Suvarna Garge (Editor)

D'Arcy Masius Benton and Bowles

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Founded
  
1985

D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles was an advertising agency in the United States with worldwide subsidiaries.

Contents

D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, or "DMB&B", was established in November 1985 by the merger of the Benton & Bowles (B&B) and D'Arcy-MacManus Masius (D-MM) advertising agencies. John Bowen oversaw the merger and the firm's drive toward globalization.

Key dates

  • 1906: William C. D'Arcy opens an advertising firm in St. Louis.
  • 1923: D'Arcy opens his first office outside St. Louis, in Atlanta, where a major client, Coca-Cola, is located.
  • 1934: The D'Arcy Company opens a New York office.
  • 1970: D'Arcy Co. merges with MacManus, John & Adams, Inc., a Detroit-based agency, and becomes "D'Arcy-MacManus.
  • 1972: The firm merges with the British agency, Masius, Wynne-Williams, and becomes "D'Arcy-MacManus & Masius" (DM&M).
  • 1986: DM&M merges with New York ad agency Benton & Bowles and becomes "D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles" (DMB&B).
  • 1996: DMB&B acquires N.W. Ayer and Partners and renames its holding company "The MacManus Group".
  • 1999: The MacManus Group announces a merger with the "Leo Group", a parent holding company of the Leo Burnett Co.
  • 2000: Potential superstar team of Susan Gianinno and Lee Garfinkel start winning new business from clients like Heineken and Cadbury.
  • 2002: Acquired by Publicis.

    • Creations

    During the Depression, D'Arcy executive Archie Lee and illustrator Haddon Sundblom created the original Santa Claus icon for Coca-Cola ads. The Coca-Cola version of Santa Claus was a departure from earlier German depictions of St. Nicholas as a thin, aloof fellow. The firm also engineered such slogans as: "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature" (Chiffon Margarine); "This Bud's for you" (Budweiser); "Taste the rainbow" (Skittles); and "Melts in your mouth—not in your hands" (M&Ms).

    Company's demise

    DMB&B was acquired by French firm Publicis and closed in 2002. The D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles archives were transferred to the "Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising and Marketing History," part of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Duke University in 1991. An additional, and final, donation took place in 2001.

    References

    D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA