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Star-Reacher The LHe of Leo Burnett,, p.2 The Leo Burnett I Knew by David Ogilvy, p.8 Inside Tank '91, p.10 Protection of Commeraial Speech, p.20 ldiIIer Time, p22 Leo Burnett/Tbailand, p-24 A Walk on the Production Side with George Mendoaa, P.28 Tony the Tiger Sells Kellogg to the World, p.30 the 9aeo.tt..oAc is published by Corporate Affairs, Leo Burnett Company, Inc., 35 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Blinois 60601 Editor. Joan saldn Contributing Editors: Jaua csal, Sasen S6aLoda, stwn sonivau Intern: DevA Whitairer . Editorial Advisory Boardl Blu ZngeUuvcbt, =at6te HopPe. Peter Hnstlng, Tom Ra.Mm. ®ud Q/hslyl 0 Leo Burnett Co., Inc., 1991. May not be reproduced without written permission: Printed in u.S.A. Cover Illustration: Paul Rogers Every Burnett office worldwide will receive a limited-edition reprint of the cover illustration, ,signed'and numbered by the artist, Printed on Recycled Paper Star Reacher: T he question is always why. Is it in the genes? Is it the upbringing? Is it the influence of parents,, or teachers, or friends? What is it that would take a rather shy, self- effacing young man from a tiny village (pop. 3800) in Michigan, , and recast him, larger-than-life, as the founder of an adver- tising agency that today spans the world? Fifty-six years "old," the agency built on what Leo Burnett believed about advertising stands stronger than ever, larger than ever and growing. Though thousands of people„certainly, have helped build the Leo Bur- nett Company, the foun- dation of it and the vision of it-its depths and its heights-are his. They are what we still follow and why his name is still on the door. Yet, the questions remain and tantalize.. Why Leo Burnett? How did he begin? What forks in the road did he choose? How did he do it? We look for clues, first, at the roots. The BnrilettS, Pre-Leo A family genealogist has traced the Burnett line back to one Gilbert Bur- net (spelled with one T),. Bishop of Salisbury under William and Mary, a chief advisor to the king and the author of several his- tories of the English Rev- olution of 1689 including History of My Own TSme and History of the Refor- mation in England. Another relative, William Burnet, was a British governor in colo- nial New York. Still another, George Burnett, was Leo's pater- nall grandfather, a f armer 2

The Life of Leo Burnett who married Susan Acheson,,the daughter of a Methodist Bishop. These Burnetts, along with others from the Rochester area, migrated West to found a new vil- lage in Michigan, first named the Rochester Colony, then changed to Duplaim Leo Burnett's maternal grandfather was Mor- timer Clark. The family believed he was a descendant of General George Rogers Clark, the Revolutionary War hero. Leo's father, Noble Israel Burnett, was a dry goods merchant'for mostt of his life, selling the ordinary and necessary stuff of homemaking. The name on~the door of his store? His name: Noble Burnett. In his gene pool, thenj Leo Burnett had a gover- nor, a merchant„two Bishops, one of them an author, very possibly a I i 11 Revolutionary war hero, Noble and Rose Clark and a farmer/founder of Burnett. He was named a town. Leo, but years later, in searching for his birth Leo Burnett at four months (The doctor who deliv- ered Leo had apparently, following the custom of naming the eldest male child after the paternal grandfather, filled in George as a matter of course.) "If I wanted a birth certificate, there seemed to be no alternative to retracing what was then about 37 years of my life and getting 'George' changed to 'Leo' all along the line," he wrote. "Fortunately, my mother came to the res- cue and she and the mid- wife who helped bring me into the world, signed an affidavit that I was, indeed, 'Leo.'" A corrected birth cer- tificate arrived a few months later and "proved that Leo is Beginnings certificate, he learned~ it indeed my name, Leo Burnett was born, at had been erroneously although if I had beem home, in St. Johns, filled out as George doing it, I would have Michigan on October 21, Burnett. greatly preferred 1891, the first child of 'George."' r 3

The NobellBurnetts had three more children: a son, Verne Edwin, bom in 1896„a daughter named Gladys May (which she changed to Mary) in 1898, and another son, Harry, born in 1901. The Burnett household adhered to a strong work ethic. All the children had after-school jobs, and Rose helped put all four children through college, working as working on the phone to sell something. She learned to drive a car so she could go out and sell real estate. She was always a very busy woman." It was Noble Burnett who first exposed young Leo to the world of adver- tising..."I looked over my dad's shoulder as he laid Leo, Mary and Verne Burnett' circa 1900 a realtor, taking in coIlege students as boarders, and; later on4 as an antiques dealer. Leo's youngest brother Harry remembers their mother "was always calling on somebody or out ads for his store at home after supper, on big pieces of wrapping paper spread out: on the dining room table, using a big black pencil and a yard- stick. He had studied pen- manship in a business col- lege and:was something of an artist." Young Leo, too, would try his hand at graphic art,, first by letter- ing placards for the store (he learned how through a cor- respondence course), then by drawing posters for high school and college events. He also tried working for his dad but wrote "I didn't like clerking in the store after school and on weekends, so Noble Burnett, Leo's father he permited me to work on the local weekly papers. "' Becoming a printer's "devil" " was the beginningg of Leo's lifetime love affair with the printed word. He was 12 years oki: "I started out on the tiny Clinton Democrat, edited by a grand person by the name of Charlie Clark„who, according to my memory, would have been the first Time 'style' writer - a genius at headlines. I learned a lot from him. "I started my career cleaning the presses, but learned to set type, run a press and perform most of the chores of'~ a print shop. I ...graduated to a reporter- ship and fancied myself an editorialiwriter. As a reporter, I covered lots of, territory on my bicycle and rarely a week passed that I did not scoop the rival paper with a hot obituary." One of his chief assign- ments was to greet the local train and interview townspeople who were leaving or returning home. His salary: $'3'a week. Much later he would say of these years: "At the time, it was my ambition to become,publisher of the New York Times, but (The Times) never found out about this."' When the Clinton Democrat folded~ Leo switched to the Clinton Republican but when Char- lie Clark bought the St. Johns News, Leo unhesitat- ingly rejoined his first boss. If a st7ong work ethic dominated the Burnett household, a belief in edu- cation was its driving force. Noble Burnett had com- pleted a business course at the Ferris Institute (later Ferris State College), and both he and Rose held edu~ 4'

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