John J. Manning Jr.

John J. "Jack" Manning, Jr., 81, passed away peacefully on Sept. 4, 2014 at Coastal Carolina Hospital after complications brought on by Alzheimer's. He was born in Philadelphia, PA, on Dec. 8, 1932, and grew up in Elkins Park, PA. After graduating St. Joseph's prep in Philadelphia, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1954. In 1955, he married Rita Martines. On the advice of fellow Penn Wharton School grad Bruce Crawford, he sought Proctor & Gamble (P&G) as his first job in marketing. If you wanted a "marketing/advertising degree", P&G was like getting your MBA.  Mr. Crawford would later become Chairman of the powerful advertising firm BBD&O. After serving two years in the US Army he followed up on his plan and went to work for P&G in Cincinnati. After several years he made his way to Madison Avenue and eventually landed at the advertising agency BBD&O. He spent twelve years there, rising to executive vice president and managing accounts such as Gillette, American Tobacco Company (Tareyton cigarettes) , Pepsi Cola and many others. While working on the Gillette business in the 1960's it was his idea to have Gillette sponsor Major League Baseball's All-Star game. It would be one of the first major sponsorships undertaken in any professional sport. Today almost every event has a title sponsor. From BBD&O he went to McCann-Erickson following long time friend and colleague, John Bergin. As a senior executive on the Miller Brewing Company account he helped create a new category in the beer business. The successful marketing of "Lite" beer by the McCann-Erickson team changed the landscape of the beer business forever.  Many who knew him have often said he was an original "Mad Man".  After a few years he moved to the client side, eventually helping form Sports Marketing Enterprises (SME), a division of RJ Reynolds Tobacco and The Nabisco companies. He would be its first President. SME was responsible for the promotion or sponsorships of many RJR/Nabisco brands: the Vantage Cup PGA Senior Tour, the Winston Cup NASCAR series, the Nabisco tennis championships as well as the Nabisco Dinah Shore LPGA Golf Championship. He retired in the early 1990's and moved to Hilton Head, SC. At the time of his death, he was a popular member of Belfair Plantation in Bluffton, SC. He was an accomplished and well traveled golfer who enjoyed not only the sport but the camaraderie it provided with his many friends. He had been a member of many golf clubs through his life, including Winged Foot GC, Ridgewood CC, The Long Cove Club, Secession Golf Club and The Vintage Club. He is survived by his wife of fifteen years Sally Ann Manning of Bluffton, SC., his sons John of Tarrytown, NY, Chris and his wife Linda of Middlebury, CT, and six grandchildren.  And by his former wife of 43 years, Rita Manning of Indian Wells, CA. A memorial service will be held on Sept.20 at 10 a.m. at Saul's Funeral Home in Bluffton, S.C. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be made to the Alzheimer's Association at ALZ.org.