William Bernbach

William Bernbach (1911–1982) was an American advertising executive and copywriter who co-founded Doyle Dane Bernbach and helped shape modern creative advertising.

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James Edwin Doyle: James Edwin Doyle was an American advertising executive and co-founder of Doyle Dane Bernbach. He co-founded the agency with Bernbach and Maxwell Dane.
Think Small: Think Small was a Volkswagen campaign that presented the Beetle’s small size as an advantage. Bernbach’s team made the car’s most obvious disadvantage its central selling point.
Art direction: Art direction is the visual planning and organization of a publication, advertisement, or other communication. Bernbach promoted close collaboration between art directors and copywriters.
Creative revolution (advertising): The creative revolution was a mid-twentieth-century shift toward more original, artful, and idea-driven advertising. Bernbach’s agency and campaigns became central examples of this change.
Maxwell Dane: Maxwell Dane was an American advertising executive and co-founder of Doyle Dane Bernbach. His agency-management experience complemented Bernbach’s creative leadership.
Lemon (Volkswagen advertisement): “Lemon” was a Volkswagen advertisement that used a blunt headline to describe a rejected Beetle. Its candid premise embodied Bernbach’s belief that honesty could persuade.
Copywriting: Copywriting is the creation of written material intended to persuade, inform, or sell. It was Bernbach’s craft and one half of the creative partnership he championed.
Integrated marketing communications: Integrated marketing communications coordinate a brand’s messages across communication channels. Bernbach’s insistence on coherent ideas anticipated later emphasis on consistent brand communication.
Mary Wells Lawrence: Mary Wells Lawrence was an American advertising executive and founder of Wells Rich Greene. Her rise at Doyle Dane Bernbach carried its creative approach into a new agency.
You Don't Have to Be Jewish to Love Levy's: “You Don’t Have to Be Jewish to Love Levy’s” was a campaign for Levy’s rye bread. The campaign paired cultural specificity with an inclusive invitation.