Len Matthews
With sadness and gratitude we announce the passing of Len Matthews. “Dad” was a true captain of the advertising industry in America for decades, under whose leadership endearing symbols such as “the Jolly Green Giant,” “the Pillsbury Dough Boy,” and “Tony the Tiger” were created among many others.
In 1981, U.S. News & World Report named him among the United States’ “most influential persons.” In addition to his impressive 28-year career at Leo Burnett Worldwide in Chicago, he was also president of Young & Rubicam North America in the late ‘70’s, a president of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (“The Four ‘A’s’ “), and Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Ford Administration.
In 1998, he was inducted in the American Advertising Federation's Advertising Hall of Fame along with other advertising luminaries including Jay Chiat, founder of the renowned Chiat/Day.
During his 28-year career at Burnett, he worked with companies such as Allstate Insurance, Green Giant Foods, Procter & Gamble, Kellogg's, Pillsbury and United Airlines. When he joined Burnett in 1948 as a marketing analyst, it was billing $12 million. When he left in 1975 as its president, the company billed $600 million.
As president of The Four “A’s,” from 1979 to 1989, he built and maintained relationships within the advertising industry, not only in the United States, but in all free-market countries, and more than doubled the size of its membership. In 1984, he led the initiation of the Partnership for a Drug-free America. He served as a director of the Advertising Council, the Council of Better Business Bureaus and the Consumer Research Institute.
In 1990, Len retired to Rancho Santa Fe, outside of San Diego; a decision he had made years before when working with Starkist Tuna. Two years later, he and oldest son Jim Matthews, also a big agency veteran relocating from New York, acquired The Capener Company which is still MEA's “legal” name today.
Len never worked day to day at MEA (he didn’t want to), but in its early days he was around a lot, telling stories to our staff about advertising and always a good joke. To him this was reminiscing, but to us, extraordinary training sessions from an extraordinary teacher.
We’ll miss him forever, but his impact on many of us will last just as long.
Len Matthews (c. 1980)
In 1981, U.S. News & World Report named him among the United States’ “most influential persons.” In addition to his impressive 28-year career at Leo Burnett Worldwide in Chicago, he was also president of Young & Rubicam North America in the late ‘70’s, a president of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (“The Four ‘A’s’ “), and Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Ford Administration.
In 1998, he was inducted in the American Advertising Federation's Advertising Hall of Fame along with other advertising luminaries including Jay Chiat, founder of the renowned Chiat/Day.
During his 28-year career at Burnett, he worked with companies such as Allstate Insurance, Green Giant Foods, Procter & Gamble, Kellogg's, Pillsbury and United Airlines. When he joined Burnett in 1948 as a marketing analyst, it was billing $12 million. When he left in 1975 as its president, the company billed $600 million.
As president of The Four “A’s,” from 1979 to 1989, he built and maintained relationships within the advertising industry, not only in the United States, but in all free-market countries, and more than doubled the size of its membership. In 1984, he led the initiation of the Partnership for a Drug-free America. He served as a director of the Advertising Council, the Council of Better Business Bureaus and the Consumer Research Institute.
Len Matthews with his son Jim and daughter Nancy. (c. 2006)
Len never worked day to day at MEA (he didn’t want to), but in its early days he was around a lot, telling stories to our staff about advertising and always a good joke. To him this was reminiscing, but to us, extraordinary training sessions from an extraordinary teacher.
We’ll miss him forever, but his impact on many of us will last just as long.