; bringing those separate groups together; showing they all love a product 

- Public acceptance 

- Showing a diverse city of different races and cultures 

- Ads to rid of anti-Semitism 

Links:

http://shuluva.blogspot.ca/2011/02/bill-bernbach.html

http://myweb.usf.edu/~jhaas/work

http://www.lavidalocavore.org/showDiary.do?diaryId=3406

http://www.ddb.com/BillBernbachSaid/why_bernbach_matters/revolutionary-work/

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/bill-bernbach-creative-revolutionary-133901

http://adage.com/article/special-report-the-advertising-century/william-bernbach/140180/

http://advertising.about.com/od/careerprofiles/p/A-Profile-Of-Bill-Bernbach.htm

http://www.ddb.com/BillBernbachSaid/more-about-bill/biography.html