TOP 10 ADVERTISING ICONS OF THE CENTURY

Some of the best-loved ad images of the 20th century have names like Tony, Betty and Ronald.
Others, like the Marlboro Man, may not be as beloved, but grew to have tremendous worldwide
impact as an instant identifier of Philip Morris Co.'s Marlboro cigarettes.

From frozen vegetables to packaged cake mix, from fast food to

automobile tires, these carefully drawn characters are the
personifications of businesses that began small but grew to become
dominant brands in their fields -- thanks in large part to their famous
icons.

Many of the most famous ad icons were the brainchild of one

agency: Chicago-based Leo Burnett Co., which specialized in
(l-r) The Pillsbury Doughboy, the Michelin building brands through the use of enormously popular characters,
Man, Ronald McDonald and Tony the Tiger.
including the most effective icon of all time, the Marlboro Man.

Advertising Age's list of the Top 10 ad icons of the 20th century

recognizes those images that have had the most powerful resonance in the marketplace. The criteria
include effectiveness, longevity, recognizability and cultural impact.

THE MARLBORO MAN

PRODUCT: Marlboro cigarettes
DATE INTRODUCED: 1955
CREATOR: Leo Burnett Co.

The most powerful -- and in some quarters, most hated -- brand image of the century, the Marlboro
Man stands worldwide as the ultimate American cowboy and masculine trademark, helping establish
Marlboro as the best-selling cigarette in the world.

Today, even a mention of the Marlboro Man as an effective ad icon

brings protests from healthcare workers who see first-hand the
devastation wrought by decades of cigarette smoking. More than any
other issue, the ethics of tobacco advertising -- both morally and
legally -- have divided the advertising industry.

But even those ad professionals who abhor the tobacco industry will,
when pressed, agree that the Marlboro Man has had unprecedented
success as a global marketing tool for selling Philip Morris Cos.'
brand.

In the beginning back in the 1950s, a time when cigarettes were accepted in even the politest society,
Burnett created the macho icon as a way to reposition Marlboro from a "mild as May" ladies cigarette
to a product with broader appeal. The original newspaper ad from Burnett carried the slogan "delivers
the goods on flavor" and it immediately sent sales skyrocketing.

By the time the Marlboro Man went national in 1955, sales were at $5 billion, a 3,241% jump over
1954 and light years ahead of pre-cowboy sales, when the brand's U.S. share stood at less than 1%.

Despite his appeal, the cowboy wasn't the only rough-and-tumble image used to sell the brand's
image. Over the next decade, Burnett experimented with other manly types -- ball players, race car
drivers and rugged guys with tattoos (often friends of the creative team, sporting fake tattoos). All the
pitches worked.

Even with the release in 1957 of the first article in Reader's Digest linking lung cancer to smoking, the
real men of the Marlboro ads kept ringing up sales ($20 billion that year), attracting new smokers of
both genders. In 1964, the company revived the cowboy but this time he was in mythical Marlboro
Country.

This vivid image paid off in 1971 when cigarette ads were banned from TV. The striking print shot of
cowboys enjoying a smoke on horseback continued to fuel sales growth. In 1972, Marlboro became
the No. 1 tobacco brand in the world.

As the anti-smoking movement has spread, the Marlboro Man has come under particular attack for his
role in luring new customers to a cancer-causing habit.

As a commercial icon, he is both reviled and revered. Yet one measure of this icon's clout is that no
matter how minimal the imagery gets -- reduced on occasion to little more than a saddle and splash of
red -- it still remains instantly evocative of a mythical Marlboro country, of a mythical American
cowboy and of the No. 1 brand of cigarettes that gave that cowboy real lung cancer.

RONALD MCDONALD
PRODUCT: McDonald's restaurants
DATE INTRODUCED: 1963
CREATOR: McDonald's franchisee Oscar Goldstein
and his local ad agency

McDonald's Corp. advertising executive Roy Bergold can testify to

the reach and recognition of Ronald McDonald. But even he couldn't
believe what he witnessed one day in Milwaukee.

"Ronald was visiting sick children and he came upon a youngster in

a coma," recalls Mr. Bergold. "I watched as the child's eyes began to
flicker as Ronald stood by his side. The boy actually regained
consciousness during his visit. There's no way to explain how it
happened or why, but it was nothing short of amazing."

The clown's astounding powers have certainly worked their magic

for McDonald's since he was introduced in 1963. The spokesfigure
helped make McDonald's the most dominant fast-food chain on the
planet. He also exemplifies one of the most important qualities of an effective commercial character:
He doesn't sell for McDonald's, he is McDonald's.

Ronald was first introduced by McDonald's Washington franchisee Oscar Goldstein and a local ad
agency in 1963 . Since then his name has been attached to a major charitable organization, the
Ronald McDonald Foundation; he's starred in films; and he's even danced with the New York City
Rockettes.

After a brief flirtation with acting adult in ads for McDonald's failed Arch Deluxe sandwich in the mid-
1990s, Ronald returned to his roots and continues to be used mostly as a fast-food ambassador for
kids. His face is recognized by nearly 96% of American children, and sells for the fast-food chain in
more than 25 languages.
 THE GREEN GIANT
PRODUCT: Green Giant vegetables
DATE INTRODUCED: 1928
CREATOR: Minnesota Valley Canning
Co.

The Green Giant's national ad debut in 1928 was disappointing.

Minnesota Valley Canning Co. developed the Giant as a product

trademark, but in his earliest days he was stooped and scowling,
wore a scruffy bearskin and looked more like the Incredible Hulk
than the grand old gardener he is today.

Enter ad agency Erwin, Wasey & Co. The assignment for the

Giant's transformation was tackled by none other than young Leo

Burnett, who improved the Giant's hunched posture, turned his scary
scowl into a sunny smile and clothed him in a light, leafy outfit.

He also gave the tender tall guy a new backdrop -- a valley of crops
that highlight the Giant's height.

When Mr. Burnett opened his own agency in 1935, Minnesota Valley was one of its first clients. The
Burnett agency soon added the word "Jolly" to the giant's name, and by 1950, Minnesota Valley
changed its name to Green Giant Co.

The Giant's early TV appearances, in 1958, however, were not as stellar. Bob Noel, a writer at
Burnett, once made these comments about the Giant's early TV appearances: "They tried men
painted green," a puppet figure and animation. The problem is "when you try to move the Giant
around and really show what he looks like, he comes off a monster. The baby cries and the dog goes
under the bed."

Mr. Noel devised an ingenious solution: ads that showed just enough of the Giant to establish his
presence but not too much to send customers running for cover. The problems that arose ultimately
brought the creative staff to a new understanding about the big guy. The Giant was most effective
either in silhouette or partial view. To lighten up the Giant's image, Mr. Noel dreamed up his signature
"Ho, ho, ho" and lilting "Good things from the garden" song.

BETTY CROCKER
PRODUCT: Food products including cake mixes,
frostings, microwave popcorn and biscuit mixes
DATE INTRODUCED: 1921
CREATOR: Washburn Crosby Co., a forerunner of
General Mills

Long before Martha Stewart, there was Betty Crocker.

Betty was created in 1921 after a promotion for Gold Medal flour
flooded Washburn Crosby Co. with questions about baking. To
answer customers in a more personal manner, the company created
a fictitious kitchen expert, pulling the name "Crocker" from a recently
retired director of the company and adding the first name "Betty"
because it sounded friendly.

Washburn Crosby's female employees were asked to submit

handwriting samples for Betty's signature and the one selected as
"most distinctive" is still Betty's signature today.

From these humble home-ec beginnings, Betty went on to become

one of the first multimedia superstars. Beginning in 1924, she hosted
the country's first radio cooking show, "Betty Crocker School of the
Air," first on a local Minneapolis station and later on the NBC radio
network.

During the 1930s she helped advise a cash-strapped nation on how to cook tasty budget meals. She
was voted the second-most- famous woman in America after Eleanor Roosevelt, according to Fortune
in 1945. It was only a matter of time before she wooed consumers on television.

After numerous guest appearances on CBS and NBC, where she taught stars such as George Burns
and Gracie Allen to cook, Betty got her own show, "The Betty Crocker Search for the All-American
Homemaker of Tomorrow." The series, featuring a variety of actresses playing Betty, ran from 1954 to
1976.

Meantime, behind-the-scenes Bettys were authoring cookbooks. Since the 1950s, more than 200
Betty Crocker cookbooks have been published. Betty also developed her own line of food products,
starting with the famous Betty Crocker cake mixes.

Along the way, Betty's image was refined to reflect the changing image of women. Over the years she
has had eight different "looks," from the first stern gray-haired, older woman in 1936 to today's olive-
skinned, dark-haired Betty, a product of computer morphing.

THE ENERGIZER BUNNY

PRODUCT: Eveready Energizer batteries
DATE INTRODUCED: October 1989
CREATOR: Chiat/Day

Say what you will about his long ears and drumming hands, the Energizer Bunny is one icon who's
got legs.

Marketing experts call it the "ultimate product demo" because it does

such an effective job of showcasing the product's unique selling
proposition -- long-lived batteries -- in an inventive, fresh way.

"The Bunny has become the ultimate symbol of longevity,

perseverance and determination," says Mark Larsen,
communications category manager for Energizer. During the past
decade, everyone from politicians to sport stars used the Energizer
Bunny to describe their staying power.

The Bunny's incarnation by Chiat/Day was actually a continuation of

an idea developed by DDB Needham Worldwide for Energizer, with a
spot that featured drumming pink bunnies in a jab at archrival Duracell's battery-powered toys.
Chiat/Day, after gaining the account, took the bunny to the next level when it launched a series of
commercials that parodied spots for other products and were interrupted by the powerful pink Bunny
-- going and going and going. The Bunny has appeared in over 115 spots in English and Spanish with
new commercials debuting twice a year on average.

THE PILLSBURY
DOUGHBOY
PRODUCT: Assorted Pillsbury foods,
including refrigerated dough, bakery
mixes and rolls
DATE INTRODUCED: 1965
CREATOR: Leo Burnett Co.

Burnett creative director Rudy Perz was sitting at his kitchen table in
the mid-1960s when he dreamed up the idea of a plump, dough
figure that would pop out of a tube of refrigerated rolls. Since then,
Pillsbury has used Poppin' Fresh in more than 600 commercials for
more than 50 of its products.

Although Perz had originally conceived His Doughness as an

animated character, he changed his mind after seeing a stop-action
tilting technique used in the opening credits for "The Dinah Shore
Show."

The decision was made to create a 3-D Doughboy doll of clay at a

cost that seemed like a small fortune 34 years ago -- $16,000.

Finding the right performer to be the voice of the Doughboy was the finishing touch. After auditioning
more than 50 top actors, the role was awarded to Paul Frees (the voice of "The Adventures of
Bullwinkle and Rocky's" Boris Badenov). After Frees' death in 1986, Jeff Bergman, who also did the
voiceover for Charlie the Tuna, took over. Today, the high-pitched giggles are handled by JoBe
Cerny, the mustachioed on-camera star of Burnett's Cheer detergent campaign.

The Doughboy was an instant success with consumers. His round body and signature belly poke
quickly endeared him to adults and children. When Pillsbury issued a Doughboy doll, the toy became
so popular, Playthings Magazine named it "Toy of the Year" in 1972

THE MICHELIN MAN

PRODUCT: Michelin tires
DATE INTRODUCED: 1898
CREATOR: Idea conceived by Edouard Michelin;
artist's rendition created by O'Galop; DDB Needham
Worldwide handled later executions
 Andre Michelin commissioned the creation of this jolly, rotund figure
after his brother, Edouard, observed that a display of stacked tires
resembled a human form. The artist's sketches of a bloated man
made of tires was exactly what the brothers had in mind.

One in particular, picturing the character lifting a beer glass and

shouting, "Nunc est bibendum! (Now is the time to drink!)" seemed to
embody Michelin's slogan at the time, "Michelin tires swallow up all
obstacles."

The artist reworked the hulking figure, replacing the beer bottle with a
goblet of nails and glass that the character rose in a toast to all road
hazards.

Today, the Michelin Man is one of the world's oldest and most
recognized trademarks and it represents Michelin in over 150
countries.

TONY THE TIGER q

PRODUCT: Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes (later

Frosted Flakes)
DATE INTRODUCED: 1951
CREATOR: Leo Burnett Co.

Only one famous feline (sorry, Morris) can rightfully claim he's the
cat's meow of commercials: Tony the Tiger.

Adland's premier promotional pussycat was born in 1951, when

Burnett was hired to create a campaign for Kellogg's new cereal,
Sugar Frosted Flakes. Tony was originally one of four animated
critters created to sell the cereal, but he quickly edged out Katy the
Kangaroo, Newt the Gnu and Elmo the Elephant to become the sole
star of the cereal maker's ad efforts.

Tony's original designer, children's book illustrator Martin Provinsen,

first created an orange cat with black stripes and a blue nose who
walked on all fours. But like most celebrities, Tony has undergone extensive cosmetic changes over
the decades.

The most dramatic alteration occurred early in his career, when Tony's football-shaped head was
replaced with a rounder, softer form. That was followed by a series of other minor face-lifts such as an
eye color change from green to gold and the addition of "whisker bones" and contours.

When America started heading for the health clubs, Tony also got a slimmer, more muscular
physique. He's also risen in stature from a scrawny, cereal-box size pussycat who ambled on all fours
to a 6-foot figure with a towering, upright stance.

One thing that remained constant for much of Tony's life was his voice. Thurl Ravenscroft provided
the sole voiceover for Tony and his trademark growl: "They're Grrrreat!" In 1952, Tony's son, Tony Jr.,
was introduced into the campaign. And in the early 1970's, Mama Tony, Tony's wife; and Antoinette,
Tony's daughter (born in 1974, the Chinese year of the tiger), also came on board. The expansion of
the Tony family broadened his audience appeal.

TOP 10 SLOGANS OF THE CENTURY

1. Diamonds are forever (DeBeers)
2. Just do it (Nike)
3. The pause that refreshes (Coca-Cola)
4. Tastes great, less filling (Miller Lite)
5. We try harder (Avis)
6. Good to the last drop (Maxwell House)
7. Breakfast of champions (Wheaties)
8. Does she ... or doesn't she? (Clairol)
9. When it rains it pours (Morton Salt)
10. Where's the beef? (Wendy's)