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The Leo Burnett Agency
“I go at what I am about as if there was nothing else in the world for the time being.”
—Charles Kingsley
For the past 50 years, the Leo Burnett advertising agency has created some of the best known and most remembered ad campaigns the world has ever seen, among them the Jolly Green Giant, Sunkist’s Charlie the Tuna, The Pillsbury Dough Boy, The Maytag repairman, and countless others. The agency’s personality mimics the personality of its founder, Leo Burnett, who demanded more than just creativity in ads. The ads had to sell the product, and to ensure that they would, Leo spent time getting to know his clients and spent hours concentrating on providing just the right “feel” for the product. He encouraged his representatives to become members of the client’s family—to think like the client, to understand intimately the client’s products, and to become consumed with desire to make the client successful.
Leo practiced what he taught. One of the corporate legends that illustrates just how deeply Leo would concentrate on a project involves his encounter with a custodian’s closet. One day, with yellow pad in hand, Leo left his office and headed for the men’s room. Being engrossed in thought, he opened a janitor’s closet by mistake, went in, and locked the door behind him. After a period of time, people began to ask, “Where’s Leo?” Finally, he carved a hole in the door with his penknife and got someone’s attention. At the agency’s Christmas breakfast that year, Leo was presented with the door as a gift. Although Leo Burnett died in 1971, his vision continues to drive the company.
Consider This: Creativity just for creativity’s sake is not as important as creativity that can solve a specific problem.
Submitted by Richard
“I go at what I am about as if there was nothing else in the world for the time being.”
—Charles Kingsley
For the past 50 years, the Leo Burnett advertising agency has created some of the best known and most remembered ad campaigns the world has ever seen, among them the Jolly Green Giant, Sunkist’s Charlie the Tuna, The Pillsbury Dough Boy, The Maytag repairman, and countless others. The agency’s personality mimics the personality of its founder, Leo Burnett, who demanded more than just creativity in ads. The ads had to sell the product, and to ensure that they would, Leo spent time getting to know his clients and spent hours concentrating on providing just the right “feel” for the product. He encouraged his representatives to become members of the client’s family—to think like the client, to understand intimately the client’s products, and to become consumed with desire to make the client successful.
Leo practiced what he taught. One of the corporate legends that illustrates just how deeply Leo would concentrate on a project involves his encounter with a custodian’s closet. One day, with yellow pad in hand, Leo left his office and headed for the men’s room. Being engrossed in thought, he opened a janitor’s closet by mistake, went in, and locked the door behind him. After a period of time, people began to ask, “Where’s Leo?” Finally, he carved a hole in the door with his penknife and got someone’s attention. At the agency’s Christmas breakfast that year, Leo was presented with the door as a gift. Although Leo Burnett died in 1971, his vision continues to drive the company.
Consider This: Creativity just for creativity’s sake is not as important as creativity that can solve a specific problem.
Submitted by Richard