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Marv Jacobsen
Year of induction: 1999
Bio:
It seems Marv Jacobson has been an important presence on the Pittsburgh advertising scene long before any of us in the profession today can remember. This multi-talented man has been in advertising all of his adult life as a creator and an executive.
His advertising story began at Kavinagh-Morris Advertising in the fifties – a time in American life still suffused with the optimism of the American Dream. “After five months, I was fired and given the advice to find some other line of work. I am still considering that advice,” says Marv. Thank goodness for the many people he has mentored in the profession, in Pittsburgh, and around the country, that he stayed on the course.
Joining Goldman & Shoop Advertising in 1955 as a writer and later as an agency TV producer, Marv progressed to associate creative director. Goldman & Shoop was the creative shop of its day. Marv remembers, “it was great, because everything we did was offbeat and really off the wall.” Baby boomers who grew up in Pittsburgh remember, too. “Fort Pitt…Is Good,” with spokesperson Senor Wences. Serta Perfect Sleeper – “Kids Sleep on It. Not in It.” Pie Traynor’s famous line “Who Can? American!” was created by Marv along with Al Goldman. And what a line it was. Most of us can still quote that line today.
You had to know that a man as innovative and talented as Marv Jacobson would eventually own his own shop, and that he did. In 1965, with borrowed money, a lot of enthusiasm, “and not enough sense to stay with Goldman & Shoop,” Marv Jacobson opened Hallmark Advertising. His first client was Pennsylvania Toy Association, followed by Baierl Chevrolet and Peerless Wallpaper. But that was just the beginning. Dad’s Dog Food came on board in 1968 and is still a Hallmark/Tassone client today. Hallmark’s reputation took on a national presence when The Hoover Company joined the account roster in 1969 with a budget of $35,000. It is also still on the client roster, with a present-day budget of $10 million.
In 1994, Marv Jacobson stepped down as chairman of Hallmark, but thankfully he did not step away from marketing and advertising. “I like it as much today as I did 45 years ago,” he states.
There is no one more quotable than Marv Jacobson. Looking back over his long career, Marv remembers, “I always made an effort to be home for dinner.” Referring to his days at Goldman & Shoop, he remarked, “Everything had a gimmick.” I think most of us boomers would say, thanks for the memories, Marv. And thanks for the enormous contribution you have made, and are still making, to the health of the advertising profession in this town.
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