The Shell Answer Man was a series of

television advertisement 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. ...

s from the 1960s through the 1990s sponsored by

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

in which answers were provided to common questions from the public about driving, with advice on vehicle maintenance, repair and safety, as well as guidance to users of home

heating oil Heating oil is any petroleum product or other oil used for heating; it is a fuel oil. Most commonly, it refers to low viscosity grades of fuel oil used for furnaces or boilers for home heating and in other buildings. Home heating oil is often ...

. Companion booklets, a series titled the Shell Answer Books, were inserted into major magazines and distributed as free giveaways at Shell gas stations. The ads were aimed at typical drivers, helping inform them how to avoid wasting gasoline through such tips as not making jackrabbit starts, ensuring proper tire inflation, regular oil changes and proper basic maintenance of their vehicle, as well as guidance on how to get the most out of heating one's home. The campaign was developed in the late 1960s for Shell by the advertising firm of

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 ...

, a relationship that would continue for nearly four decades. Print ads addressed other oil uses, such as touting the benefits of switching to an oil-powered hot water heater and encouraging those using oil to heat their homes to ensure they have enough oil in their tank before the cold weather arrives. By the time Shell ended the relationship in 1999, Ogilvy & Mather had 60 employees based in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

largely dedicated to the Shell account, and when O&M closed the office in Houston it dropped other local accounts that it could no longer justify supporting. Actor and announcer

Don Morrow Donald Gordon Morrow (January 29, 1927 – October 27, 2020) was an American announcer, television presenter, and voiceover artist.Stephen Heyman ''The New York Times'', April 10, 2009. Morrow was the announcer for the 1950s game show ''On Yo ...

appeared in the campaign in the 1960s, offering tips to drivers. Actor

Vince O'Brien Vincent J. O'Brien (January 11, 1919 – June 19, 2010) was an American character actor, who appeared as a doctor in Woody Allen's film ''Annie Hall'' (1977) and appeared on television and in print ads as the Shell Answer Man. O'Brien grew up in ...

landed the role of the Shell Answer Man in the late 1960s and 1970s, an opportunity he described in a newspaper interview as being "like hitting the state lottery." O'Brien's balding, mature appearance made him an effective authority figure in the campaign. Actor

Richard Anderson Richard Norman Anderson (August 8, 1926 – August 31, 2017) was an American film and television actor. One of his best-known roles was his portrayal of Oscar Goldman, the boss of Steve Austin (Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner) in ...

played the role of the Shell Answer Man in the 1970s and 1980s.Staff
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Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

''. Accessed June 22, 2010.

References

{{Shell oil Advertising campaigns Shell plc