The Socrates of San Francisco

The story of Howard Gossage and a wildly groundbreaking advertisement

David Ogilvy said, respect your customer and talk to them like you would to your wife. Howard Gossage took it a step further and wrote to his customers like he would to his best buddy. The result? Huge free PR and national recognition – thanks to a simple, one-page press advertisement.

In the 21st century, in light of the internet and audiovisual technology's conquest, it's worth slowing down a bit and reflecting on the potential of a well-written press advertisement. The newspaper advertisement being presented now was already considered outdated in terms of its technical solutions back in 1953. Yet it would still work even today, due to the extraordinary originality of the text. What is its secret? The technique created by Howard Gossage, which is guaranteed to convert even after 70 years. But who was Howard Gossage?

 

The Socrates of San Francisco

Howard Luck Gossage was born in 1917 in Chicago. He served as a bomber pilot during World War II. After the war, he entered the advertising industry, initially working as a copywriter for larger agencies.

At the age of 36, he founded his own agency, far from the noise of Madison Avenue in New York, in San Francisco.

He worked on campaigns for numerous brands, from Irish whiskey to Land Rover. During his short life, he was part of or initiated several unusual, extraordinary events. His later wife, actress Sally Kemp, sighed when she first saw him: „I would give anything to meet a man like that.” At that time, Kemp was dating Richard Burton, who would later become Liz Taylor's husband...

Gossage discovered and launched the career of Marshall McLuhan, inspired Tom Wolfe- and he wrote the first social cause advertisements for the Sierra Club and later for the Friends of The World social organization.

His motto was:

„To change the world – this is the only life goal worthy of a man.”

 

The Firehouse

If Howard Gossage were alive today, he would be considered the bad boy of advertising, although this would likely not faze him. While in the 1950s, the center of American advertising was in New York, on the legendary Madison Avenue, he set up his headquarters in San Francisco, in a former fire station building. He named his later agency Firehouse after this.

Gossage did not respect his profession so much that at the peak of his career, he turned his back on advertising to promote topics that advance the well-being of humanity. With this, he laid the foundations for social cause advertising. But let's not rush too far ahead in time, as legendary advertisements are associated with Firehouse, most of which are unknown to the Hungarian audience.

Particularly memorable is the advertisement for the Australian airline Qantas from 1953. Firehouse was tasked with promoting Qantas's newly acquired four-engine Lockheed Super Constellation aircraft capable of transatlantic flights. The Australian airline was eager to launch the advertising campaign because their U.S. competitor, TWA, had also purchased such aircraft and featured this type in their advertisements, which was one of the top categories of its time.

The TWA advertisement is a true snapshot of the era:

This is certainly an advertisement that can be considered average from the 1950s. It depicts a colorful painting of the airplane shining above the clouds. The text informs that the aircraft type Super-G Constellation-has been named. The text also mentions that passengers should bring their cameras on the trip to take photos from the air. The essential logo has been placed in the bottom left corner, listing the continents flown over in the absence of the company name and slogan. If we are not feeling a chill down our spine from excitement, it is not the host's fault... This solution was already completely conventional in 1953, without the slightest spark of originality characteristic of good advertisements.

Gossage had the opportunity to copy this advertisement, perhaps in terms of length, grandeur, and try to surpass it. However, he chose a radically different path.

To be continued...

 

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