A Daily Dose of the
American Dream
"One Minute Success Stories"
by Alan C. Elliott
March 14
Reach for the Stars
" Give the world the best you have and the best will come back to you. " :Madeleine Bridges
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The Leo Burnett advertising agency celebrated its 50th year in 1985. During the years until his death in 1971, Leo inspired his company with his motto, "Reach for the Stars." Minimizing the value of advertising awards, Leo concentrated on selling products. Norman Muse, chairman of the agency, clearly states their goal: "We have one criterion for superior advertising, and it is sales." To achieve this goal, the agency tries to become the adjunct marketing department of the client. They "hold their hands," meet with them on a regular basis, and become a member of the family. After the Burnett agency knows its client well, it devises an advertising campaign that will sell products.
Leo was known for being hardheaded, argumentative and hard to get along with when he thought the client's ideas were bad. He generally won those arguments, and the clients were the winners at the bank. Leo's results speak for themselves. When United Airlines was suffering from an image as being a big, uncaring company, Leo brought out the "friendly skies" campaign. When Maytag wanted to be known for its quality, the lonely Maytag repairman was the answer. McDonald's is promoted with the "American slice of life" campaign, and spokesmen like the Jolly Green Giant, Charlie the Tuna, and the Pillsbury Doughboy are but a sampling of the creativity that comes from knowing the client and producing winning campaigns.
CONSIDER THIS: It is not always the awards from peers that make a business great, it is the bottom line of why you are in business to begin with that counts.
This story is adapted from A Daily Dose of the American Dream, by Alan Elliott, published by Rutledge Hill Press. The book contains 366 stories, one for each day of the year.
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Contents (c) Copyright Alan C. Elliott, 1988-2008