The Real Mad Men of Chicago - A Chicago Stories Documentary
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- čas přidán 12. 05. 2022
- You may not have heard of Albert Lasker, Eugene Kolkey, or Tom Burrell, but you most certainly know their creations. They're Chicago’s Mad Men - the local executives who created iconic figures like the Marlboro Man, Charlie the Tuna, and the Pillsbury Dough Boy. This episode of Chicago Stories explores how the real Mad Men of Chicago became the leaders of the advertising world.
#ChicagoStoriesWTTW - Zábava
What a great look at the unique Chicago style of advertising. I was a producer in the mid 70's to early 80's and the highlight of my time was working at Needham, Harper & Steers on the McDonald's account. I was hired there at the ripe old age of 25 and worked with some of the most creative people in the industry. Thank you for creating this great documentary. So many memories.
What great memories you must have! :-)
Where's the beef?😂🎉
Wow your that old and your sitting here commenting on videos on the internet thats pathetic that also means your part of the generation that ruined America great job now hurry up and see yourself out the door your time has long since expired
@@user-qf7ud5de9h You aren't just making a joke, you're talking about Joe Sedelmaier, definitely the best adman in Chicago in that era, responsible for Wendy's "where's the beef" and Fedex's "fast talking guy". He called Burnett a 'rabbit hutch' and wouldn't work there. Google his name and you'll find plenty of his work, including that of his son, JJ Sedelmaier, who created all those "TV Funhouse" toons for SNL. It's easy to find Joe's work on youtube.
My father and brother are in this documentary. I am really happy about it!
I worked for Allstate in Northbrook, IL, in the early 70’s , in the group life and health division. Leo Burnett was one of our “clients”. I processed medical claims for Leo Burnett employees, and still remember the cover sheets that accompanied the claim documents. They were signed by Vi Anderson, who must have been the equivalent of the benefits manager. I spoke to her on the phone frequently, and although I never met her, I sensed that she had class. Even though I was only in my early 20’s, and knew nothing about advertising agencies, I always felt lucky to work with this account . I also recall a time when Leo Burnett employees came to Allstate in Northbrook, ( I think it was an anniversary for Allstate), and they went around to everyone’s desk and passed out apples.
After watching this video, 50 years later, now I get the apple connection.
I moved from NYC to Chicago at 21. I found Chicago had the brains, but also the heart that made it a world class city. Chicago was rich and sophisticated, but it was accessible, it gave you a chance to succeed. NYC knocked you down. Chicago will always be my alma mater home town.
But have rent for apartments and mortgages for homes become unattainable for the average person there like they have in and around New York City ?
My guess is yes although maybe not as high as around New York City .
I like it. Chicago is actually a more beautiful city
Coming from a visitor standpoint. Chicago feels cleaner.
But NYC is NYC. Still So Dope.
Chicago is amazing. It’s too bad The Hood is tearing apart that part of the city and society.
@@gardensofthegods NYC & SF are out of control outrageous
@@kingdingaling2469 Yeah I know and what is going on in San Francisco and has been going on there is unreal ... I mean the fact that they even have an app where you can report where the crap is on the street where people shit right on the pavement and streets is mind-blowing .
I hear Portland and Seattle have gone the same way especially Seattle .
But I'm assuming Chicago is pretty expensive to live in ... I mean not as bad as New York or San Francisco but I'm assuming it's still as pricey to live in Chicago , right ?
@@gardensofthegods Yes! That CRAP is Out of control !
Never thought We’d ever see the day in America where it’s cool to crap in open public spaces and in front of peoples homes .
It’s just more proof that too far to the right or left is in the land of insanity.
That’s why all that is nonsense. It’s all about what’s Right . 🙏
So great to hear my father mentioned in this documentary and to see my brother in it. It brings back many childhood memories!
Anything to do with the history of our home towns shouldn’t be forgotten. It’s a feeling you can’t get without people like your dad and brother. I’m in Australia and I remember Tony the Tiger, Snap Crackle and Pop and the Coco Pops monkey! This video deserves millions of likes.
Eric....
Who? The Pillsbury Doughboy & Morris the cat?
@@fabledfantasty7343 😆😆😆
@@frayserken p
@@freethinker1378 Pal
Those ads are a heck of a lot more appealing than most of the ads today. Those ads promoted unity, not division. Niche has been taken to far and today you know watching an ad when youre not part of the group
Simply put, ads back in the day were less knowing and cynical and more inviting and friendly.
There's so little original creativity today, throughout the media. Lacks of a sense of humor too it seems. Maybe it's because of algorithms or AI.....
This is a wonderful documentary. I need Ms Carol H Williams’ story. She’s amazing
I was born in 1960 and remember most of these ads. Great memories, thanks.
June of 60 here. It was a good time to grow up not withstanding the wars and the ccasional assassination.
It’s remarkable how so many of these campaigns seem like part of the fabric of my life. I still find myself humming many of these jingles.
When Marlboro came into Australia in the early 1980’s, my big red chestnut gelding ‘Soxy’ was the horse they used in all the Australian advertising.
He returned to pony club and working on the farm afterwards. He lived until he was 27 and was treated like royalty.
He was a great horse.
He was also the horse that Bryan Brown (lead) rode in ‘Breaker Morante’. Another feature.
We had him from a yearling, and dad broke him using Natural horsemanship.
He was the goodest boy 🐎 anyone could’ve asked for.
Still missed decades later.
It was so cool to see the people behind my childhood memories! Great video!
50:43 the lil boy in that McDonalds commercial is none other than Mr. Todd Bridges
Being from Chicago, I cant help but to be bias. but imo Chicago is the best city in the United States and one of the best cities in all of the world lol. I remember when I went off to college in this little town outside of East Lansing Michigan and people would always be omg you're from Chicago? As if it was some folklore place they always heard about. Then when I finished college I could'nt wait to get back home. I never understood why we're called the second city because like in this documentary, executives came from New York to work in the Chi. From architecture, music, sports culture, food culture, colleges, museums, pop culture, politics, news, revolutionary people... you name the industry and at one point or the other Chicago was the place to be. WTTW always makes awesome documentaries and I've always been a fan of Geoffrey Baer's documentaries.
You do know that the moniker "Second City" has nothing to do with NYC, right?
I'm a New Yorker who's visited Chicago a couple of times. I like it a lot. It feels like New York but dialed down a couple of notches. Less frenetic. And downtown Chicago has better architecture and is more beautiful than midtown Manhattan. But New York has so much variety and so much energy that you put up with the noise and the mess. I do hope to visit Chicago again, though.
@@Hal10034 I've been to NYC twice and I do like it a lot. I stayed in the North Bronx and midtown. It was beautiful and gritty (mid 1980s) and cool and funny... pretty much all as expected. Did tourist stuff and native stuff. I've got nothing bad to say about that city 🙂
did Geoff Baer make this one? I worked with him at the Chicago Academy for the Arts
Usually, i hate the commercials, but this doc is very informative, on many levels
They had originality back in that era.
This was so enjoyable. A flashback to the start of my animation career at DuckSoup Productions animating Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam, Keebler Elves, Charlie Tuna and more. I miss working on those delightful spots!
You must have some fascinating stories yourself, sir
Hello! I recently found an old bell telephone ad that was animated by that same animation company! Wondering if you ever worked on this one? czcams.com/video/IST59N_FHYs/video.htmlsi=hqmmxnUaxmtzciYG
Duck Soup, a great house! Love cartoons and animation. I worked with Victor Haboush in his post-Spunbuggy years. He was so modest and talented, he never told me he started at Disney.
@thefifthdementia5231 your handle is GENIUS, I don't care whut you say, Sir!
In the early 1980's I worked for Western Union in Chicago repairing Teletype machines. My territory was a foot route in the Loop and near north side, and I went to the Burnett office many, many times. On my way out I always grabbed an apple from the bowl on the receptionist desk and she ALWAYS smiled and said, "Thank you!"... Good memories!
Great story
Did you know Brian Massat?
@@MrHoffmannfdSorry, that name is mot familiar to me.
Great Doc. My father John Nichols was the Exec on the team that filmed at the Four Sixes. Daddy grew up in Texas (5th generation) and was very familiar with the ranch. Leo Burnett 1965-1980 (?) He also worked on Starkist, Green Giant, Matel, Mars, Keebler, and worked with the late Jackie Gleason on Pilsbury. John H. Nichols Jr. passed away 1/8/22.
This was particularly special for me to watch. My father, Joe Prep was advertising manager for Kraft foods in the 1960's and 1970's. I sure would love it if just one of you mad men out there had the pleasure of buying him one of his 3 martinis near the Kraft building on the "East side". I worked at Keiffer Nolde under Michigan Avenue and at Studio 5 in the 333 N. Michigan in the 70's. Got 2 cent lemonade every lunch break at the Wrigley Building. Leo Burnett, and the Equitable building. great times. J. Walter Thompson. Sigh
I remember that building. It was black, located around 600 S LSD, yes? I went in to present a Kraft print ad I wrote for an agency that fired me in a year, but that was okay, I hated them too
My family is from Chicago since late 1800s intelligence sense of humor good values I grew up with these ads emulating these values I'm very grateful 😊
My father Robert Lins was a Chicago ad man copywriter 1953-1990: Leo Burnett (1953-1968 yes we got apples every Christmas and I have Leo's book) , Clinton E Frank (1968-1971), Arthur Meyeroff (1971-1980), and McDonalds (1980-1990) . Dad passed away in 2014. I have many of his original ads (and was photographed in early print ads), layouts, storyboards, films, drawings for Santa Fe Railroad, Swanson’s TV Dinners, Wrigley’s gum. Dad worked on Green giant ( did the sprout) , Santa Fe Railway Wrigley, Maytag, Hoover, Anyone have ideas what to do with these art works? Thanks for a great documentary. -Patty
Contact antique roadshow. Email their appraiser?
Smithsonian?
I am looking for a specific contact if anyone knows of a collector or how to donate. Thanks, P.Lins@@ronswansonsdog2833
Wow! John Amos (Good Times) started his acting career in Commercial jingles.
This was brilliant. I miss Chicago and I am so proud to be from there. Chicagoans have a certain kind of grittiness, hustle and edge.
Your darn tooten!!
They HAD a certain kind of grittiness. That beautiful architectural vibrant gem has been hijacked by misfits, Marxists, criminals, crybabies, and imposter posing politicians.
Unfortunately the city is being destroyed right now
@@punchcat0736 yeah it’s gonna happen, but it won’t stop the true chicagoans.
City of the Big Shoulders…at least back in the day…
Well shot & edited!
Watching this makes me regret I never made my way over to the ad agency side of things. I spent over three decades working on the film crew of commercials, it was creative and technical but I’m sure the ad shop guys had a lot more fun.
HM, a Clio Award winner
I did both, you chose wisely
WOW!!! I absolutely loved every minute of this video! What I would give to go back in time and try my creativity in an ad agency.....My dad and I are very good at jingles and one line slogans. Its something we were born with. He was a genius at writing songs and coming up with ideas for commercials. Sadly, todays markets are a parody at best of what true advertising was. Its all about the glut of consumerism and hooking people with flash and commercials that afront our senses. Bombarding us relentlessly until we cry out..."Ok I give up, I'll buy it." The HEART an soul of commercials, appears to be gone forever....
Amazing documentary, I had no idea that so many iconic figures were born in our city!
i wouldnt be bragging about being from chicago! you cant name one good thing that comes from that shithole.
Such a wonderful nostalgic look back into advertising history. Thank you to those who made it possible creating memorable iconic figures and commercials for consumer products.❤
So hard to not see my father or his friends or J.Walter Thompson mentioned AT ALL!! He worked on Schlitz Beer, 7 Up and Ken-l-Ration dogfood, created iconic campaigns for those products...
You talking about Hill Holiday?
I used to deliver art work to J. Walter Thompson in the Hancock. 1976 1977
I still know the entire KenL Ration song!
If it's any comfort (as it is to me and many others who worked there), JWT went out of business in Oct 2023. Learn about its demise at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Walter_Thompson
Still have a J. Walter Thomas tote bag my sister gave me from when she wotker there. Was surprised too, to not hear them mention.
I remember the Green Giant tv ads from the late 60s. I was preschool age and the reason I remember is because I was DEATHLY afraid of the Green Giant. He towered over the valley and that booming bass ho ho ho was frightening to me at that age.
But when he holds an ear of corn over half his size, is the corn larger than giant, some kind of mutation, or has the Giant shrunk temporarily?
I would have been kicked out of those creative meetings.
They never showed what the valley was like when the Giant was in a bad mood. It was a living hell, believe me.
@luv2sail66
The voice of the Green Giant was none other than the great Len Dresslar, a prolific studio singer and the bass voice of the great Singers Unlimited!
The lady said "...that little whit creature (pilsberry Doughboy) was loved by every house in America...) LOL 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Ur racism is showing,
Thank you this wonderful documentary. 💗
I always had more interest in Chicago as a city over NY. Chicago had great architecture literally from the Bauhaus and Frank Lloyd Wright to name a few. Jazz and blues clubs. I came and worked in Chicago as a young graphic designer in the early nineties and it was a hotspot for graphic design internationally. I did end up in NY and worked right down in Times Square eventually but I still prefer Chicago to NY. Don’t get me wrong, there are incredible places to experience in NY but to me it was temporary and I never felt or saw a future there for me. I currently live in Tokyo and will always cherish both memories. Wonderful documentary, I remember watching most of those campaigns growing up in the seventies and it also brought back great memories growing up in Southern California. Miss the “oven grinder” off of Clark!
Thanks WTTW that was a interesting and informational video with lots of value took my back a few decades keep bringing these gems.
I watched this all the way to the end. Great documentary. Thanks for posting.
Fabulous! Thank you for creating and sharing! ❤
This was So Well Done. I watched the whole thing and did not have thee intentions to .
But it kept Me fully engaged Thee entire time. Great job.
Glad I found it now and not any later.
Anyone keeping count how many recognizable brand names pop up here and on the full run of Mad Men. I lost count too.
Did anyone notice a very young "Whach you talkin bout Willis??" in Burrell's McDonald's ad?
yup. and mr. evans from good times, james amos dancing in the mcdonald's spot.
Gary Coleman became very popular in ads for Chicago's Harris Bank
czcams.com/video/T_vQ98mLpdg/video.html
This is so good. I have it on a loop.!
Sweet Home Chicago♥️
Absolutely excellent piece! A fascinating history of how the advertising industry ideveloped n the beautiful city of Chicago, with many, many fond memories and fine examples of Americana for the viewer.
Well done and interesting... Excellent writing and visual research.
I sold ads for Salem Radio. What a tremendous documentary 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
amazing documentary, adds were so human back then
Yes they were and guess what else ? ...
.... having been born in 1958 I remember there was a time when products were sold by REGULAR people or people who wanted to be actors but had not hit the big time yet .
Then at one point they started hiring people who already were famous and certainly did not need the huge amounts of money they were being paid to make the commercials .
Really a shame that the industry got caught up in wanting only people who were already rich and famous to be hawking their products instead of giving up money to someone who needed it more and who was an unknown face .
Elitism .
Just like the modeling industry used to be mostly a lot of nobody's and then more and more of the models are the good looking kids of the Rich and Famous
Interesting history. Thanks for posting the content.
Great documentary!!!!!! Loved it !!!
I think the old style advertising can still work, especially with the overstimulation of social media and content in general. Personally, I notice the slower, more personable ads more than the colourful and loud content style ads.
My mind starts to instantly shut down when commercials are loud and in-your-face ... or if they have quick and jump-cut editing which I really don't like .
I feel You. But MainStream anything makes My mind shutdown .
I’m on to the next
Agree
I got kicked off a class trip after I got the whole bus screaming the McDonald's "Two all beef patties" chant. Ah, youth.
My mom worked at Leo Burnett.. she would have loved this video.. she said it was the greatest place to work.. she was in the accounting department for the Kellogg’s account…I still have the anniversary silver apple shaped sugar bowl they got with the silver certificates…
Sorry no… my mom did not fly in those circles…she just processed numbers 😳
My apologies, no disrespect intended. I have removed the post.
Another excellent documentary
I’ve been to Chicago one time when I was about 20 years old. It was huge. I had no idea that so many popular things came from there. I’ve been watching documentaries all afternoon about so many things originating from Chicago. I really enjoyed watching the history of Montgomery Ward and Sears. It’s amazing that the concept of Amazon came from those catalogs. I grew up wearing clothes and playing with toys from those catalogs. Great memories. 💕🥰
Used to live at Congress n had Da best view of da Sky line!!! Makes me warm up inside n want me to move back home!!!
Until the winter . 😂😂😂
As an aspiring adman coming across this gem is beautiful!
Absolutely beautiful!
Excellent documentary
A very well-done piece. And interesting!
I remember every one of those products and add campaigns. The average person has no idea how important advertising is to America, our way of life and standard of living. These adds cost the companies millions of dollars to produce and air for the American consumer. However, if done right, they reaped hundreds of millions in added revenue. Millions of Americans were working as a result of a successful add campaign. It's incalculable the amount of stimulus this adds to our economy. This is a fantastic video. Nice to see a little of the inside workings of the advertising industry.
The competition between the TV stations to draw in more viewers, sparked imagination, creativity and humor in both the TV shows and ads. Todays monopolies seem to have destroyed that.
This was fabulous!!!
Yeah I really enjoyed it ... it was a lot of fun .
Many commercials in recent times utilize hit songs. I enjoy the commercial jingles from the '50s, '60s and '70s which were hits themselves.
Many of these ads and jingles bring me back in time…
And what a good time it was!
44:30 Incredible documentary. This was my dad’s life, working in advertising in Chicago in the 1960’s - for Needham, Harper & Steers (also located, I believe, in the iconic Prudential Building)
43:47 The brown building shown across the street from the Wrigley is where Needham was located, in the Equitable building. Currently the company is called DDB and is located at 225 N Michigan, just a few blocks from Burrell. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDB_Worldwide
This was awesome!
My Father was part of this growth in the 1950’s thru the 1980’s. Started MCI in Chicago back in the 1970’s with the development of Mr. Coffee. It was fun going out to dinner with Joe DiMaggio. My Father made Don Draper look positively provincial. He embodied the ethos of the Chicago marketing and advertising business.
Didnt expect that.
Very good documentary
I noticed some formerly famous actors in some of those commercials. John Amos(McDs), Vic Tabek(Parkey Margarine) and a young "Marsha B."(Pillsbury)
Yes but what I miss about the commercials from back when I was a kid and I was born in 1958 is most commercials were made by people who were not famous .
Maybe some of them later did become famous because they were actors but they weren't famous actors .
Then look at how much the industry changed where it seemed like all the Rich and Famous celebrities were making a lot of the commercials and getting paid really well to do them when they didn't even need the money .
Elitism .
Really a shame the industry went that way where they weren't just using everyday ORDINARY people to make the commercials and those were the ones who needed the money .
Celebrity endorsements go way back, to before 1900. But I don't think that was the Burnett way.
@@gardensofthegods You can sure tell the difference too.
Worked there in the 80s and 90s. Lots of fun!
My father was an illustrator working with Robert Snyder and associates in Chicago. He loved it and made lots of money. Later became a fine artist when illustration died out.
These commercials are embedded in our memories forever. These were fantatic businessmen. The fifties were awesome the way men carried themseves and dressed. It trully was a flowering of culture. They lived big and created bigger. Mad Men yes but you have to hand it to them. They were one of a kind! The Marlboro man sure was sexy.
I was born in 58 and I remember a lot of these commercials from when I was a little girl and of course the ones in the later 60s and 70s ...
... but I do remember some of them from when I was 3 , 4 and 5 years old ... good memories it was a blast from the past .
I really enjoyed this documentary , hearing all the stories .
Yup. But half the world now don’t even know they ever existed
I was born in December 1979 so I caught the end of this style and I am So Grateful for it .
Sexy until the cancer sets in
WONDERFUL VIDEO!
The Burnett Adds have the Hook, Great Creative Work.
I love this series, packing my bags to visit
@plusheeview1482
You better pack something else in your bags, too.
My puppy has a Tony the Tiger toy that she just happens to be destroying right now.
That’s Great!
Great video
What a great documentary
Thank you.
Superb!
My dad was Jim Gilmore!
I don't want to have to scroll back through this and look to see who he was ... can you tell us where they had him in this ?
Marlboro man commercials really game me the type of man I wanted to marry. Right or wrong I was set on the strong silent type.
The Prudential Bldg. I took a photo of the the Chicago skyline that included the tallest building in Chicago in Jan 1966. Going thru my slides today it (the slide I took) popped up & showed me how that skyline has really changed since 1966. Good presentation on the "real mad men of Chicago".
I watch this on WTTW Passport and loved it!
Wow! What a great time it was.... I remember everyone of those commercials! :) ...And we bought the products!
Nice documentary! These classic commercial soundtracks are stuck in my head. Lol! 😁📺
“A seat at the table”. 👀💅🏾
Good grief! I’m glad he went elsewhere to be creative instead of working with people that hate your skin color. Props to my hardworking grandfathers that served in the military and survived discrimination mess in Chicago. One became a Senior Accountant at Harris Bank and my other grandpa became a Post Master at the post office in Bedford Park, IL.
These great ads brings back good decent times of family and childhood memories. Great family vacations. 🥰💯
Right ?! The Good Ol Days FR FR
Oh Brother....
There is no jingle, but this Harris campaign has the cutest little boy selling tons of dolls in the 70s
czcams.com/video/T_vQ98mLpdg/video.html
My favorite ad tracks from the 60s:
Teaberry Gum czcams.com/video/0FmvrAwoyL0/video.html
Alka Seltzer czcams.com/video/qeEjTTH_dQU/video.html
Noxema czcams.com/video/EkpGM_MvZ2Y/video.html
Coke czcams.com/video/ib-Qiyklq-Q/video.html
I sense some eye-rolling in the comments about this documentary. Those people can eff off. Black creatives were scarce at ad shops; I recall seeing no more than six in places I worked between 1975 and 2000. They had to start their own shops. Burrell and Williams were the first among the first to succeed at running an agency. The first black woman to do it anywhere was Barbara Gardner Procter, in 1970, in Chicago, where a huge market was waiting to be won over.
@@thefifthdementia5231 thank you so much for your kind words and history info. May you be blessed. ✌🏾🥰✨💙
I smoke Marlboro cigs till February 2000. I loved there Dust Jacket I bought one. My first credit card was a United Airlines card all back in the 1970s , cigarettes 🚬 I started in 1964 at 14 years old. I’d be smoking today I loved it but I wouldn’t be breathing either. Loved growing up as a Boomer. Thanks for the memories.
Wonderfully educational.
Yeah this was really good Plus for me it was a blast from the past with remembering a number of these commercials from my childhood
@@gardensofthegods same here
That’s what she said 😎
Wonderfully fun story.
Brilliant!!
Excellent!
My late father worked downtown for a division of McGraw-Hill. Early lunches consisted of Bloody Mary's at the Merchandise Mart. I remember when he'd miss dinner because "the bridge was up". Many business meetings were held at Rush St restaurants, and even though my dad wasn't a drinker, it was just the norm for the men to disappear in the depths of the high-class bars.
If it had to be advertised you probably don’t need it.
This is great
so good
Classic doc. Long live Leo
love it !
i hate smoking but i love Marlboro advertising - campfire, horses and a bloody cowboy !
Wow I never knew this it’s so educational and takes me back to the 70’s 1975 when I was born lol
a young marcia brady in the pillsbury commercial before brady bunch fame
Amazing Talent.
Im just grateful to learn how much of an impact that black people done made in America
Albert Lasker and his wife are featured prominently in the book "Emperor of all Maladies". Through their efforts cancer research became properly funded and focused.
Michael Planchunas
You mean Chemo & Radiation?
@@shaespear407 I was referring to the pressure campaign they put on Nixon to fund cancer research by one billion dollars in the 1970 budget. They did this by running full page ads in major newspapers on behalf of the American Cancer Society.
Here's what I remember about working in advertising: the sales execs all drank and smoked and the best drugs you could get in the art department. I only lasted ten years.
54:59 Back in the 80s, I used to love drinking regular Michelob out of those tapered bottles.
thanks to our adv history classes :)
Satisfying