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BBDO is a worldwide
advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...
network, with its headquarters in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. 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, Barton, Durstine & Osborn. With more than 15,000 employees at 289 offices in 81 countries, it is the largest of three global networks of agencies (BBDO, DDB and
TBWA TBWA Worldwide is an international advertising agency whose main headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. Since 1993, the agency has been a unit of Omnicom Group, the world's second largest advertising agency holding ...
) in the portfolio of
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 r ...
. BBDO was named "Network of the Year" in 2005 by trade publications '' Adweek'', ''
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 ...
'' and '' Campaign''. In 2006, then-
mayor of New York In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...
proclaimed January 10 as BBDO day in recognition of the strength of its advertising, as well as its contributions to New York City. BBDO was named "Network of the Year" by ''The Gunn Report'' for thirteen consecutive years beginning in 2006, and it has won "Network of the Year" seven times since 2007 at 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 ...
. It was named "Global Network of the Year" by ''Adweek'' in 2011 and 2014.


Origins

The Barton & Durstine Company (founded by Bruce Barton and
Roy Sarles Durstine Roy Sarles Durstine (December 13, 1886 – November 28, 1962) was an American newspaper reporter, author, and advertising executive who co-founded BBDO and since 1939 was president of Roy S. Durstine, Inc. Early life Durstine was born on Decemb ...
) opened in January 1919, and when Alex Osborn joined the agency in July 1919, it was renamed Barton, Durstine & Osborn. In 1928, the George Batten Company (then managed by William H. Johns) merged with Barton, Durstine & Osborn to form Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, abbreviated B.B.D.O. or BBD&O, later BBDO.


History

* 1891 George Batten (1854–1918), 37, opened his one-room advertising agency at 38 Park Row, New York, with no clients and one employee.John McDonough and Karen Egolf
''Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising''
2015.
* 1894 Batten's agency was the first one to install in-house printing. He advocated the use of plain, simple type, which he said "stands out like a Quaker on Broadway." * 1906 The agency, now with 50 employees, moved to the Metropolitan Annex building on East 24th Street, occupying the entire 11th floor – . * 1918 George Batten died at 64, and William H. Johns became president of the Batten agency. * 1919 The Barton & Durstine Company opened on January 1 at 25 West 45th St., with Bruce Barton as president and Roy Durstine as secretary-treasurer. In July, Alex Osborn joined the agency, which was renamed Barton, Durstine & Osborn. * 1923 Both B.D.O. and the Batten agency moved to the Knapp building at 383 Madison Avenue. B.D.O. leased an entire floor, while the Batten agency, with 246 employees, took a floor and a half. The 12-story building, designed by the architectural firm of Cross and Cross, was demolished in the late 1990s to make way for the 47-story
Bear Stearns The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was an American investment bank, securities trading, and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 during the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession. After its closure it was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chas ...
building A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...
(now
JP Morgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is the largest bank in the United States, and the world's largest bank by mark ...
). * 1925 B.D.O. aired its first radio program: an hour show for
Atwater Kent Arthur Atwater Kent Sr. (December 3, 1873 – March 4, 1949) was an American inventor and prominent radio manufacturer based in Philadelphia. In 1905, he invented the Unisparker which combined ignition points, condenser, centrifugal advance m ...
radios, for which the agency had obtained the exclusive right to broadcast
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
stars. Two years later, B.D.O. became the first agency to establish a radio department. * 1927 John Caples, who later would become the world's authority on copy testing, joined B.D.O. * 1928 On September 21, the Batten agency and B.D.O. announced a merger to form Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn. Bruce Barton was made chairman of the board, while William H. Johns (president of the Batten agency) became president of the merged entity. Durstine was made vice president and general manager. The new agency, with branch offices in Chicago, Boston and Buffalo, had over 600 employees. It was to occupy 383 Madison for 59 years until it relocated to its current address, 1285 Avenue of the Americas. * 1934
Kate Smith Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American contralto. Referred to as The First Lady of Radio, Smith became well known for her renditions of "God Bless America" and "When the Moon Comes over the Mountain". She began ...
began her first commercially sponsored radio show for B.B.D.O. client
La Palina La Palina is an American cigar brand that holds historical significance in the realms of radio and advertising. The brand received sponsorship from the Congress Cigar Company, which was under the ownership of Sam Paley, the father of CBS founder ...
cigars. La Palina was originated by Sam Paley, father of
William S. Paley William Samuel Paley (September 28, 1901 – October 26, 1990) was an American businessman, primarily involved in the media, and best known as the chief executive who built the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) from a small radio network into o ...
, president of
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
. (The inside of every La Palina box was adorned with a picture of Mrs. Sam Paley in a Spanish costume.) * 1935
DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...
hired B.B.D.O. to change the company's image from a World War I munitions manufacturer to a peace-time manufacturer. The agency introduced the slogan "Better Things for Better Living … Through Chemistry." The words "through chemistry" were removed in the 1980s. The slogan was replaced in 1999 with "The miracles of science." * 1935 B.B.D.O. launched the first " Hit Parade" radio show. ''Soon'' was the No. 1 song. * 1937 Bruce Barton was appointed to an unexpired term in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
and was elected a year later. * 1939 Roy Durstine resigned after three years as president and opened his own agency. B.B.D.O. was reorganized under the leadership of Alex Osborn. * 1940 After losing his campaign for the Senate, Bruce Barton returned as president of B.B.D.O. * 1940 Alex Osborn introduced "
brainstorming Brainstorming is a creativity technique in which a group of people interact to divergent thinking, suggest ideas spontaneously in response to a prompt. Stress is typically placed on the volume and variety of ideas, including ideas that may seem o ...
", a technique to generate ideas, to the agency. * 1946 Ben Duffy, who started in the agency's mailroom and rose to head the media department, became president. Under his watch, billings quadrupled from $50 million to $200 million in ten years. He stepped down in 1957 due to illness. * 1952
Jim Jordan James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. ...
started his career as a copywriter at B.B.D.O.; he would become the agency's chief creative officer in 1968. * 1954 BBDO wins the Campbell Soup account from longtime (40 years) incumbent Ward Wheelock of Philadelphia. The account left BBDO in 1980 for Backer Spielvogel but returned in 1993. * 1957 Charlie Brower, who was hired as a copywriter with the Batten agency just before the merger with B.D.O., became president. * 1960 On March 16,
Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
moved its Dodge Truck and Car Divisions, with billings of $21 million, to BBDO. On April 6, BBDO wins the $17 million
Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...
account after a pitch against seven other agencies. Pepsi will move the business to
TBWA TBWA Worldwide is an international advertising agency whose main headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. Since 1993, the agency has been a unit of Omnicom Group, the world's second largest advertising agency holding ...
in 2008 after nearly 50 years. * 1961 Jim Jordan created a campaign for Schaefer Beer based on research that revealed that 80% of the beer was consumed by 20% of the drinkers. The slogan and jingle: "Schaefer is the one beer to have when you're having more than one." * 1963 Jim Jordan created the campaign "
Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch! "Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch!" is a slogan that appeared in magazine, newspaper, and television advertisements for Tareyton cigarettes from 1963 until 1981. It was the American Tobacco Company's most visible advertising ca ...
" * 1963 Dick Mercer created the slogan "Come alive! You're in the Pepsi Generation." It was the first time a product was promoted based not on its own attributes but on its consumers' lifestyles and attitudes. * 1964 Tom Dillon succeeded Brower as president and CEO. * 1968 Jim Jordan created the "Ring around the collar" campaign for Wisk detergent, a
Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...
product. Wisk left BBDO in 1989. * 1971 BBDO International was created as parent
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
under CEO Tom Dillon. * 1972 Brower stepped down as chairman. * 1973 Dick Mercer created the campaign (and jingle) "Have it your way" for
Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...
. * 1975
Allen Rosenshine 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). He was also the founding chairman ( ...
succeeded Jim Jordan as creative director of BBDO. Dillon became chairman, Bruce Crawford became president of BBDO International and Jim Jordan became president of the BBDO agency. * 1977 Crawford succeeded Dillon as CEO of the holding company, and Jordan succeeded Dillon as CEO of the agency. * 1978 Jim Jordan left BBDO to open his own agency. Bruce Crawford added the operating responsibility as agency president. * 1980 Allen Rosenshine became president and CEO of BBDO New York. * 1980
Phil Dusenberry Philip Bernard Dusenberry (April 28, 1936 – December 29, 2007) was an American advertising executive for the BBDO advertising agency. Dusenberry was born in Brooklyn, New York City in 1936, and attended Midwood High School in Brooklyn and ...
became the agency's executive creative director. * 1982 BBDO was named Agency of the Year by '' Adweek''. * 1983 Tom Kiely was named president of a new BBDO division called the "BBDO Business-to-Business Group" to service the broad range of communications needs required by its BtoB-oriented clients, including The Timken Company, Hammermill Paper, certain General Electric Company departments and of Symbolics, Inc, (a so-called Artificial Intelligence computer manufacturer). Working in that group were a veteran group of business-to-business advertising and public relations professionals including Les Lilliston, Bob Fuller, Bob Dudley, Charles Gade, Bruce Jordan, Bob Wilson, Cray Cyphers and Bill Reingold. * 1984 On January 27,
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
's hair was accidentally set on fire during filming of a
Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...
commercial. The mishap made front-page news around the world. (
Phil Dusenberry Philip Bernard Dusenberry (April 28, 1936 – December 29, 2007) was an American advertising executive for the BBDO advertising agency. Dusenberry was born in Brooklyn, New York City in 1936, and attended Midwood High School in Brooklyn and ...
's 2005 memoir is titled ''Then We Set His Hair on Fire''.) The commercial debuted a month later on the
Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
, where Jackson, wearing a hairpiece, collected a record eight awards. * 1985
Allen Rosenshine 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). He was also the founding chairman ( ...
succeeded Bruce Crawford as chairman and CEO of BBDO Worldwide. * 1985 BBDO won the $15 million
Visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...
account and introduced the slogan "It's everywhere you want to be." The account, which grew to $350 million, remained at BBDO for 20 years until it moved to another Omnicom agency,
TBWA\Chiat\Day TBWA\Chiat\Day ( ) is the American division of the advertising agency TBWA Worldwide. Created in the 1995 merger of TBWA and Chiat/Day, the agency operates offices in Los Angeles, New York City, Nashville, and Mexico City. Prior to the merger ...
. In 2012, Visa returned global creative duties to BBDO. In 2020, Visa moved global creative duties to
Wieden + Kennedy Wieden+Kennedy (W+K; earlier styled ''Wieden & Kennedy'') is an American advertising agency best known for its work for Nike. Founded by Dan Wieden and David Kennedy, and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, it is one of the largest independentl ...
. * 1985 ''
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 ...
'' selected BBDO as Agency of the Year. * 1986
Omnicom 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 r ...
was formed from the merger between BBDO and DDB Needham. Sometimes referred to as the "Big-Bang" merger, it was spearheaded by BBDO Worldwide CEO Allen Rosenshine in response to competitive threats from other large advertising agency conglomerates. * 1986 Allen Rosenshine becomes president and CEO of Omnicom, overseeing BBDO as a subsidiary. Norm Campbell and Willi Schalk become chairman and president of BBDO respectively. * 1986 BBDO's Business-to-Business Group was folded because of lack of business. * 1987 BBDO moved from its longtime Madison Avenue address to 1285 Avenue of the Americas. Taking up five floors in the new building, the agency re-opened on July 2. In advance of the move about 50 people, representing 5% of the staff, was let go. * 1989 Allen Rosenshine returned to BBDO as chairman and CEO. Bruce Crawford succeeded him at Omnicom. Norm Campbell and Willi Schalk retired. * 1991 Allen Rosenshine served as president of the jury at the Cannes Advertising Festival. * 1991 A Diet Pepsi commercial with Ray Charles singing "You Got the Right One, Baby" won the
USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter The ''USA Today'' Super Bowl Ad Meter is an annual survey taken of television commercials by ''USA Today'' in a live poll during the telecast in the United States of the Super Bowl, the annual professional American football championship game of th ...
poll. * 1992 Executive Creator Director Lee Garfinkel created the Cindy Crawford Pepsi commercial, considered one of the ten best Super Bowl spots of all time. * 1993 Ted Sann becomes Chief Creative Officer and Vice Chairman of BBDO North America. * 1994 A Pepsi commercial about a lab chimp that turns into a party animal won the ''USA Today'' Super Bowl Ad Meter poll. * 1994 BBDO was selected Agency of the Year by both '' Adweek'' and ''Advertising Age''. * 1995 A Pepsi commercial where a boy on a beach tries to suck the last drop of Pepsi out of a bottle with a straw won the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter poll. * 1996 A Pepsi commercial about a fictional Coke driver who causes a whole shelf of Pepsi cans to tumble to the floor won the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter poll. In 2008 the commercial was chosen as the best ad in the twenty-year history of the Ad Meter poll. * 1997 A Pepsi commercial featuring grizzly bears dancing to the Village People's 1970s disco classic "YMCA" wins the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter poll. * 1997 First commercial to be filmed in Space – Tnuva Milk – noted in the ''
Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
''. * 1998 For the fifth consecutive year, a Pepsi commercial won the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter poll. A sky surfer does aerial tricks with a goose, and they share a Pepsi afterwards. * 2001 Mike Fyshe stepped down as president and CEO of Toronto-based BBDO Canada, replaced later that year by Gerry Frascione. * 2002 Phil Dusenberry retired as chairman of BBDO North America. Andrew Robertson was named president and CEO of BBDO North America. * 2004 Andrew Robertson was named president and chief executive officer of BBDO Worldwide * 2004 David Lubars was appointed chairman and chief creative officer of BBDO North America. * 2006 Gerry Frascione was appointed to the additional positions of president and CEO of BBDO North America. * 2006 Mayor Bloomberg named January 10 "BBDO Day." * 2006 Allen Rosenshine retired as chairman and became Chairman Emeritus. * 2007 BBDO Worldwide was awarded the Network of the Year award at the
Cannes Lions 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 ...
Advertising Festival. * 2008 BBDO acquired Barefoot Advertising in Cincinnati, Ohio, and made it part of Proximity Worldwide; renamed Barefoot Proximity, it was the network's largest US office. * 2008 BBDO was named Network of the Year by CAMPAIGN Magazine, as well as the Clios International Advertising Festival. * 2008 BBDO Worldwide was awarded Network of the Week for the second straight year at Cannes. BBDO New York was named Agency of the Year, and ALMAPBBDO was #2 as Agency of the Year. * 2009 BBDO Worldwide won Network of the Year at Cannes for the third year in a row. * 2010 A Snickers commercial featuring Betty White won the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter. * 2010 BBDO Worldwide won Network of the Year at Cannes for the fourth year in a row. * 2010 BBDO opened a marketing strategy office named Batten & Company in New York. * 2011 BBDO Worldwide won Network of the Year at Cannes again, for an unprecedented five consecutive years. * 2011 BBDO Worldwide named Global Agency of the Year by Adweek. * 2014 BBDO NY named Creativity's Agency of the Year on
AdAge A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...
's Agency A-List. * 2015 BBDO named an "Agency of the Year" finalist among large agencies in the 2015 iMedia Agency Awards. * 2017 BBDO named Campaign Agency of the Year. * 2018 BBDO Worldwide named Cannes Lions Network of the Year. * 2022 BBDO win the Media Lions Grand Prix with the campaign innovation behind Hope Reef.


In popular culture

* In the
1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...
comedy '' Hard to Handle'',
James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...
says, "Well, so long, boys. I'm lunching with Bruce Barton of Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn." * In an episode of
Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...
's radio program broadcast on 11/21/1948, Jack spends virtually the entire show on the phone waiting to talk to either Batten, Barton, Durstine ''or'' Osborn (the agency for his sponsor,
Lucky Strike Lucky Strike is an American brand of cigarettes owned by the British American Tobacco group. Individual cigarettes of the brand are often referred to colloquially as "Luckies." Name Lucky Strike was introduced as a brand of plug tobacco (chew ...
). During this episode, Jack's wife,
Mary Livingstone Mary Livingstone (born Sadya Marcowitz, later known as Sadie Marks; June 25, 1905 – June 30, 1983) was an American radio comedienne and actress. She was the wife and radio partner of comedian Jack Benny. Enlisted casually to perform on her ...
, cracks that the agency's name "sounds like a trunk falling down stairs." The line has also been attributed—probably erroneously—to
Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist topically-pointed radio program '' The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forw ...
. * In
Alfred Bester Alfred Bester (December 18, 1913 – September 30, 1987) was an American science fiction author, TV and radio screenwriter, magazine Editing, editor and scriptwriter for comics. He is best remembered for his science fiction, including ''Th ...
's 1959 short story "Will You Wait?", a man trying to sell his soul to the Devil in a modern setting gets in touch with him by calling his agency, Beelzebub, Belial, Devil, and Orgy, which is then referred to as B.B.D.O. throughout the rest of the story. * The agency Sterling Cooper in the TV series ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
'', set in the early 1960s, is supposedly inspired by BBDO, according to the show's creator,
Matthew Weiner Matthew Hoffman Weiner (; born June 29, 1965) is an American television writer, producer, and director best known as the creator and showrunner of the television series ''Mad Men'', and as a writer and executive producer on ''The Sopranos''. ...
. BBDO is mentioned fairly frequently as a competitor, including Season 1 Episode 7, when a department store customer says, "He's a media buyer at BBDO." Later in the Season Two episode "Six Month Leave," Roger Sterling tells Don Draper while they are in an underground casino that BBDO hired a "colored kid." A third-season episode mentions that Sterling Cooper "lost the
Campbell's Soup The Campbell's Company (doing business as Campbell's and formerly known as the Campbell Soup Company) is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products. The classic red-and-white can design used by many Campb ...
Great Britain" account, leading one executive to lament that now they'd "lost all of Campbell's to BBDO." In Season 4's "
Chinese Wall A Chinese wall or ethical wall is an information barrier protocol within an organization designed to prevent exchange of information or communication that could lead to conflicts of interest. For example, a Chinese wall may be established to sep ...
", Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce loses its biggest account, Lucky Strike cigarettes, to BBDO, putting the agency on the brink of bankruptcy. * In the romantic comedy ''
What Women Want ''What Women Want'' is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy film written by Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, and Diane Drake, directed by Nancy Meyers, and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The film was released on December 15, 2000 by ...
'', when asked about Darcy McGuire, Nick Marshall tells his boss that "Oh, hey, I heard on the whisper she just left B.B.D. & O."
What Women Want
'.
* In the 1961
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
– and
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
–winning Broadway musical '' How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' a fictional character is introduced as a new head of advertising with the initials B.B.D.O., followed by the statement "That's probably why he was hired." Coincidentally,
Robert Morse Robert Alan Morse (May 18, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his gap-toothed boyishness, he started his career as a star on Broadway acting in musicals and plays before expanding into film and television. He earned numero ...
, who starred in "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying," later played Bertram Cooper on "Mad Men." * In the 1963
Allan Sherman Allan Sherman (born Allan Copelon or Allan Gerald Copelon; November 30, 1924 – November 20, 1973) was an American musician, satirist, and television producer who became known as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, '' M ...
song parody "Harvey and Sheila" (set to the tune of "
Hava Nagila "Hava Nagila" (, ''Hāvā Nāgīlā'', "Let us rejoice") is a Jewish folk song. It is traditionally sung at celebrations, such as weddings, Bar and bat mitzvahs, and other Jewish holidays among the Jewish community. Written in 1918, it quickly ...
"), the agency is mentioned in the lyric: "Sheila's a girl I know at BBD&O / She works the PBX and makes out the checks."


References


Further reading

* Rosenshine, Allen. ''Funny Business: Moguls, Mobsters, Megastars, and the Mad, Mad World of the Ad Game.''


External links

*
BBDO creative work and company info
{{Authority control Advertising agencies of the United States Marketing companies established in 1928 Companies based in New York City 1928 establishments in New York (state)