The Advertising Club of New York, also known as The Ad Club and originally called the Sphinx Club, is an

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

industry group promoting

self-regulation Self-regulation may refer to: *Emotional self-regulation *Self-control, in sociology/psychology *Self-regulated learning, in educational psychology *Self-regulation theory (SRT), a system of conscious personal management *Industry self-regulation, ...

, professional training and good fellowship. The Advertising Club of New York is the only organization to bring the industry together across all disciplines – marketing, media and agencies – in the name of exchanging ideas and best practices for business and thought leadership. Offering the community access to conversations and key influencers, inspiration and recognition for creativity, the best training for professional development, and a movement for the diversity.

Origins

In 1896, a group of eight advertising men in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

began meeting for lunch on a regular basis to share ideas on the business that sustained their livelihood. They called themselves the Sphinx Club, and in 1906 this growing group incorporated as the Advertising Men's League, eventually becoming The Advertising Club of New York in 1915. Most of The Ad Club's early years were spent at the landmark Stanford White building at 23 Park Avenue, where Ad Club members, including the young Bill Paley,

J.C. Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...

, and

Bill Bernbach William Bernbach (August 13, 1911 – October 2, 1982) was an American advertising creative director. He was one of the three founders in 1949 of the international advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB). He directed many of the firm's breakth ...

, conducted business in the main dining room over lunch.

Initiatives

* 1906: First formal course in advertising to be offered by an educational institution at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

(NYU). * 1911: The first supporter of the " truth in advertising"

program Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program management, the process of managing several related projects * Time management * Program, a part of planning Arts and entertainment Audio * Progra ...

, which remains a hallmark of

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

and formed the first "

Vigilance Committee A vigilance committee was a group formed of private citizens to administer law and order or exercise power through violence in places where they considered governmental structures or actions inadequate. A form of vigilantism and often a more stru ...

", which evolved into today's Better Business Bureau. * 1923: Held the first-ever advertising exposition at the 71st Regiment Armory to much acclaim, with an attendance of over 58,000. * 1949: Founded the Advertising Hall of Fame immortalizing 10 giants of our industry the first year, and many more until it was turned over to the American Advertising Federation in 1973. * 1964: Founded the International ANDY Awards to recognize creative excellence in advertising and to raise the standards of craftsmanship in industry.

List of presidents

*2005-Present Gina Grillo, Executive Director * 2003–2005 Renee V. H. Simons, Managing Director, J P Morgan Chase * 2001 - 2003 Robert Mate, VP/Publishing Director,

Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned magazines, television stations, websites, and radio stations. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more ...

* 1999 - 2001 Carla Loffredo, Sr. Partner/Director, Brand Comm,

J. Walter Thompson J. Walter Thompson (JWT) was an advertisement holding company incorporated in 1896 by American advertising pioneer James Walter Thompson. The company was acquired in 1987 by multinational holding company WPP plc, and in November 2018, WPP merge ...

* 1998 - 1999 Steven Farella, jordanmcgrathcase & partners * 1997 - 1998 Joanne Davis,

Bozell Worldwide Bozell is an American full-service public relations and advertising agency in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, North America. History Bozell traces its roots to the company founded in 1921 in Omaha, Nebraska by Leo Bozell and Morris Jacobs a ...

* 1996 - 1997 R. Jeffrey Petersen, ''

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes internati ...

'' * 1995 - 1996 Ronald S. Fierman,

Warwick Baker O'Neill Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whit ...

* 1994 - 1995 Susan C. Russo, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' * 1993 - 1994

Wenda Harris Millard Wenda Harris Millard is a media executive currently serving as Vice Chairman at MediaLink. Millard has held positions in media and technology as co-CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Chief Sales Officer at Yahoo!. In 2009, Millard joined ...

, '' Family Circle'' * 1991 - 1993

Wilder D. Baker Wilder DuPuy Baker (July 22, 1890 – November 10, 1975) was a highly decorated officer in the United States Navy with the rank of Vice admiral. A Naval Academy graduate, Baker commanded submarines and destroyers in his early career and rose to ...

, Warwick, Baker & Fiore * 1989 - 1991 William F. Marlieb, General Media International * 1987 - 1989 Richard D. O'Connor, Lintas: Campbell-Ewald * 1985 - 1987 Leslie Winthrop, Advertising Agency Register * 1982 - 1985 Judy Guerin de Neco, Judy Guerin, Inc. * 1981 - 1982 Michael Chamberlin, Lebhar-Friedman * 1979 - 1981 Fred R. Messner, Poppe Tyson * 1978 - 1979

Al Ries Alfred Paul Ries (November 14, 1926 – October 7, 2022) was an American marketing professional and author. He was the cofounder and chairman of the Atlanta-based consulting firm Ries & Ries with his partner and daughter, Laura Ries. Along with J ...

, Ries, Cappiello, Colwell * 1976 - 1978 Michael Chamberlin, Lebhar-Friedman * 1974 - 1976 Edward Malluk, Timely Linens * 1973 - 1974 Vincent A. Carberry, Precision Valve Corporation * 1971 - 1973 Charles E. Ballard, Winius-Brandon Company * 1969 - 1971 Milton Riback, Milton Riback, Inc. * 1967 - 1969 William T. Leslie,

TWA Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...

* 1964 - 1967 Walter B. Bruce,

American Can The American Can Company was a manufacturer of tin cans. It was a member of the Tin Can Trust, that controlled a "large percentage of business in the United States in tin cans, containers, and packages of tin." American Can Company ranked 97th amon ...

* 1963 - 1964 Mervin P. Bickley,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

* 1960 - 1963 Horace H. Nahm, Hooven Letters * 1959 - 1960 Gene Flack, Sunshine Biscuit Co. * 1957 - 1959

Robert M. Gray Robert M. Gray (born November 1, 1943) is an American information theorist, and the Alcatel-Lucent Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. He is best known for his contributions to quantization and com ...

, Esso Standard Oil * 1955 - 1957 Thomas B. Haire, Haire Publishing * 1953 - 1955 George A. Phillips * 1951 - 1953 George S. McMillan,

Bristol-Myers The Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMS) is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in New York City, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consistently ranks on the ''Fortune'' 500 list of the lar ...

* 1950 - 1951 Frank M. Head, United Cigar-Whelan Stores * 1948 - 1950 Andrew J. Haire, Haire Publishing * 1946 - 1948 Eugene S. Thomas, Bamberger Broadcasting Service * 1944 - 1946 Allan T. Preyer, Vick Chemical Company * 1942 - 1944 John A. Zellers, Remington Rand * 1941 - 1942 I.S. Randall * 1939 - 1941 G. Lynn Sumner, G. Lynn Sumner Co. * 1937 - 1939

Lowell Thomas Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, actor, broadcaster, and traveler, best remembered for publicising T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). He was also involved in promoting the Cinerama widescreen ...

television anchor A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...

* 1935 - 1937 H.B. LeQuatte, Churchill-Hall Advertising * 1932 - 1935

Grover A. Whalen Grover Aloysius Whalen (1886–1962) was a prominent politician, businessman, and public relations guru in New York City during the 1930s and 1940s. Early years Whalen was born on July 2, 1886, in New York City, the son of an Irish immigrant fath ...

John Wanamaker John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a ...

* 1930 - 1932 Charles E. Murphy, Murphy, Block, Sullivan & Sawyer * 1929 - 1930 James Wright Brown, ''

Editor & Publisher ''Editor & Publisher'' (''E&P'') is an American monthly trade news magazine covering the newspaper industry. Published since 1901, ''Editor & Publisher'' is the self-described "bible of the newspaper industry." Originally based in New York City, ...

'' * 1927 - 1929 Gilbert T. Hodges, '' New York Sun'' * 1925 - 1927 James P. GillroyTimes Union Bklyn, 29APR 1926 Charles C. Green, Charles C. Green Advertising Agency * 1923 - 1925 H.H. Charles, H.H. Charles Advertising Service * 1922 - 1923 C. King Woodbridge, The Dictaphone Co. * 1921 - 1922 Frank E. Fehlman, Churchill-Hall Advertising * 1919 - 1921 George W. Hopkins, Columbia Gramophone Co. * 1919 - 1919 F.A. Wilson-Lawrenson,

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

* 1917 - 1919 George B. Sharpe, DeLavel Separator Co. * 1914 - 1917 Harry Tipper, Automotive Industries * 1908 - 1914 William H. Ingersoll, Robert Ingersoll & Bros. * 1907 - 1908 Gerald B. Wadsworth * 1906 - 1907

Charles Capehart Charles E. Capehart (1833–1911) was an officer in the U.S. Cavalry during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for action following the Battle of Gettysburg on July 4, 1863. Military service Capehart enlisted in the Union Army ...

* 1896 - 1905 Data not available 13 Presidents from the first 20 years of the organization include: M.M. Gillam, Artemas Ward, Herbert B Harding, Frank Presbrey, F. James Gibson (founder and first president), Samuel Brill, Phillip A Conne, W.R. Hotchkin, George B Van Cleve, Collin Armstrong, E.D. Gibbs, Henry C Brown and Preston P Lynn.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Advertising Club Of New York, The Advertising organizations Business organizations based in the United States Clubs and societies in New York City Organizations established in 1896 1896 establishments in New York City Advertising in the United States