The Kaplan Thaler Group was an American advertising agency that opened in 1997,[1][2] and created ad campaigns, including the Aflac Duck. The company began with six people in a small apartment. In July 2012, the Kaplan Thaler Group merged with Publicis New York.
 Second logo used for the Kaplan Thaler group, until the merger with another agency in 2015 when the name changed | |
| Industry | Advertising |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1997 |
| Successor | Publicis New York |
History
editThe Kaplan Thaler Group was an American advertising agency. It began as a small boutique agency out of the founder's home in Chelsea, Manhattan. The Kaplan Thaler Group began with six employees on the 700 square feet (65 m2) third floor of the brownstone where Linda Kaplan Thaler lived on 19th Street in Chelsea.[3] Linda Kaplan Thaler served as CEO and Chief Creative Officer of the Kaplan Thaler Group since founding the agency in 1997.[2]
Over a period of 15 years, the Kaplan Thaler Group grew "from a startup to a company with more than $1 billion in billings."[4] The agency created the Aflac duck,[5] Herbal Essences Totally Organic Experience,[6] Continental Airlines "Work Hard. Fly Right.", and Swiffer Sweeper campaigns.[7]
In 2002, the advertising agency N. W. Ayer & Son, which called itself the oldest advertising agency, retired its name and merged with Kaplan Thaler Group, which served Ayer's client Continental Airlines.[8] Also in 2002, the advertising agency D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B) was acquired by French firm Publicis and closed;[9] longtime client Procter & Gamble shifted its Dawn and Swiffer brands from defunct D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles to Kaplan, adding roughly $80 million in U.S. billings.[7]
On July 12, 2012, the Kaplan Thaler Group merged with Publicis New York, part of French multinational Publicis. The resulting company was called Publicis Kaplan Thaler.[10] In June 2015, Publicis New York ended the use of the name "Kaplan Thaler".[11]
References
edit- ^ Kaplan Thaler, Linda; Koval, Robin (2003). Bang! (1 ed.). New York: DOUBLEDAY. p. 3. ISBN 0-385-50816-6.
- ^ a b "Publicis New York And Kaplan Thaler Group Merge To Form Publicis Kaplan Thaler". PR Newswire (Press release). July 12, 2012.
- ^ Kaplan Thaler, Linda; Koval, Robin (2015). GRIT TO GREAT (1st ed.). Crown Business. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-8041-3912-0.
- ^ Vanden Plas, Joe (June 8, 2021). "How a legend was made of advertising quackery". In Business Greater Madison.
- ^ Riggs, Thomas (2000). Encyclopedia Of Major Marketing Campaigns. Thomson Gale. pp. 34–39. ISBN 978-0-7876-7356-7.
- ^ "Marketing Campaign Case Studies". marketing-case-studies.blogspot.com.
- ^ a b "Special Report Agency of the Year" (PDF). AdAge. January 12, 2004.
- ^ Sanders, Lisa. "Agency Shutdown: Bcom3 Pulls Plug on Ayer". AdAge. Archived from the original on 2013-11-18.
- ^ Elliot, Stuart (October 15, 2002). "Publicis begins an extensive, and risky, reshuffling of accounts and people". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021.
- ^ "Kaplan Thaler - New York Advertising Agency". Agency Spotter.
- ^ Morrison, Maureen (June 30, 2015). "Publicis Drops Kaplan Thaler Moniker". AdAge. Archived from the original on 2015-07-01.