Theodore Lewis Bates

Background

He was born on September 11, 1901 in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Vernal Warner Bates and Elizabeth H. Hailes.

Education

He graduated from Andover Academy in 1920 and from Yale University in 1924 with a B. A.

Career

Bates's first job after graduation from college was with the Chase National Bank, where he worked for six months as a courier. He then became manager of advertising. After a short period with the bank, he worked in advertising at the George Batten Company and rose to be vice-president of their successor firm, Batten, Barton, Durstine, and Osborn.

From 1935 to 1940, Bates was vice-president of the firm of Benton and Bowles. He then founded his own advertising agency, Ted Bates and Company. The new firm enjoyed a modest success at first. But as its sales and billings grew rapidly following World War II, the Ted Bates firm became one of the leading advertising agencies in the world utilizing the new medium of television. The television commercials that he and his company developed were loud, often raucous, and filled with repetitive sounds and action. Although many observers decried these commercial messages, they were extremely successful.

Among the Bates agency's most noted clients was the Colgate-Palmolive Company. Bates developed some very lucrative campaigns for this group, including the Palmolive Fourteen-Day Beauty Plan. The products and the plan were extolled on the "Colgate Comedy Hour, " an early and very successful television series. He was also responsible for the campaign that claimed that Wonder Bread "Builds Strong Bodies Twelve Ways, " which was investigated for truth in advertising. The campaign was permitted to continue. Bates assumed the title of honorary chairman of his firm in the late 1950's, and some thought that this meant that he was retiring. In fact, the move was only a ploy to provide him with anonymity. He continued to be very active in the firm's affairs. The flamboyant Rosser Reeves served as chairman, chief executive officer, and head of the company. Reeves and Bates worked together on new advertising campaigns. Bates continued to supply ideas and contributed to the growing success of the firm. At the time of his death, annual billings for the firm were estimated to be $425 million. Bates focused his efforts on extending the firm's work into Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia. Although he again adopted the title of chief executive officer for a time in the early 1960's, he continued to shun personal publicity. He told interviewers that he had never had a martini lunch, given a speech, attended a convention, or signed a publicity release.

His advertising techniques consisted of the wide use of repetitive slogans, presented in a simple, straightforward way, always putting the attributes of the product ahead of the presentation or the location of the presentation. This method, described in 1963 as the "unique selling proposition, " has been found to be the most successful technique available in recent studies of commercials and advertising techniques. Bates served as director of the Advertising Council, which monitors ethical standards in the industry and supervises charitable work for the members. He was an important figure in this body for most of his later life. Bates, an avid and skillful angler, died in New York City.

Achievements

• Bates is credited with establishing modern advertising with his efforts in television.

Personality

Bates was self-effacing and modest, never seeking for himself the same publicity that he sought for the products his company represented.

Connections

He married Elizabeth Turull on August 4, 1934; the couple had two children.

Father:

Vernal Warner Bate

Mother:

Elizabeth H. Hailes

Wife:

Elizabeth Turull

References

• Reality in Advertising
• Television Commercials: How to Create Successful TV Advertising (Communication Arts Books)