Lois Wyse (October 30, 1926 – July 6, 2007) was an American

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

executive, author and columnist. At the time of her death, Wyse was credited with writing more than 60 booksAP via ''Forbes'', "Ad Exec, Author Wyse Dies" July 6 2007
/ref> on diverse topics such as business, love and family.Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2002. "Lois Wyse"

Early life and career

Born Lois Wohlgemuth to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, she started working as a journalist at the age of 17 for '' The Cleveland News'' and ''

The Cleveland Press The ''Cleveland Press'' was a daily American newspaper published in Cleveland, Ohio from November 2, 1878, through June 17, 1982. From 1928 to 1966, the paper's editor was Louis B. Seltzer. Known for many years as one of the country's most in ...

''. At 18, she worked on a piece for ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine with

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

Alfred Eisenstaedt Alfred Eisenstaedt (December 6, 1898 – August 23, 1995) was a German-born American photographer and photojournalist. He began his career in Germany prior to World War II but achieved prominence as a staff photographer for ''Life'' magazine af ...

. She later worked for ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' and ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

''.

Advertising career

At a Cleveland-based advertising agency she co-founded, Wyse Advertising; she came up with a

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

for a small

Orrville, Ohio Orrville is a city in Wayne County, Ohio, United States. It is about 9 miles east of Wooster and 20 miles southwest of Akron. The population was 8,380 at the 2010 census. The J.M. Smucker Co., owner of the Smucker's brand, is headquartered in ...

company called

The J.M. Smucker Co. The J.M. Smucker Company, also known as Smuckers, is an American manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company was founded in 1897 as a maker of apple butter. J.M. Smucker currently has three major bus ...

that made them famous throughout the United States - "With a name like Smucker's, it has to be good". She also advised

Carl Stokes Carl Burton Stokes (June 21, 1927 – April 3, 1996) was an American politician and diplomat of the Democratic Party who served as the 51st mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. Elected on November 7, 1967, and taking office on January 1, 1968, he was ...

on his successful campaign to be elected as

Mayor of Cleveland The mayor of Cleveland is the head of the executive branch of Local government in the United States, government of the Cleveland, City of Cleveland, Ohio. As the chief executive in Cleveland's Mayor–council government#Strong-mayor government fo ...

in 1967. She suggested the small retail chain called Bed and Bath would fare better as

Bed, Bath & Beyond Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is an American chain of domestic merchandise retail stores. The chain operates many stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Bed Bath & Beyond was founded in 1971. It is counted among the Fortune 5 ...

. Lois Wyse opened her advertising company in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1966. She worked for a wide range of clients on campaigns including

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

and

Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brothe ...

. She was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2018.

Publications

Wyse had her first book, ''The I Don't Want to Go to Bed Book for Boys'', published by

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

in 1963. She wrote prolifically over the next few years, including books of poetry best described as "commercial poetry or greeting card gift booklets". One of these volumes ''Love Poems for the Very Married'' published in 1967 sold over 200,000 copies. She also wrote several novels, ''The Rosemary Touch'' (1974) and ''Kiss Inc.'' (1977). ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good House ...

'' published a weekly column on her life and family called "The Way We Are". She wrote about love, family and career issues in ''Funny, You Don't Look Like a Grandmother'' (1989).

Personal life

Lois and her first husband Marc Wyse divorced in 1980;Claudia H. Deutsc
"Lois Wyse, Ad Wordsmith and Prolific Author, Dies at 80"
nytimes.com, July 7, 2007; accessed April 3, 2015. the couple had two children, Robert Wyse and Mrs. Katherine Goldman. In 1982, she remarried to theatrical producer

Lee Guber Lee Guber (November 20, 1920 – March 27, 1988) was an American theater impresario, who produced several Broadway theatre productions and developed a chain of entertainment venues in suburban locations along the East Coast of the United Stat ...

, who died in 1988. She died of cancer in 2007, aged 80. She was survived by her daughter, Katherine, and son-in-law Henry Goldman; son Robert and daughter-in-law Denise Wyse; stepson Zev Guber and wife Heidi; and eight grandchildren. Her funeral was held at

Congregation Emanu-El of New York Congregation Emanu-El of New York is the first Reform Judaism, Reform Jewish congregation in New York City and, because of its size and prominence, has served as a flagship congregation in the Reform branch of Judaism since its founding in 1845 ...

.Larry McShane
USA Today: "Smucker's ad executive dies at 80"
Profile, usatoday.com; July 6, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyse, Lois 1926 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers Advertising directors American columnists American marketing people American women novelists Businesspeople from Ohio Businesspeople from New York City Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from stomach cancer Jewish American novelists Marketing women American women columnists Writers from Cleveland Writers from New York City Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Ohio 20th-century American non-fiction writers Women in advertising 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women