Why leo burnett

When he learned how much money could be made in advertising, Burnett decided to make a career change. He got a job editing an in-house publication for Cadillac dealers called Cadillac Clearing House. Burnett went on to become an advertising director for that company. He was mentored by Theodore F.

MacManus, a leading figure in advertising at the time, known for his ethics. He then joined the Navy for six months. He became the advertising manager for a new car company, LaFayette Motors, which was founded by former Cadillac employees. When the company left Indiana, Burnett stayed. In , he was hired by a local advertising agency, the Homer McGee Company.

In this agency, Burnett handled automobile ads for several accounts. A rising star in the company, he was content to remain in this position for over a decade. Although he made half-hearted attempts to find jobs in New York City, the capital of advertising, nothing came of these efforts. When Burnett neared 40, he thought it was time to make a move and was hired by New York's Erwin, Wassey to work in their Chicago office as a vice president and the head of the creative department.

Burnett worked at Erwin, Wassey for five years. There were some problems finding good creative personnel. Burnett brought in some people from the Homer McGee Company because many of his most creative people were being lured to New York City. He gave Burnett an ultimatum: start his own agency or O'Kieffe would make the move. I sold my house, hocked all my insurance, and took a dive off the end of a springboard. The first years were hard. Yet Burnett persevered, and carved out his empire where he was most comfortable.

Burnett was a modest man without the ego that dominated many advertising agency owners. In his obituary in Time, the unnamed author wrote, "He was, in brief, the antithesis of the popular conception of the sleek, cynical advertising man.

He had no real interests outside of advertising. While Burnett was unassuming and a horrible public speaker, his ads revolutionized the industry. Stuart Ewan of Time wrote, "Leo Burnett, the jowly genius of the heartland subconscious, is the man most responsible for the blizzard of visual imagery that assaults us today.

At the time, print ads focused on words, long explanations of why a consumer should buy the product. Burnett believed such advertising was misguided.

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. They could also work subliminally. Forgot password? Don't have an account? Sign in via your Institution. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Sign in with your library card Please enter your library card number.

Related Content Related Overviews advertising. All rights reserved. Sign in to annotate. After 33 years at the helm of his company, Burnett officially retired at age When you lose your itch to do the job well for its own sake—regardless of the client, or the money, or the effort it takes. When you stop reaching for the manner, the overtones, the marriage of words and pictures that produces the fresh, the memorable, and the believable effect. When you stop rededicating yourselves every day to the idea that better advertising is what the Leo Burnett Company is all about.

When you stoop to convenient expediency and rationalize yourselves into acts of opportunism—for the sake of a fast buck. When your main interest becomes a matter of size just to be big—rather than good, hard, wonderful work. When you lose your humility and become big-shot weisenheimers … a little too big for your boots.