The Real Men and Women of Madison Avenue

The Real Men and Women of Madison Avenue, an exhibit the celebrates the contributions made to American business and to popular culture by the real stars of Madison Avenue, is coming to San Francisco for its first public showing outside of New York City.

The exhibit includes seminal, groundbreaking advertising from some of the ad industry's most revered legends, including the late Howard Gossage, widely regarded as the grandfather of the San Francisco advertising community, and the late Hal Riney, whose agency was the springboard for many top San Francisco advertising firms such as Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

A presentation of The One Club, the world's foremost non-profit organization devoted to elevating creative work in the industry, the exhibition is co-sponsored by the School of Advertising of the Academy of Art University. Additional sponsors for include Goodby, Silverstein & Partners; Publicis & Hal Riney; Butler, Shine, Stern + Partners; and Venables Bell & Partners.

"The Real Men and Women" highlights the work of several dozen creatives, mostly copywriters and art directors, who created great advertising for a living, whose iconic ad campaigns influenced the course of the American economy, who often made advertising entertaining and fun and who put their stamp on popular culture long before 'branding' became the buzzword it is today. Their history spans over eighty years, but most share the same accolade: induction into The One Club's Creative Hall of Fame, formerly known as the Copywriters Hall of Fame.

"We're thrilled that the first showing of 'The Real Men and Women of Madison Avenue' outside of New York will be here in San Francisco," said Mary Warlick, C.E.O. of The One Club and the show's curator. "This city has played a seminal role in the growth of the ad industry in the US, and for many years has been considered its creative capital. The exhibit will be of tremendous interest not just to the local creative community, but to San Franciscans from all walks of life."

"The origins of the Academy of Art University are in advertising education, so it's equally fitting that we host this groundbreaking presentation," added Dr. Elisa Stevens, President of the AAU. "Our School of Advertising has long been a home for many of the city's working professionals, who have served on our faculty for years. This exhibit will hold a special value for them, for our students, for the industry and for everyone here who appreciates great advertising."

The exhibit first appeared at the New York Public Library Science, Industry and Business Library, where it drew over 150,000 visitors who spent, on average, 40 minutes reviewing the classic TV commercials, interacting with the kiosks and studying the panels. The version of the show that will appear in San Francisco will include much of the original content of the New York exhibition, along with a new installation highlighting the work of Gossage, the legendary writer and creative director whose agency gave birth to the city's modern ad community.

"The Real Men and Women" features the work of over 50 individuals, ranging from Bernice Fitz- Gibbon, who penned such lines as "Smart to be thrifty" for Macy's in 1929 to the legendary art director and designer George Lois, who gave us "I want my MTV!" to Lee Clow, who created Apple Computer's "1984" in the 1980s to Goodby, Silverstein & Partner's famously popular "Got Milk?" from the 1990s and Apple's silhouette ads of the 2000s. There are over 150 examples of print and TV commercials, as well as a series of blown- up quotes that remind the audience of some of advertising's most famous copy lines, such as, "Think different" and "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's." The content in the exhibit is organized under headings such as: "Early Pioneers in the Twentieth Century," "The Modern Day Empire Builders" and "The Creative Revolution." Each heading is followed by a written summary of the era, the people, the trends and what made the work stand out.

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