Howard Gossage

Circa 1953, the first agency to bear his name was Weiner & Gossage, later, Freeman & Gossage then Freeman, Mander & Gossage. 451 Pacific Ave.,

Gossage...would call Herb up every day at 11:45 a.m....and, recalls Hinckle, "would say in his magnificent stutter...

A non-conformist, "he turned down or resigned business in order to keep the number of staff to below 13" and who railed against the norms of so-called scientific advertising in his day, Gossage introduced several innovative techniques to the advertising practice that would only become appreciated decades after his death. More widely, Gossage was involved in some of the first environmental campaigning in the USA with the Sierra Club, and in the establishment of Friends of the Earth through his friendship with David Brower.

Howard Gossage hated Smokey the Bear.

Howard Gossage is listed by Advertising Age at number 23 of its 100 advertising people of the 20th century. AdAge.com calls Gossage a "copywriter who influenced ad-makers worldwide."

Gossage believed that commercial communication worked best when it was fun, irreverent and entertaining, using humour, intrigue and sometimes outrage to win his audience's attention, affection - and custom.

Gossage commissioned a memorial plaque to Miles Archer, the partner of Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, who died in Burritt Alley above Stockton Street, prior to the Stockton Street Tunnel, in San Francisco. Terry McDonell, and others, at night, illegally stuck the plaque to a building wall, with Hunter Thompson acting as the lookout for police. ) they came back with the Nibbi Brothers (construction contractor Marino Nibbi ) to assist in properly securing the plaque.

"On approximately this spot, Miles Archer, Partner of Sam Spade, was done in by Brigid O’Shaughnessy"

Personal life He had children by his wife, ( Fox), including Page June (1947-1965). He had two children, Amy and Ebon, by his wife, Mary Jane ( Baty) Gossage (1930-1974), the daughter of a wealthy Illinois banking family. In 1962, he married his second wife, Sally Kemp. They had a daughter, Sarah Luck. He died of leukemia.

Quotes He is known for many outspoken comments on the advertising world:

Ad campaigns

In March 1961, Gossage published The Golden Twig — Black, White, and Pango Peach Magic in Advertising in Harper's Magazine.

In 1962, S. Miller Harris, head of Eagle Shirtmakers, and Howard Luck Gossage published "Dear Miss Afflerbach: Or, The Postman Hardly Ever Rings 11,342 Times".

In 1986, a compilation of Howard Gossage's articles and speeches was edited by Kim B. Rotzoll, Jarleth Graham and Barrows Mussey, and published in the US as Is There Any Hope for Advertising?

Works about Gossage

In 1974, Warren Hinckle wrote If You Have a Lemon, Make Lemonade.

In 1984, Herb Caen and Jessica Mitford contributed to An Extraordinary Man.

Bruce H. Bendinger compiled The Book of Gossage in 2005, bringing together Howard's work, writing and contributions by Jeff Goodby, Stan Freberg, Barrows Mussey & Alice Lowe.

In 2012 Creative Director Steve Harrison authored a biography about Howard Gossage entitled Changing the world is the only fit work for a grown man.

In 2023, TellTale Industries with Ashley Pollak & James King were commissioned to produce a radio documentary about Howard Gossage for BBC Radio 4 called ''The Socrates of San Francisco. The programme was broadcast on the 20th May 2023, and is available for streaming and download with hosts Sarah Luck Gossage and Ashley Pollak & James King, is a podcast which looks at the themes of Howard's life in greater detail and explores how that thinking is relevant today in the fields of environmentalism, economics, politics and communication.

David Dye & Steve Harrison published The Howard Gossage Show - And What it Can Teach You About Advertising, Fun, Fame and Manipulating the Media. in 2024 which shares previously unseen advertisements produced by Howard's agency.