Mary Wells Lawrence was a groundbreaking advertising executive who founded Wells Rich Greene and was known for quotable ad slogans like “I ♥ NY” and “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz.”
- Died: May 11, 2024 (Who else died on May 11?)
- Details of death: Died in London at the age of 95.
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Mary Wells Lawrence’s legacy
Wells Lawrence got her start in advertising in her hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, working as in-house copywriter for McKelvey’s department store. She relocated to New York City and took on a similar job at the retail giant Macy’s before moving on to advertising agencies. Among the notable ad firms where she cut her teeth were Doyle Dane Bernback, now known as DDB Worldwide, plus Jack Tinker and Partners.
While at Tinker, Wells Lawrence developed one of her most notable campaigns for Braniff International Airways. Asked to come up with a “big idea” to make Braniff a household name, she toured its terminal and found herself aghast at its drab, colorless aesthetic. Offering more than simply an ad strategy, she advised Braniff to change its entire look by painting its planes in bright colors and outfitting its stewardesses in Emilio Pucci fashions that were removed, layer by layer, throughout their flights. An accompanying campaign – dubbed “The End of the Plain Plane” – was an absolute hit.
Lawrence’s success with Braniff prompted her to ask for a big promotion at Tinker: She wanted to be its president. But she was denied, specifically because she was a woman. It was feared that clients wouldn’t take her seriously. Incensed, Lawrence took Braniff and left, starting her own ad agency, Wells Rich Greene, with two colleagues. It became wildly successful, and Lawrence was behind many of its iconic campaigns and slogans.
“I ♥ NY,” intended as a brief tourism booster at a low point in New York City’s history, became an enduring slogan for the city. “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh, what a relief it is,” a jingle accompanying an ad that showed two Alka-Seltzer tablets being dropped into a glass of water, immediately almost doubled sales for the brand. People who had been taking just one tablet began ingesting two in imitation of the ad.
Lawrence was also involved with such memorable slogans as “Flick your Bic,” for Bic disposable lighters; “Trust the Midas touch,” for Midas automotive service centers; “Raise your hand if you’re Sure,” for Sure deodorant, and “At Ford, quality is job one,” for Ford Motor Company. Thanks to the many high-profile ad campaigns developed by Wells Rich Greene, Lawrence became one of the advertising world’s all-time greats. She was the first female CEO of a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Notable quote
“The best advertising should make you nervous about what you’re not buying.” — as quoted by AdPulp
Tributes to Mary Wells Lawrence
Full obituary: The New York Times
