The New York Times has just posted an appropriately detailed and suitably appreciative obituary of Tony Schwartz, who died Saturday at home in Manhattan; he was 84.
The highlight of his long and distinguished career in advertising, media, and communications, recordings, and radio, was the legendary “daisy ad” that was made for LBJ’s 1964 campaign and was broadcast only once.
He also created the iconic Coca-Cola ad featuring the sweating bottle accompanied only by the evocative sound of the carbonated liquid being poured over ice cubes in a glass.
His website provides an excellent introduction to his work and thought.
He wrote one of the three essential books for understanding communications in the TV and post-TV age: Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding Media, Daniel Boorstin’s The Image, and Tony Schwartz’s The Responsive Chord. The latter two have the added advantage of being understandable and compulsively readable.