I still have the scent
Mary Wells Lawrence, I ❤️ NY and her many ad campaigns
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Decades before Mad Men introduced us to Don Draper and company, a real-life Peggy Olson took Madison Avenue by storm.
Mary Wells Lawrence got her start in Ohio department stores before moving to New York City at age 22 and worked her way up in the ad world. As a young copywriter, she masterminded high-profile campaigns for Alka Seltzer, Ford, Bic pens and numerous other household names.
Even as a 20-something woman in a male-dominated field, Mary knew the secret to a successful pitch: make consumers “want it, and feel nervous if they don’t have it.”
In 1964, Braniff Airways, a 40-year-old Texas-based airline, needed help updating its look for the swinging 60s. Mary took on the job with gusto. She hired Emilio Pucci to design chic crew uniforms and tapped Alexander Girard to rehab the fleet’s overall look. Mary called her campaign “the end of the plain plane.”
After such a notable success, Mary’s boss promised her a promotion — but after months of waiting, it never came. So Mary joined up with two of her colleagues, Richard Rich and Stewart Greene, to launch their own agency: Wells Rich Greene. The new agency drew big-name clients like Procter & Gamble, RC Cola and IBM.
In 1977, Wells Rich Greene brainstormed one of the most legendary ad campaigns of all time: The “I ❤️ NY” promotion for New York tourism. Mary papered the state with the iconic Milton Glaser design, one so instantly recognizable that it’s now enshrined in the Museum of Modern Art.
Before she turned 40, Mary had celebrated two barrier-breaking milestones. She became the first woman to found and run her own national ad agency, and later she became the first female CEO of a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Even after retiring in 1990, Mary continued to consult and stayed plugged into the ad world. “It was my life, and I knew everybody in it,” she said in 2002, at age 74. “I still have the scent.”
More on 👩🏼💼:
Mary Wells Lawrence, High-Profile Advertising Pioneer, The New York Times
The End of the Plain Plane, Smithsonian Magazine
An Advertising Legend Is Ready for Her Comeback, The New York Times
A Big Life in Advertising, Mary Wells Lawrence
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I have a recurring donation set up for Coalition for the Homeless, and this weekend I donated to Jail Support LA and Trans Journalists Association.
New Yorkers!!! Election Day is June 24. You can vote early until June 22! DO NOT FORGET TO VOTE.