Howard Luck Gossage (1917–1969) was an American advertising innovator and iconoclast during the "Mad Men" era,[1] frequently referred to as "The Socrates of San Francisco".[2][3]

Howard Gossage was an advertising man first and foremost, a preternatural marketing and propaganda genius. Defiantly independent, he both proved to be one of the industry’s most inventive innovators, astute prophets – and often its greatest critic. [4]

Out of a converted firehouse nestled in San Francisco's Barbary Shore neighborhood, Gossage created the headquarters of his advertising agency (Freeman, Mander & Gossage). The building would become a salon where many of that era's influential thinkers congregated,[1] from John Steinbeck to Buckminster Fuller, Tom Wolfe to Stan Freberg.[5][6]

A non-conformist who railed against the norms of so-called scientific advertising in his day, Gossage introduced several innovative techniques to the advertising practice that would only become appreciated decades after his death.[1]

Gossage is credited with discovering the media theorist Marshall McLuhan, introducing him to media and corporate leaders thereby providing McLuhan his entry into mainstream renown.[7] More widely, Gossage was involved in some of the first environmental campaigning in the USA with the Sierra Club, and in the establishment of Friends of the Earth through his friendship with David Brower.[8]

Co-founder at age 36 of the advertising agency Wiener & Gossage, Howard Gossage is listed by Advertising Age at number 23 of its 100 advertising people of the 20th century.[9] AdAge.com calls Gossage a "copywriter who influenced ad-makers worldwide."[10]

He is known for many outspoken comments on the advertising world:

Advertising accomplishes some things, but it doesn't accomplish all that much. I think it's obvious that you can't have more and more of the stuff.[4]

Repetitive advertising is not indoctrination so much as brain washing. There is ample evidence that when this method works well it is like shooting fish in a barrel. This is ok outside of the petty objection that even if people are fish, it isn't sporting to shoot them in a barrel. Except the fish don't hold still they way they used to, they've developed thicker skins, it takes more ammunition all the time.[11]

In 2012 Creative Director Steve Harrison authored a book about the life of Howard Gossage entitled Changing the world is the only fit work for a grown man.[12]

Ashley Pollak started a documentary project about Howard in 2005. He began collecting interviews with the Firehouse Gang - Warren Hinckle, Alice Lowe, Jerry Mander, Ken Brower and advertising voices George Lois, Jeff Goodby & Alex Bogusky. He discovered a trove of original photos, audio recordings, articles and letters. Unable to get funding for the film he created the archive - HowardLuckGossage.com.[13] In 2023 he was commissioned with James King to produce a radio documentary for BBC Radio 4 using the archive.[4] The programme was broadcast on the 20th May 2023.[4]

Also in 2023 Howard's daughter Sarah Luck Gossage and Ashley Pollak started a podcast of the same name as the radio documentary. The ongoing goal is to explore the themes and topics of Howard's life in greater detail, to dive deeper into the archive of material, alongside interviewing those working in environmentalism, economics, politics and communication, to see how Howard's thinking could be applied to the challenges that we face today.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Harrison, Steve (2012). Changing the World is the Only Fit Work for a Grown Man. AdWorld Press. ISBN 978-0957151505.
  2. ↑ "The Socrates of San Francisco: Howard Luck Gossage website". Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Goodby, Jeff (2006). The Book of Gossage. San Francisco: Copy Workshop; 2nd edition. ISBN 978-1887229289.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Archive on 4, The Socrates of San Francisco". BBC Online. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "The Howard Gossage 4 Point Program". Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Marshall McLuhan". The Canadian Advertising Museum. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  7. ↑ Rothenberg, Randall (1994). Where the Suckers Moon: The Life and Death of an Advertising Campaign. NY: Vintage Books, p. 188
  8. ↑ "The Ad Man Who Helped Create Earth Day". Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "Advertising Age Person of the Century". Advertising Age.
  10. ↑ "Howard Luck Gossage". Ad Age. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  11. ↑ Is There Any Hope for Advertising. University of Illinois Press. 1987. ISBN 0-252-01278-X.
  12. ↑ Steve Harrison book on Howard Gossage
  13. ↑ "Howard Luck Gossage: The Socrates of San Francisco". HowardLuckGossage.com. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
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