- Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett (
October 21 ,1891 -June 7 ,1971 ) was anadvertising executive famous for creating such icons as theJolly Green Giant , theMarlboro Man ,Toucan Sam ,Charlie the Tuna ,Morris the Cat , thePillsbury Doughboy , the7up "Spot", andTony the Tiger .Biography
Early life and career
Born in
St. Johns, Michigan , he studiedjournalism at theUniversity of Michigan . His first job was as a reporter at the "Peoria Journal " inPeoria, Illinois . In 1917, he moved toDetroit , where he went to work for the Cadillac Motor Company as acopywriter . After a marriage to Naomi Geddes in 1918 he moved toIndianapolis, Indiana , where he worked for anadvertising agency from 1923–1930.Leo Burnett Worldwide
In 1935, he created his own agency in
Chicago , which is now known asLeo Burnett Worldwide . He was inducted into the Copywriters Hall of Fame in 1961, and retired in 1967.Important corporate symbols created by Burnett
Burnett followed
Walter Lippman 's philosophy of creating an image around the product. Until his time, advertising centered on long text descriptions of the product, with detailed arguments as to why it was better than competing products. Burnett concentrated on style, creating icons as a symbol of the product. He stressed that the creator of an ad needed to somehow capture and reflect what he called the "inherent drama" of the product.One of his most important uses of internal corporate symbols were the red apples placed on every receptionist's desk. Any visitor or employee was free to take one. This stemmed from a prediction from a Chicago newspaper columnist that Leo would fail miserably in his agency launch in 1935, made in the depths of the
Great Depression , and would soon be on the street selling apples instead. Upon reading those words, Leo vowed to give away apples instead.Another important internal symbol Leo Burnett created was an icon of a 'hand reaching for the stars', which he explained with the saying, "When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either".
A third symbol was the "black pencil", an Alpha 245 of the type commonly used by Burnett in his lifetime. To Burnett it symbolised a commitment to the warmth and humanity of ideas, and to the work of the people who create them.
Criticism
Burnett's use of the animation medium to sell products was slyly given a nod in the anime series "
Pokémon ". Disguised as muffled backwards dialogue, the character James ofTeam Rocket , is heard mumbling a line in the grip of a Pokémon's mouth. The line is "Leo Burnett and4Kids are the devil, Leo Burnett!", mocking both Leo's introduction of animatedcommercialism , and 4Kids (who are known for upsetting fans with poor anime dubbing), which promotes theNintendo games of the same title.Personal life
His daughter
Phoebe Snetsinger was one of the world's most famousbirdwatcher s during her lifetime.External links
* [http://www.adcglobal.org/archive/hof/1993/?id=213 Art Directors Club biography, portrait and images of work]
* [http://www.time.com/time/time100/builder/profile/burnett.html Time 100 profile - Leo Burnett]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WUxb8YB88o&mode=related&search= When to Take My Name Off the Door Speech]
* [http://www.leoburnett.com/ Leo Burnett Worldwide]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.