In honor of the 4th season of Mad Men airing this Sunday, I’m personally declaring it Mad Men Week here at The Dapper Dude. Mad Men is one of the many inspirations for The Dapper Dude, so this week I will be paying homage to the show and the original “Mad Men” who inspired the show, like Bill Bernbach.

I will also be drinking a lot of dark liquor during regular work hours.

As one of the three founding members of Doyle, Dane & Bernbach, now simply DDB, Bill Bernbach is a legendary figure in the history of American advertising. He directed ad campaigns such as Think Small for the Volkswagen Beetle (which is recognized by Advertising Age as the top campaign of the twentieth century), as well as Mikey for Life Cereal and We Try Harder for Avis Car Rental.

After Bernbach’s death in 1982, Harper’s Magazine declared he “Probably had a greater impact on American culture than any of the distinguished writers and artists who have appeared in the pages of Harper’s during the past 133 years.” Bernbach ranks No.1 on AdAge’s list of the top 100 people in advertising.

Famous quotes include:

“Good advertising builds sales, great advertising builds factories”. – Bill Bernbach

“I warn you to believe that advertising is a science”. – Bill Bernbach

Bill Bernbach interviewed by American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) President, John Crichton, in 1977. Watch the second half of the interview after the jump.