Bill Bernbach
President's Award Recipient — 1983
Profile
About
Art director William ‘Bill’ Bernbach is considered an absolute icon of adland, credited with changing the face of the creative industry. He worked briefly in the mailroom at New York’s Empire State Building in the 30s, but his quick way with words soon earned him a promotion to the in-house advertising team at Schenley Distillers. Roles at the William H Weintraub Advertising Agency, Coty, and Grey followed, before Bernbach got together with James Edwin Doyle and Maxwell Dane to set up Doyle Dane Bernbach – which would create Volkswagen’s iconic Think Small and Lemon adverts, as well as work for Avis and Polaroid. At the agency, copywriters and art directors were brought together for the first time, establishing a model that ad agencies still follow today. “The most powerful element in advertising is the truth,” said Bernbach, who passed away in 1982, age 71.
About
Art director William ‘Bill’ Bernbach is considered an absolute icon of adland, credited with changing the face of the creative industry. He worked briefly in the mailroom at New York’s Empire State Building in the 30s, but his quick way with words soon earned him a promotion to the in-house advertising team at Schenley Distillers. Roles at the William H Weintraub Advertising Agency, Coty, and Grey followed, before Bernbach got together with James Edwin Doyle and Maxwell Dane to set up Doyle Dane Bernbach – which would create Volkswagen’s iconic Think Small and Lemon adverts, as well as work for Avis and Polaroid. At the agency, copywriters and art directors were brought together for the first time, establishing a model that ad agencies still follow today. “The most powerful element in advertising is the truth,” said Bernbach, who passed away in 1982, age 71.
D&AD achievements
- Participation
- President's Award Recipient — 1983
- Participation
- President's Award Recipient — 1983