A connection to a piece of history...
For sale is a canvas shoulder bag given to employees circa 1990. Bozell is an American full-service public relations and advertising agency. The agency NY HQ was the 23rd street building that served as the site of the offices in the Tom Hanks film "BIG."
In 1985 the firm was purchased by Lorimar and merged with another Lorimar entity, Kenyon & Eckhardt to form Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt. Bozell is well known for its campaigns, which have introduced memorable slogans and ads, such as:
"Pork. The Other White Meat"
"Corinthian leather"
History
The company was originally formed out of the merger of two separate US agencies, Bozell & Jacobs and Kenyon & Eckhardt. Leo Bozell and Morris Jacobs were newspapermen who set up their own agency in Omaha, Nebraska in 1923 after a freelance job they took on for the Nebraska Power Company turned into a regular contract. They handled both advertising and public relations for the state energy company, and their skills came to the attention of other regional utility companies. As a result, they were encouraged to open additional offices to manage advertising and PR for other power companies in the likes of Indiana, Illinois and Texas. By the end of the 1930s, Bozell & Jacobs was one of the biggest and best-known advertising agencies in the US Midwest.
One highly influential client was the local Omaha orphanage established by Father Edward Flanagan, known as Boy's Town. Bozell & Jacobs offered their services pro bono, and managed to turn the home into a nationally celebrated institution. The story of Boy's Town was turned into a movie in 1938, starring Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. In the early 1940s, it was Bozell & Jacobs who coined the orphanage's slogan, "He ain't heavy... he's my brother", which later spawned the Hollies' hit song in the later 1960s and early 1970s. Another local client, Mutual of Omaha, was the agency's biggest account throughout the 1950s, becoming the sponsor of a long-running television show, Wild Kingdom.
The once-mighty Bozell brand was effectively retired in 2003, although a former subsidiary still trades under that name from its original base in Omaha.