St.

Johns University

Golden Age of the Advertising Industry: 1960s

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Golden Age of the Advertising Industry: 1960s
Advertising has been a significant and largely accepted component of American
culture ever since the introduction of consumer goods in the eighteenth century. As time
has elapsed, though, advertisers have been forced to adapt to changing social trends, new
technologies, and current events. Consequently, virtually each decade since has embraced
its own unique approach to advertising.
Amongst these, the 1960s prove the most legendary era that the advertising
industry has experienced to date. Then, advertisers absolutely captivated America with
their glamorous lure and charm, while they glistened with affluence. Without a doubt,
this age was Special. Magnificent. Golden.
But what made this time period so extraordinary? Should it be so highly
regarded?
Before the 1960s, advertisements seldom challenged conservative boundaries.
Such ads tended to approach a general audience and promoted mostly mass-produced
consumer goods. However, the 60s saw rapid reform within the advertising industry
parallel to the social and political upheaval that defined the decade.
The coming of age of the baby boom generation yielded an American
population made up of about 50% people under the age of 25 (History: 1960s 2).
Consequently, young Americans took on much more influence and significance in society
than they ever had before. These individuals established a counterculture movement: they
challenged old ideas about war, race, and gender; protested against materialism,
consumerism and capitalism; and demonstrated a general distrust in government
(McDonough 1).

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At the same time, however, this decade embraced unprecedented economic
prosperity. In other words, this generation had been swept up into the steepest and
swiftest arc of upward social mobility in human history (McDonough 1). They relished
in an exceptional extent of disposable income, free time, and social freedomwhich
ultimately invited a greater presence of advertisements to help them spend their excess
income and time.
Due to the growing magnitude of their influence throughout the 60s, as well as
the economic prosperity of the decade, advertisers began to strategically target the
interests of these young, idealistic Americans.
Thus, the Creative Revolution was born. This industrial reformation saw
agencies using self-deprecating humor, irreverence and irony to appeal to young
customers (1960s Creativity 3). By doing so, advertisers took on a progressive
persona that was more in line with the younger generation. In addition, advertisements
became increasingly artful, complex, and relied much more on creativity and originality
than on research and statisticsas they usually did in the past. They effectively utilized
catchy slogans, powerful messages, and iconic spokes-characters in an effort to
differentiate individual brands by giving them a personality (1960s Creativity 3).
Collectively, these factors fostered a new era of advertisingequipped to take on a new
era of Americans.
Doyle Dane Bernbachs campaign for the Volkswagen Beetle exists as the
quintessence of the Creative Revolution. Generally, Americans of the time did not fancy
the idea of a small car, but instead glorified large, tail-finned, super-powered
automobiles (History: 1960s 3). Nonetheless, the renowned ads presented headlines

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such as Lemon, Ugly and Think Small, which broke a time-honored rule in
advertising by employing negativity to address a products features (History: 1960s
3). Such a jeopardous campaign grasped the attention of American consumers and
ultimately set the tone for the rest of the 1960swhich would boisterously boast such
radical creativity.
The epicenter of this revolution was the glamorous Madison Avenue: The apex of
a career in advertising. Lined with state-of-the-art office buildings populated by eminent,
lustrous creatives sporting dapper suits and alluring charisma. Outsiders perceived it as
some rendering of an elite country clubexclusive and superior. Mark Tungate conveys
the conceptuality of the avenue very eloquently: Then, as now, Madison Avenue was a
symbolLike Hollywood, it became an idea rather than a physical place. You could say
that Madison Avenue was advertising (Tungate 1).
Throughout the decade, two big-shot agencies consistently set the bar for the rest
of Madison Avenue: Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) and Ogilvy. They singlehandedly
rewrote the rules. Most notably, DDB pioneered a major shift in the hierarchy of
advertising agencies. Instead of allocating predominance to the agencys account
management department, which was standard at the time, they shifted superiority toward
the creative departmentsomething no agency had done before, yet almost every agency
did after. Similarly, Ogilvy evolved the way Madison Avenue approached advertising by
preaching, and later proving, the effectiveness of psychological and sociological
principles in the creation of an adwhich was widely adopted by other agencies
thereafter (History: 1960s 4-5).

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Ultimately, a growing consumer market, major innovation, electrifying faade,
and big-shot agencies propelled the advertising industry into the American spotlight like
never before.
However, the American consumers relationship with Madison Avenue was not
all in good nature. Alongside the groundbreaking accomplishments and advancements of
the era, criticism surrounding the 1960s advertising industry also contributed to its
persisting eminence. Moreover, despite its mysterious charm and lavishness, movements
and ideas opposing the industrys sovereignty began to aggressively encircle America
(McDonough 2-3). Most famously, William H. Whytes influential book, The
Organization Man, introduced the Organizationor the pressures of societyas the
individuals worst enemy:
He must fight The Organization. Not stupidly, or selfishly, for the defects
of individual self-regard are no more to be venerated than the defects of
co-operation. But fight he must, for the demands for his surrender are
constant and powerful, and the more he has come to like the life of
organization the more difficult does he find it to resist these demands, or
even to recognize them. It is wretched, dispiriting advice to hold before
him the dream that ideally there need be no conflict between him and
society. There always is; there always must be. Ideology cannot wish it
away; the peace of mind offered by organization remains a surrender, and
no less so for being offered in benevolence. That is the problem. (Whyte
404)
In other words, Whyte is suggesting that Americans must resist the temptation to conform

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to popular culture and corporations. Instead, one should establish a personal sense of
individualism, courage, and self-sufficiencythereby freeing him/herself from the
manipulative reigns of society.

As the decade unfolded, Whytes theory became increasingly prevalent. To many

Americans, the advertising man became the purest personification of corporate

conformity (McDonough 3). Accordingly, many followers began to resent the
advertising industry as a whole.
In addition, Vance Packards book, The Hidden Persuaders, complimented
Whytes influence and furthered many Americans skeptical attitude toward advertising.
It warned them of the large-scale efforts being madeto channel our unthinking habits,
our purchasing decisions, and our thought processes by the use of insights gleaned from
psychiatry and the social sciencesThe result is that many of us are being influenced and
manipulated, far more than we realize, in the patterns of our everyday lives (Packard
31). This conspiracy theory, much like The Organization Man, took a disseminative
swing at the thriving advertising industry.
Despite the critics, the advertising industry continued to prosper and evolve
throughout the 1960s. Countless campaigns made history and the agencies were
exceptionally profitable. However, the latter end of the decade foresaw another change in
the industry as an economic recession quickly approached: Market research again
assumed priority, edging out creativity as the hoped-for solution to the economic
slowdown (History: 1960s 6). Although advertising continued to evolve and thrive,
this adaptation officially marked the end of the Creative RevolutionThe Golden Age.
Nevertheless, the 1960s were truly special for advertisingGlamorous.

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Audacious. Artistic. Extraordinary.
Golden.

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Works Cited
"History: 1960s." Advertising Age 15 Sept. 2003: n. pag. Adage.com. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
McDonough, John. "Why 1960 Is the Golden Age of Advertising." Advertising Age 79.25
(2008): C6. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
"1960s Creativity and breaking the rules." Advertising Age 28 Mar. 2005: n. pag.
Adage.com. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
Packard, Vance. The Hidden Persuaders. New York: McKay, 1957. Print.
Tungate, Mark. "The Real 'Mad Men' of 1960s Madison Avenue." Campaign (2007): 8.
ProQuest. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
Whyte, William H. The Organization Man. N.p.: Simon, 1956. Print.