Julian Koenig

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Julian Koenig
Born
Julian Norman Koenig

April 22, 1921
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
DiedJune 12, 2014(2014-06-12) (aged 93)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
OccupationCopywriter
Spouses
  • Aquila Connolly
  • Maria Eckhart
Children
with Connoly:
  • Pauline Koenig Porter
  • John Koenig
  • with Eckhart:
  • Antonia Koenig
  • Sarah Koenig
Parent(s)Minna Harlib Koenig
Morris Koenig
FamilyLester Koenig (brother)

Julian Norman Koenig (/ˈkeɪnɪɡ/; April 22, 1921 – June 12, 2014) was an American copywriter. He was inducted into The One Club Creative Hall of Fame in 1966.

Early life and education

Koenig was born to a Jewish family[1][2] in Manhattan, New York City, the son of Minna (Harlib) and Morris Koenig.[3] He was from a family of lawyers and judges. He studied at Dartmouth College and briefly at Columbia Law School.[4] Before finishing law school he dropped out to write a novel and later found his way into the advertising industry.[5] Koenig served four years in the United States Army Air Forces, 1942–1946. In 1946, Julian became half owner of a semi-pro baseball team, the Yonkers Indians, with his friend, writer Eliot Asinof. The team went bankrupt during its second season under their ownership, in part because there were no women's bathrooms at the Indians' ball park.[citation needed] Julian Koenig's older brother was Lester Koenig, a screenwriter, film producer, and the founder of the jazz record label, Contemporary Records.[6]

Career

Koenig originated many famous advertising campaigns. While working at the advertising firm Hirshon Garfield he designed the Timex torture test commercials which featured the tagline "Timex: It takes a licking and keeps on ticking".[5] At the firm DDB, he and Helmut Krone created the legendary "Think Small" and "Lemon" ads for Volkswagen under the supervision of William Bernbach.[4] The "Think Small" ad was voted the No. 1 campaign of all time in Advertising Age's 1999 “The Century of Advertising".[7] In 1960, Frederic S. Papert, an account manager from Kenyon & Eckhardt, persuaded Koenig and George Lois to start up their own creative hot shop, PKL. In 1962, they broke an industry taboo by doing an IPO. Within years several other agencies followed their lead.[4] Koenig was on Senator Gaylord Nelson's 1969 committee that established Earth Day on April 22. Koenig coined the name "Earth Day". Koenig later stated that he was inspired by the fact that “Earth Day” rhymes with “birthday” (April 22 was also Koenig’s birthday).[8] Denis Hayes, the environmental activist who coordinated the first Earth Day, recounts Koenig's involvement:[citation needed]

In 1970, copywriter Jerry Della Femina wrote of Koenig:

"There was a period about eight years ago when it seemed that Julian Koenig was the copywriter on every great ad that was ever written. I spent my first five years in this business trying to emulate Mr. Koenig. I wasn't alone. Ask any top copywriter who he followed early in his career and almost to a man, they'll mention Julian Koenig."[9]

Personal life

Koenig was married twice. His first wife was Aquila Wilson Connolly. They had two children: Pauline "Pim", an artist; and John, a businessman and horse racing enthusiast.[10] They later divorced. His second wife was Maria Eckhart with whom he had two daughters: Antonia, an attorney and social worker; and Sarah, a producer for the public radio show This American Life and host of acclaimed podcast Serial. They also divorced.[11] Koenig had a long running feud with one time collaborator George Lois over various works which Koenig felt Lois improperly claimed credit for. According to Koenig's daughter Sarah, he was known for making unusual personal claims himself, such as that he had invented thumb wrestling or that he had popularized the consumption of shrimp in the United States. Koenig died in Manhattan on June 12, 2014.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Race & Ethnicity in Advertising—America in the 20th Century: Jews and American Advertising". Association of National Advertisers Educational Foundation.
  2. ↑ Jewish Virtual Library: "Modern Jewish History: Advertising" retrieved May 4, 2017
  3. ↑ The East Hampton Star: "Julian Koenig, 93, Legendary Ad Man" Archived 2018-08-19 at the Wayback Machine June 26, 2014
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Fox, Stephen (1997). The Mirror Makers. New York: Illini Books. p. 386. ISBN 0-252-06659-6.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tungate, Mark (2007). Adland: A Global History of Advertising. New York: Kogan Page Publishers. p. 278. ISBN 978-0-7494-4837-0.
  6. ↑ Jarrett, Michael (August 30, 2016). Pressed for All Time: Producing the Great Jazz Albums from Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday to Miles Davis and Diana Krall. The University of North Carolina Press. pp. 19–20. ISBN 9781469630595.
  7. ↑ Garfield, Bob. "Top 100 Advertising Campaigns". Advertising Age. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  8. ↑ Yardley, William (2014-06-17). "Julian Koenig, Who Sold Americans on Beetles and Earth Day, Dies at 93". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  9. ↑ Della Femina, Jerry (August 1970). "Julian Koenig and other short stories". Marketing/Communications: 21.
  10. ↑ The Journal News: "Aquila Koenig Obituary" August 14, 2007
  11. ↑ The East Hampton Star: "Peter Matthiessen, Author, Explorer, Zen Priest, Dead at 86" by David E. Rattray April 6, 2014
  12. ↑ New York Times: "Julian Koenig, Who Sold Americans on Beetles and Earth Day, Dies at 93" by William Yardley June 17, 2014

External links

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