Who was James Webb Young?
James Webb Young, Jim Young, Ad Man, Professor, The Honorable James Webb Young-- his titles roll on and on, because his career never stopped. John Crichton, a former president of the 4A's said of Jim Young that, "He provided the intellectual backbone for the agency business."
From his earliest years, Jim Young was a fast study. When he was eight or nine years old, he discovered that he could buy two newspapers for a penny from the paper's publisher and sell them to the public for a penny apiece. An entrepreneur was born-- and a scholar was lost to the public school system.
He went to work at twelve and never returned to school until he became a professor at the University of Chicago.
Beginning in 1912, he was in and out of J. Walter Thompson for 52 years. After Stanley and Helen Resor, he was the principal intellectual influence on the development of the J. Walter Thompson Company during that period.
He prided himself on being the "pattern maker" for some of J. Walter Thompson's greatest campaigns.
In 1919 he wrote an ad under the headline, "Within the Curve of a Woman's Arm." The villain was sweat. The hero was Odorno. The result was shock-- and a 112 percent increase in sales. A whole new category had been born.
He was not only an individual performer of great brilliance but a leader and teacher of rare ability. In 1917, when the new Western division of J. Walter Thompson was formed, he ran it. Later, in 1927, he took seven J. Walter Thompson staff men, three wives, one baby, and a cat to Europe to pen offices in Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, and Egypt --lecturing all the way.
In 1926 James Webb Young was selected by a subcommittee of leading advertisers, publishers, and advertising agencies to make a study of the commission method of compensation for agencies. The report was published in book form by the University of Chicago Press and remains the definitive word on the subject.
In 1941 he made a speech before a joint meeting of the ANA and the AAAA credited with inspiring the formation of the War Advertising Council-- out of which grew the present Advertising Council. He served both organizations as chairman.
From 1931 to 1939 he spent a considerable part of each year as a professor at the university of Chicago's new Business School, delivering the lectures on which he based his book, "How to Become and Advertising Man," which is still the best thing ever written on the subjects. In the words of John Crichton, "It contains the wit and wisdom of a man who has plenty of both, and the shrewd observations of a man who has been interested all of his life in people and why they buy."
Not content with having some of the best ideas around, Young explained the process in another slim classic, "A Technique for Producing Ideas."
And somewhere along the way he managed a dozen different careers, public servant in war and peace, friends of the Indians, owner of Sunset Magazine, and seller by mail of Old Jim Young's mountain green apples.
His Life in Brief
There is very little known about the personal life of James Webb Young. In fact, most of what is written is no more than a distillation of facts taken from his publication of "The Diary of an Ad Man."
From this work we learn that Young enjoyed his quiet life on his apple ranch, the Bar None. We also learn that he enjoyed the hustle and bustle of advertising life in the big city.
For the most part however, James Webb Young seems to have prefered a quiet and more relaxed lifestyle. We know that Young sold handwoven ties under the name "Webb Young, Trader" with his son Webb (see his ad below). This occurred while they lived together on a ranch in Pena Blanca, New Mexico. The ties were made by Indians from the nearby mountains.
Life Timeline
This timeline is taken from the inside cover of Young's 1944 edition of "The Diary of an Ad Man." It offers us only a brief look into the life of one of advertising's greatest minds.
Major Accomplishments
It would be almost an impossible task to list all of James Webb Young's major life accomplishments. However, this author believes it is worth mentioning the following three in the hopes that they will highlight the career of a man who truly changed the way in which advertising "business" is done.
On November 13th 1991, the Advertising Council celebrated its 50th anniversary. The Advertisng Council grew out of the War Advertising Council, which was inspired by the urgings of James Webb Young. He called all advertisers together to be "the servant of... all the forces of righteousness."
During World War II the Council rallied support for the war effort. It created public service campaigns that raised $35 billion in War Bonds, encouraged the planting of 50 million Victory Gardens and recruited 2 million women into the work force through the powerful symbol of "Rosie the Riveter."
After World War II, and at the request of President Truman, the War Advertising Council became the Advertising Council in 1945. The transformation was made possible through the efforts of Jim Young and his partner Ted Repplier.
Today, the Advertising Council continues to create the "timely and compelling public service messages Americans need to hear." The Advertising Council is responsible for the creation of Smoky the Bear, and countless other campaigns aimed at raising awareness about issues such as education, preventative health, community well-being, drug use, environmental preservation, and strengthening families.
Because of his lifelong work, and especially in light of the War and Advertising Councils, James Webb Young was entered into the Advertising Hall of Fame.
At J. Walter Thompson
Hired as a replacement for Helen Resor, James Webb Young joined J. Walter Thompson Cincinnati in 1911 as a copywriter. Thus far his only experience related to the field came from Young's experience in New York, where he wrote mail-order advertising for a local book publisher.
After only a few years, and as a result of Stanley Resor's (then CEO of JWT) extended work in the flagship office in New York , Young became head of the Cincinnati office.
Though a small office, the Cincinnati office offered everyone an opportunity to pitch in. "Everybody had a chance to be a part of everything," said Young, "from making the plan to wrapping up the arts for the last train that would catch a closing date."
At J. Walter Thompson, James Webb Young is perhaps best known for his pioneering work in establishing JWT's international branch offices. In 1927, with only a handful of employees and their spouses at his side, Jim Young succeeded in opeing international offices in germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain and Egypt. Many of these offices are still in business today.
Odorno
It is difficult to imagine a world without something as simple as deoderant. In fact, th first underarm deoderant product did not come into the marketplace until 1907. It was in that year that a Cincinnati surgeon invented Odorno-- the first underarm deoderant. His daughter, Edna Albert, spearheaded the marketing effort.
By 1919 advertising for Odorno was already established. In that same year, Jim Young wrote an ad with a headline that read, "Within the Curve of a Woman's Arm." (This ad can be seen at the right)
The headline for the Odorno ad cleaverly avoided mentioning the armpit. The ad itself also drew women in with copy stating that, "persons troubled with perspiration odor seldom can detect it themselves."
Here is the original copy of the original ad:
Within the curve of a woman's arm.
A frank disscussion of a subject too often avoided.
A woman's arm! Poets have sung its grace; artists have painted its beauty. It should be the daintiest, sweetest thing in the world. And yet, unfortunately, it isn't, always. There's an old offender in this quest for perfect daintiness - an offender of which we ourselves may be ever so unconscious, but which is just as truly present.
Shall we discuss it frankly?
Many a woman who says, "No, I am never annoyed by perspiration," does not know the facts ...
Of course, we aren't to blame because nature has made us so that the perspiration glands under the arms are more active than anywhere else. Nor are we to blame because ... have made normal evaporation there impossible.
Would you be absolutely sure of your daintiness?
It s the chemicals of the body, not uncleanliness, that cause odor. And even though there is no active perspiration - no apparent moisture - there may be under the arms an odor ...
Fastidious women who want to be absolutely sure of their daintiness have found that they could not trust to their own consciousness; they have felt the need of a toilet water which would insure them against any of this kind of undearm unpleasantness, either moisture or odor.
To meet this need, a physician formulated Odorono - a perfectly harmless and delightful toilet water ...
The Odorno campaign ran in the Ladies Home Journal. During that time the Journal and the American Medical Association warned that Odorno could be dangerous. Women, who saw the product and its advertising as being offensive and disgusting, cancelled their subscriptions to the Ladies Home Journal. Yet amazingly, even in the light of 200 cancellations, Odorno sales went up an increadible 112% in that year.
CLICK HERE NOW for James Webb Young Exhibit p.2
