Helmut Krone, the genius behind the well known 1960s Volkswagen Beetle ad campaign, was born in a german sector of Manhattan in 1925. He is considered a pioneer of modern advertising, which is especially evident when looking at his unique and effective ad strategy that is commonly used today.
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Krone worked for Doyle Dane Bernbach for over 30 years, where he worked on many other very effective ad campaigns, including the “When you’re No. 2 you try harder” campaign for Avis and the personification of Colombian Coffee, Juan Valdez.
The “Think Small” ad for VW, pictured above, was voted #1 campaign for all time in Advertising Age’s 1999 The Century of Advertising issue.
Helmut Krone’s wit and great ideas without a doubt made him an incredible advertising art director, which is admirable. I don’t personally find advertising particularly exciting, but I do feel that his ads are clever, effective and he is a great person to look to for inspiration.
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