Decline
In the 1960s Reeves' techniques began to fail. Consumers became more savvy and learned to tune out uninteresting commercials, and within the advertising industry itself the Creative Revolution, exemplified by Bill Bernbach's "Think Small" campaign for the Volkswagen Beetle. The Creative Revolution rejected many of his precepts. Reeves retired at age 55. He declared that he had always planned to retire at that age, but many felt it was because of the decline in his influence.
Reeves did not shy from questionable business ethics, including using doctors to sell cigarettes. He came out of retirement in 1967 to form the Tiderock Corporation, which he described as a "think tank" for corporate business. One of its projects was a promotion in 1968 of a pro-smoking article by Stanley Frank published in True magazine. The promotion was paid for by the Tobacco Institute, who also paid Frank to write the article.
Read more about this topic: Rosser Reeves
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