BBDO archives

The agency when it was on Madison Avenue

The agency began as the George Batten Company; this newsletter explains “One-third of our girls are now on their honeymoons”

Bruce Barton partnered with Roy Durstine and Alex Osborn and promised new ideas for advertising

The 1928 merger of the two agencies helped them survive the Depression

Philco ads often mentioned technological innovations

Among the many radio programs overseen by BBDO was the March of Time, the radio version of the newsreel

Celebrity association strategy

BBDO’s campaigns for Du Pont were designed to humanize the chemical and munitions company

General Electric was one of BBDO’s top clients and still is today; many GE ads promoted technological progress rather than specific products

During WWII, GE ads promised better living in the postwar era

In this agency credential book, BBDO explains its work advertising for the US Navy, including the use of popular culture characters like Popeye

This BBDO credential booklet points out that appealing to consumers’ self interest is more effective than appealing to duty

Du Pont’s ads also promised better living after the war

In this detail from a 1943 Vimms ad,BBDO uses fear of social rejection to promote vitamins

BBDO staff oversee a billboard design for Schaefer Beer, 1950s

This house ad lists all the BBDO clients sponsoring programs on radio and TV

BBDO employees earned shares in the agency and also helped raise money for charity

In this agency credential booklet, BBDO explains some of its innovations in measuring television audiences

Alphonse Normandia was a BBDO art director whose cartooning illustrated the life of an adman

By the 1960s, BBDO had become a major producer of TV commercials, overseeing hundreds a year

In this agency credential booklet, BBDO explains its approach to advertising

In 1987, BBDO moved to Avenue of the Americas and became part of Omnicom

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