"Big ideas come out of big pencils!"

There were a lot of superior advertising folks in the 20th century. I've already written about Theodore McManus and Rosser Reeves. Others, who I'd include on a list of folks who's work (or often far more properly put, their agency's work) has had direct influence on how I think would include David Ogilvy, Raymond Rubicam, and Bill Burnbach.

But the most important person to me was Leo Burnett, the founder of the so-called "Chicago School of Advertising." Leo's shop created or/or shaped four of Advertisng Age's Top 10 Advertising Icons of the 20th Century: #1 Marlboro Man (not that I condone cigarette smoking in any way, I don't, but the power of this icon was undeniable), #3 Jolly Green Giant, #6 Pillsbury Doughboy, #9 Tony the Tiger. Now THAT is an impressive track record!

So what exactly IS the "Chicago School of Advertising?"

It was a way of thinking that valued finding the so called "inherent drama in the product" and creating an advertisement out of the "drama," rather than using mere cleverness-for-cleverness' sake.

Burnett deeply believed in the people of the Midwest states. What he called the "the heart and soul of the nation." He believed in pictures and symbolism over long winded claims of every feature of a client's product'. He believed in keeping the text copy in his ads short folksy, and friendly using down-to-earth language.

On August 5, 1935, Burnett founded the Leo Burnett Company, Inc., in Chicago with $50,000 and several creative employees. In The Mirror Makers, author Stephen Fox quoted Burnett as saying "My associates and I saw the opportunity to offer a creative service badly needed in the Middle West. I sold my house, hocked all my insurance and took a dive off the end of a springboard."

The Leo Burnett Company, Inc. was formed, and the company started with small clients. He never wandered from his steadfast ideas and beliefs as to how advertising should be created and products sold. From the get-go, a Leo Burnett ad was recognizably different that those from any other shops. A Burnett ad always was able a strong visual attention-getter. One the consumer's interest was challenged, a Burnett ad immediately started making a case for the product. A Burnett ad convinced the consumer that THIS product was so incredibly interesting or compelling that one really had to give it a chance! As Fox wrote in "The Mirror Makers," "Instead of the fashionable devices of contests, premiums, sex, tricks and cleverness, he urged, use the product itself, enhanced by good artwork, real information, recipes, and humor."

Minnesota Valley Canning Co., the canning outfit company that produced Jolly Green Giant products even changed their company name to Green Giant after the Giant’s successful adverting campaigns. Burnett’s company’s billings grew from zero to nearly $100 million in a decade.

I didn't even know who Leo Burnett was when I hit the advertising word in Chicago in 1977. Oh, I knew his ads and characters his shop had created for his clients plenty well, but I didn't know the name of the agency or the man. He had already passed away in six years before in 1971.

But I had the incredible good fortune of landing a job at a small advertising agency called Sander Allen Advertising as the new kid in the three person art department. The number two guy was Henry "Hank" Bergst. Hank was an incredible old fellow. I believe he was well over 70. He started working in advertising as a very young apprentice either before or during World War One. By the 1930s he was considered one of the very best hand lettering artists in Chicago.

Hank designed the first Betty Crocker and Kotex logos, he designed Kleenex boxes for a decade or so. And he was one of those first creative employees in the brand new Leo Burnett shop when it first opened its doors. He worked directly with Leo Burnett for many years. He was the head of the lettering department there until 1960 or so when the new technologies made letting artists obsolete. He became a paste-up artist (or "keyliner") as they were called in Chicago. He was still working well beyond the retirement age. Not because he had to, he was rather well-off. He worked because he loved advertising. He, and Lou Frosh--the head of the department, were filled with a treasure trove of stories and tales about the early years in the business.

But the stories I loved the most were about Leo Burnett. I learned one hell of a lot about how to THINK about advertising in the Burnett way from Hank. I recognize now, that I probably had as good as an education in "Thinking-like-Leo" as any kid my age who was working at the Leo Burnett agency in 1977. I had a mentor who place me in just two-degrees-of-separation from the man himself.

There are a lot of wise quotes attributed to Leo Burnett and here are a few of my favorites:

"Advertising says to people, 'Here's what we've got. Here's what it will do for you. Here's how to get it."

"Anyone who thinks that people can be fooled or pushed around has an inaccurate and pretty low estimate of people - and he won't do very well in advertising."

"I have learned that any fool can write a bad ad, but that it takes a real genius to keep his hands off a good one. "

"Creative ideas flourish best in a shop which preserves some spirit of fun. Nobody is in business for fun, but that does not mean there cannot be fun in business. "

And my absolute favorite:

"I like to imagine that Chicago copywriters spit on their hands before picking up the big black pencils."

I've never been comfortable working for any company on any product that didn't allow me to work in the Chicago style. I've done it, but I didn't like it.

My slogan for Beanworld: "A most peculiar comic book experience" in my mind is pure Chicago school.

I'm certain I will touch on Leo Burnett again in the future.