When it comes to icons in the copywriting world, there are certain names that everyone recognizesā¦
Names like: David Ogilvyā , Leo Burnettā , Gary Halbertā ,Ā Eugene Schwartzā , Robert Cialdini, and Joseph Sugarman are just a few examples of names that we honor and celebrate as the legendary forefathers of copywritingā¦
And Iām not saying their recognition isnāt well deserved.Ā
These men are geniuses and their contributions to the world of marketing, advertising & copywriting have been profound…Ā
But what most people donāt realize is that women have been absolutely crushing it in the world of marketing, advertising & copywriting for just as long ā if not longer ā than men. Gasp!
So in this blog, weāre going to shed some much-needed light on the iconic women who shaped copywriting history, whileĀ MAJORLY challenging sexist norms, a patriarchal society and systemic oppression.
Hey, Posse! Whatās up? Itās Alex.Ā
I am freakinā STOKED about this blog, because it is high time that the time the world pays tribute to these absolutely iconic, legendary women who literally shaped copywriting and marketing history and created some of the most recognizable ads, slogans, and campaigns of all timeā¦Ā
Now there were so many iconic women throughout history that I wanted to feature, but that would have made this blog REALLY long.Ā
So I decided to break it up into two, so make sure you come back next week because I saved some of my absolute favorite women for the sequel!Ā
Now, if youāre new to the crew ā welcome!
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Now itās realllllly to easy to look at the advertising industry and think itās run by a bunch of anti-feminist white dudes that sling money, sex, and alchololā¦
And well, youād be right.
For the past several decades, the industry HAS ā in large part ā taken pride in that representation. Presenting itās women as nothing more than secretaries to fetch coffeeā¦Ā or a pretty face that would love nothing more than to clean your house with the latest cleaning products, or a sex symbol to sell you cars, cigars and beer.Ā
Iām sure weāve all seen, or at least heard of, the TV show Mad Men. This show offers a little glimpse into the way women have been dismissed, demeaned and not taken seriously in the old boys club of the advertising industry.Ā
From the womanizer Don Draper to Peggy Olsonās fight for copy chiefā¦
But what you probably donāt know, is that well over 100 years ago ā and a solid 50 years before The Mad Menās era ā the foundation of advertising was actually laid by a group of badass, pioneering women.Ā
And it all started back in 1910 ā at J. Walter Thompson agencyās āWomenās Editorial Departmentā… and one woman in particularā¦
#1 – Helen Lansdowne ResorĀ
Leading the Womenās Editorial Department was Helen Lansdowne Resor ā and together, this group of copywriting feminists completely changed the world of advertising.Ā
Up until this point, advertisements were typically just a simple text and picture that straight-up described what a product did ā nothing more, nothing less.Ā
But Helenās team didnāt like that approach. They decided to take a more psychological approach to appeal to their customers.Ā
They introduced the ideas of testimonials, speaking to a consumerās deepest desire, and painting a picture of what life could look like once you use this product ā which are all very powerful methods of marketing that are still used today.
Helen is even thought to be the very first person to introduce the concept of sex appeal, and sexual desire, into advertising ā with her āA Skin You Love To Touchā ad campaign for Woodburyās Soap.
By 1918, the revenue generated by the Womenās Editorial Department totaled more than $2.2 million out of a total of $3.9 millionāover half of the overall earnings at J. Walter Thompson.
And by 1925, the company had 22 women working on 65 accounts, compared to the 19 male copywriters that handled just 18 accounts.Ā Ā
Now, weāve got a lot more iconic women to get through⦠so letās meetā¦
#2 – Caroline R. Jones
Secretary turned copywriter trainee turned advertising executive⦠Caroline Jones was the first Black Woman to be hired as a copywriter at J. Walter Thompson agency in the early 1960s.
During her career, she broke many race and sex barriers of the advertising world⦠and eventually became one of the most prominent Black Women among agency executives.
Most of her clients came to her specifically when they wanted to market to Black Consumers⦠including MASSIVE brands like American Express, Anheuser-Busch, McDonald’s, Prudential, Toys ”R” Us and the Postal Service.Ā
Many of the campaigns she worked on are globally recognized ā and still used today.Ā
Like Kentucky Fried Chickenās ”We do chicken right”…
Which again, was originally aimed solely at the Black consumer. But the slogan performed so well that, by the 1980s, the fast-food chain was using it in ALL of its national ad campaigns.
Later in her career, she founded Caroline Jones Advertising, where she created the āBecause Youāre Worth Itā campaign for LāOrĆ©alā¦Ā
Now full disclosure ā this fact is now disputed by LāOrĆ©al⦠who claims the companyās famous slogan was actually coined by Ilon Specht, a white female copywriter, in 1971.
Whatās the ad world without a little controversy, right? No matter what, thereās no doubt this woman was a badass pioneer in the marketing world.
#3 – Margaret Fishback
Margaret Fishback was a poet, prose author, and one of the highest-paid copywriters in the 1930s. The majority of her advertising work was done for Macyās, but she also did extensive freelance work.Ā
In 1935, The New York Daily Mirror said, āShe writes real poetry and it sells for real money, not every poet can do that.āĀ
āGirl is Genius!ā the Los Angeles Examiner exclaimed that same year.
During her time, Fishback was highly admired and praised for her writing skills and expertise⦠So the fact that sheās so little talked about today is a serious tragedy.Ā
She was probably most well-known for her skill at combining verse with copy to create Ads that were both catchy and highly effective.Ā
Fishback was a fiercely independent feminist during a time in history when women were traditionally reliant on men, she had absolutely no problem declaring publicly that she ādidnāt need a husbandā and earned more than enough money to pay her own way.
Hell yeah.Ā
Some of her biggest advertising contributions included: Arrow Shirts, Borden’s, Chef Boy-Ar-Dee, Clairol, DuPont, Hanes Hosiery, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Seagram’s, Simmons Beautyrest, Wrigley, and several othersā¦
#4 – Lillian Eichler
Stop for a minute and think of how many 18-year old copywriters you know of ā today ā who can say theyāve written a million-dollar offerā¦
Yeah, you probably canāt think of very many ā if any at all.
Now let me take you back to the year 1919 and introduce you to 18-year old copywriter, Lillian Eichler.Ā
She worked for an advertising agency in New York and was given the seemingly impossible task of selling 1,000 copies of the pre-1900 Encyclopedia of Etiquette⦠which had been collecting dust on the shelves because no one was buying it.Ā
Within just a few days of Lillianās copy hitting the papersāevery single copy was sold.Ā
I love this copy so much because it does a killer job at pinpointing specific challenges their audience might be experiencingā¦
From the beginning of the letter where she tells a story of a woman who keeps ordering the same meal while on a date with a man ā because she didnāt know how to pronounce the French items on the menu⦠haha um⦠thank god I can say french fries.
To be āconscious of your cruditĆ©sā croo-di-tay (yes, I had to Google how to say that) “that rob women of their poise, ease, confidence, and self-possession⦔
To master the art of being popular and making friends easily, Lillian asks the reader:
āLetās pretend you have received an invitation. Would you know exactly how to acknowledge it? Would you know what sort of gift to send, and what to write on the card that accompanies it? Perhaps it is an invitation to a formal wedding. Would you know what to wear? Would you know what to say to the host and hostess upon arrival?ā
Absolutely brilliant pain points that almost every woman living in the 1920s was really concerned about (and let’s be honest⦠I still donāt really know how to answer any of those questions).
But there was another problem⦠sure Lillianās copy sold every book. But within a few days of being sold, they were being returned.Ā
Turns out the consumers that were drawn to Lillianās amazing writing were not amused with the āludicrously archaic text and picturesā inside the Encyclopediaā¦
So the publishing company had a brilliant ideaā¦
Why not just have Lillian rewrite the ENTIRE Encyclopedia herself ā using the same tone of voice and addressing the same pain points she used so effectively in her Ad copy.Ā
And so thatās exactly what she did. Lillianās new and improved version of the Encyclopedia sold two million copies at $2 each, resulting in $2.5 million in profits ā and remember this was 1919.
That would be $42 million in todayās money!
#5 – Barbara Collyer
She created whatās thought by some to be the most iconic Christmas Ad of all time (and featured in the book āThe 100 Greatest Advertisements: Who Wrote Them and What They Didā)Ā
Macyās 1948 Christmas AD:Ā āOh, Darling ā You Shouldnāt Have!ā
Apparently, people wrote, called, and personally stopped by the store to inquire about this Ad ā it got more attention than any other ad in Macyās history.
It readsā¦
Oh Darling, you shouldnāt have.
Sometime last night, Macyās gave the last bow on the last package a loving pat, entrusted it to a tired delivery man and lockedup the store for the weekend.
New York looked very much like a small town at that hour. The business district was dark and quiet and deserted. The streets were almost empty. But everywhere where people lived and had their homes, there were lights. Candle lights. Christmas lights.Ā
Small soft lights to help good children catch a glimpse of Santa Clause. Big blazing lights that spelled music and laughter and good cheer⦔
#6 – Phyllis Robinsonā
Phyllis Robinson ā aka āthe first lady of Madison Avenueās creative revolution,ā ā got her start in the industry during a time when agencies were crowded with the traditional Mad Men era atmosphere⦠nicotine, booze, and lots of men.Ā
Robinson was one of the first women brave enough to brush aside the strong sexist views of this era and clear a path for herself straight to the top.
She became the first chief copywriter at Doyle Dane Bernbach advertising agency, where she supervised a team that would produce a number of notable people in advertising āĀ including Mary Wells Lawrence and Paula Green.
She was best known for her conversational writing (which was practically unheard of during this time in advertising) and helped set the standard of pairing Art Directors with Copywriters to work as a teamā¦
And today, of course, we all know that great copy + great design is the secret sauce to selling products at record rates.Ā
Some of her most remembered campaigns included Levy’s Real Jewish Rye, El Al Airlines, and long-running Polaroid campaignsā .
Okay, Posse ā thatās the first part of Iconic Women Who Shaped Copywriting!
I hope you enjoyed this flashback through history and loved learning more about these absolute powerhouse women.
And make sure you come back for Part 2 ā being released next week ā because weāll be talking about:
- A fearless woman that was fired for standing up for her beliefsā¦
- Another woman who penned one of the most recognizable beer advertisements of all timeā¦Ā
- An edgy woman that pioneered sexual liberation for women everywhereā¦
Plus more incredible iconic women that you NEED to know about.Ā
Until next time, Iām Alex – ciao for now!