Cyril M. Schneider (June 11, 1929 – February 22, 1994) was an American

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

executive and author. He is best known for his work in children's advertising for

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

and as the president of

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

from 1980 to 1984. He is not related to Dan Schneider.

Early life

Schneider was born on June 11, 1929, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois to Marcus and Marcia Schneider ( Cotler). His home town was

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He graduated with a degree in journalism from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

and graduated with a master's degree in American literature from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Career

Carson-Roberts Agency

He joined the Carson-Roberts Agency in Los Angeles in 1953 and later on became the president of the company until 1970 when it was bought by

Ogilvy & Mather Ogilvy is a New York City-based British advertising, marketing, and public relations agency. It was founded in 1850 by Edmund Mather as a London-based agency. In 1964, the firm became known as Ogilvy & Mather after merging with a New York City a ...

, where Schneider would work for the next 10 years. In 1954, he was an Account Manager for Mattel in the Carson-Roberts Agency. In that same year Mattel spent $500,000 to sponsor the Mickey Mouse Club. Schneider was the first person to film a toy commercial. From 1978 to 1980, Schneider was

's senior vice president in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Nickelodeon

In 1980,

Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment Paramount Media Networks is the division of Paramount Global that oversees the operations of its television channels and online brands. The division was originally founded as MTV Networks in 1984, named after MTV. It would be known under this ...

Network hired Schneider to be the president of the then-new

network. Despite introducing popular programs such as ''

You Can't Do That on Television ''You Can't Do That on Television'' is a Canadian sketch comedy television series that aired locally in 1979 before airing in the United States in 1981. It featured adolescent and teenage actors performing in a sketch comedy format similar to A ...

'' to the lineup in 1981, Nickelodeon operated at a loss of $10 million dollars, and at one point had the lowest number of viewers compared to other cable channels by 1984. In 1983, Bob Pittman was made head of

MTV Networks Paramount Media Networks is the division of Paramount Global that oversees the operations of its television channels and online brands. The division was originally founded as MTV Networks in 1984, named after MTV. It would be known under this ...

and Schneider was not comfortable with his "idiotic" approach to "home-based" television. As a result, Schneider left the network in early 1984.

Post Nickelodeon years

From 1984 to his death in 1994, Schneider worked at

Bozell Bozell is an American full-service public relations and advertising agency in Omaha, Nebraska. History Bozell traces its roots to the company founded in 1921 in Omaha, Nebraska by Leo B. Bozell, Leo Bozell and Morris Jacobs as Bozell & Jacob ...

, an advertising agency in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and served as its corporate vice president from 1988 until 1994. In 1987, he wrote a book about children's advertising and programs called ''Children's Television: The Art, the Business and How it Works''.

Death

Schneider died from cancer on February 22, 1994 in New York.

References

Nickelodeon executives 1929 births 1994 deaths University of Southern California alumni New York University alumni {{US-business-bio-1920s-stub