Allen G. Rosenshine (born March 14, 1939) is an American advertising executive who previously served as chairman and chief executive officer (1985-1986, 1989–2006) of

Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, B ...

(BBDO). He was also the founding chairman (1986-1989) of the

Omnicom Group Omnicom Group Inc. is an American global media, marketing and corporate communications holding company, headquartered in New York City. Omnicom's branded networks and specialty firms provide services in four disciplines: advertising, customer re ...

, the second largest advertising agency in the world.

Biography and career

Rosenshine graduated from Columbia College in 1959. He joined BBDO in 1965 as a

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...

and became the BBDO New York creative director in 1975. In 1980, he became president of the New York agency and in 1985, he was named chief executive officer of BBDO Worldwide. In April 1986, He spearheaded what is dubbed as advertising's "Big Bang," a merger that created the

, the world's largest three-network conglomerate consisting of BBDO (Ranked No. 6) and a merged Needham Harper Worldwide (No. 16) and

Doyle Dane Bernbach DDB Worldwide Communications Group LLC, known internationally as DDB, is a worldwide marketing communications network. It is owned by Omnicom Group, one of the world's largest advertising holding companies. The international advertising networks ...

(No. 12). He served as chairman of the Omnicom Group for three years before famously "firing himself" and returning to BBDO as chairman and chief executive officer. During his tenure as chairman of Omnicom, its billings grew nearly 30 percent from $4.9 billion to $6.3 billion by early 1989. Under his management, BBDO's billings increased from $3 billion to more than $24 billion. Under his leadership, BBDO was selected "Agency of the Year" in 1982, 1984, 1993, 2000, 2001 and 2005 by various industry publications such as ''

Ad Age ''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in mul ...

'' and ''

Adweek ''Adweek'' is a weekly American advertising trade publication that was first published in 1979. ''Adweek'' covers creativity, client–agency relationships, global advertising, accounts in review, and new campaigns. During this time, it has cover ...

''. In 1991, he served as president of the jury of the

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (formerly the International Advertising Festival) is a global event for those working in creative communications, advertising, and related fields. It is considered the largest gathering of the ...

. In 2006, Rosenshine announced his retirement from BBDO and retains the title of chairman emeritus.

Honors and awards

In 1999, Rosenshine was recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in advertising during the 20th century by ''

Advertising Age ''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in mul ...

.'' He is also a member of the

American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame The Advertising Hall of Fame, operated by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), began in 1948 as a result of a proposal by the New York Ad Club and its president, Andrew Haire, to the Advertising Federation of America, the predecessor organiza ...

, operated by the

American Advertising Federation The American Advertising Federation (AAF), headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the oldest national advertising trade association in the United States. The AAF also has 15 district operations, each located in and representing a different region o ...

Philanthropy

Rosenshine is one of the founders of the

Partnership for Drug-Free Kids Partnership to End Addiction, first known as the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA) then later as the Partnership at DrugFree.org, and The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, is a New York City-based non-profit organization which runs campaig ...

and is currently vice chairman of the board.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenshine, Allen American advertising executives Columbia College (New York) alumni 1939 births Living people