
From famous ad campaigns to cultural movements, here are some of the moments that stand out over the last 100 years of advertising.
We are celebrating the next 50 years of planning by taking a look into the start of it with our new timeline category, Planning view now..
Want to be part of the timeline? Submit your moment here.
All stories
The Golden Age of Advertising

Jerry Seinfeld Brings American Express Down to Earth a Smidge

Mad Men Tells The Story of A Scotch-Soaked Mad Ad World

R/GA Teams Up with Nike and Apple to Run the Fitness World

Advertising Embraces R&B with Billy Davis’s Hire

APG Published the First “How to Plan Advertising” Handbook

Old Spice Loses the Shirt, Keeps the Whistle

MasterCard, McCann-Erickson and a Campaign That Never Got Old? Priceless.

Alex Osborn, the Father of Brainstorming
Dawn of Social Media Era

Jay Chiat Hires Jane Newman
Behind The Scenes
The Golden Age of Advertising

David Ogilvy’s ‘Confessions of an Advertising Man’ Considered Required Reading

Bill Bernbach Founds Doyle Dane Bernbach with James Edwin Doyle and Maxwell Dane
Dawn of Social Media Era
Digital Shift in Advertising

Connecting Aspiration and Action: Nike Challenges the World to ‘Just Do It’
Cameos

Jerry Seinfeld Brings American Express Down to Earth a Smidge

Brooke Shields Sparks Controversy in Calvin Klein Jeans

‘Hey Kid, Catch!’: Mean Joe Greene Scores a Heartwarming Super Bowl Touchdown for Coke

Shelley Hack and Revlon’s Charlie Introduce America to the Sexy Feminist

Eleanor Roosevelt Becomes Good Luck Margarine’s Good Luck Charm

Dinah Shore Sings ‘See the U.S.A in Your Chevrolet’
Characters

Mad Men Tells The Story of A Scotch-Soaked Mad Ad World

Dos Equis: The Most Interesting Campaign in the World?

The Martin Agency: Geckos, Camels and Cavemen

Energizer Bunny: The Campaign That Keeps “…going and going and going…”

Fast Food Giant McDonald’s Introduces the U.S. to Ronald McDonald

Alka-Seltzer’s ‘Speedy’ Sings, ‘Oh, What a Relief It Is!
Design

R/GA Teams Up with Nike and Apple to Run the Fitness World

Hitting the Bullseye: From Target to ‘Tar-zhay’

Chiat\Day and the Invention of the ‘Open Office’

Absolut Perfection: The Campaign with Infinite Possibilities

Milton Glaser: A Simple Design That Shaped an Entire City

Truth in Advertising: DDB and VW Encourage the World to Think Small
Diversity

Advertising Embraces R&B with Billy Davis’s Hire

Research Pioneer Herta Herzog Rises to Two Top Positions

Four Women From Both Account and Creative Promoted to VPs

Ikea’s “Dining Room” Features First Openly Gay Couple in Commercial

R/GA and The Ad Council Ask the World to Rethink Bias with ‘Love Has No Labels’

Good for the Heart: Saatchi & Saatchi, Cheerios and the Evolving American Family
Firsts

APG Published the First “How to Plan Advertising” Handbook
Stanley Pollitt Co-founded Boase Massimi Pollitt (now DDB)

Research Pioneer Herta Herzog Rises to Two Top Positions

Four Women From Both Account and Creative Promoted to VPs

Ikea’s “Dining Room” Features First Openly Gay Couple in Commercial

WPP Named World’s Most Creative Holding Company at Cannes for Sixth Year
Laughs

Old Spice Loses the Shirt, Keeps the Whistle

Jerry Seinfeld Brings American Express Down to Earth a Smidge

Snickers Resolves Hunger-Induced Identity Crisis

Skittles Shoots for the Stars, Catches a Tasty Rainbow

Mac vs. PC Sets the Standard for 21st Century Advertising

ESPN’s Sportscenter: Jocks Making Jokes
Lines

MasterCard, McCann-Erickson and a Campaign That Never Got Old? Priceless.

Connecting Aspiration and Action: Nike Challenges the World to ‘Just Do It’

Kodak’s “Times of Your Life” (J. Walter Thompson) Becomes a Hit in the U.S.

Unknown Ammirati Puris AvRutick Turns BMW into ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’

McCann-Erickson’s ‘Tastes Great … Less Filling’ Puts Miller Lite in the Game

Little Mikey Tries Life Cereal, America Agrees When ‘He Likes It!’
Music

Advertising Embraces R&B with Billy Davis’s Hire

McDonald’s ‘Two All Beef Patties …’ Says a Mouthful

Kodak’s “Times of Your Life” (J. Walter Thompson) Becomes a Hit in the U.S.

‘Start Me Up’: The $3 Million Anthem That Launched Microsoft’s Windows 95

Wieden+Kennedy Launches Music Rights ‘Revolution’ with Nike and The Beatles

America Gets Stuck on Barry Manilow’s ‘I Am Stuck on Band-Aid’, and Many More
Planning

Alex Osborn, the Father of Brainstorming

Naked Communication Launches

To The Next 50 Years of Planning

Jay Chiat Planning Awards

“Truth, Lies & Advertising: the Art of Account Planning” Is Published

APG Published the First “How to Plan Advertising” Handbook
Tech
Dawn of Social Media Era

IBM Consolidates Its Account at Ogilvy & Mather
Digital Shift in Advertising

R/GA Teams Up with Nike and Apple to Run the Fitness World

Subservient Chicken Breaks into the Viral World

BMW Drives Short Film Lovers to the Internet
Women

Jay Chiat Hires Jane Newman

Research Pioneer Herta Herzog Rises to Two Top Positions

Four Women From Both Account and Creative Promoted to VPs

Virginia Slims Cashes in on Women’s Lib, Declaring: ‘You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby’

Brooke Shields Sparks Controversy in Calvin Klein Jeans

Eleanor Roosevelt Becomes Good Luck Margarine’s Good Luck Charm