Alvin Maurey Eicoff (June 8, 1921 – March 2, 2002) was widely recognized as a founder of

direct response television Direct response television (DRTV) is any television advertising that asks consumers to respond directly to the company — usually either by calling a toll-free telephone number, sending an SMS message, or by visiting a web site. This is a form ...

(

DRTV Direct response television (DRTV) is any television advertising that asks consumers to respond directly to the company — usually either by calling a toll-free telephone number, sending an SMS message, or by visiting a web site. This is a form of ...

) advertising. He helped pioneer the use of “1-800” numbers on

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, along with the phrase “or your money back”. Alvin was a proponent of short-form

, which consisted of 120-second and 60-seconds

commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

featuring a 1-800 number and a call to action.

Biography

Eicoff found his own

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...

in 1959, A. Eicoff & Company, specializing in short-form

. Due to his significant contributions and accomplishments in the direct response industry, he was elected to the

Direct Marketing Association The Data & Marketing Association (DMA), formerly the Direct Marketing Association, is a trade organization for marketers. In 2017, their web site stated, "Yes, 100 years ago we were the Direct Mail Marketing Association and then the Direct Marketin ...

Hall of Fame and was elected as one of the 50 most influential people in television history by

Advertising Age ''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in ...

Personal life

In 1947, Eicoff married Helene Topaz (1928–2020); they had two children Larry Eicoff and Jeffrey Eicoff. He died on March 2, 2002, and was buried at Shalom Memorial Park in

Arlington Heights, Illinois Arlington Heights is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County Illinois, United States. A northwestern Chicago metropolitan area, suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of the city's downtown. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

References

Obituary of Alvin Eicoff in The New York TimesA. Eicoff & Company Official Website

Biography

Personal life

References

Further reading