Lester Wunderman

Lester Wunderman has had an enormous impact on the advertising industry and is known as the “father of direct marketing.” Throughout his 58-year career in advertising, he revolutionized the direct-mail marketing business. He was responsible for developing the Columbia House Record Club and was the first to use magazine subscription cards. Columbia House was the first attempt to combine retail traffic and in-home, mail-order sales. The post-paid insert card he created for Columbia House not only increased sales responses by 500 percent but has become an institution in the advertising industry.

After many years of working with Maxwell Sackheim & Company, Wunderman started Wunderman Ricotta & Kline. The agency, now known as Wunderman Cato Johnson, has grown to billings of more than $2 billion with offices in 35 countries. It is the world’s leading direct-marketing agency and has amassed a client list that includes such corporate giants as American Express, Anderson Consulting, AT&T, Blockbuster Video, Chevron, ColgatePalmolive, Du Pont, Ford, Jaguar, Kraft, Philip Morris, Sears, Sony, the U.S. Army and Xerox.

Wunderman’s leadership and vision have been recognized by many industry organizations. He received the lifetime achievement award from both Direct Marketing Day in New York and the New England Direct Marketing Association and was named to the Direct Marketing Association’s Hall of Fame in 1983.

Wunderman served as the director of the Advertising Council, secretary/treasurer of the American Association of Advertising Agencies and founding chairman of the Direct Marketing Association’s International Strategic Forum on Direct Marketing. He has also served in various capacities with Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, Parson’s School of Design and New York University.