D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles


D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles was an advertising agency in the United States with 131 offices in 75 countries.
D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, or "DMB&B", was established in November 1985 by the merger of the Benton & Bowles and D'Arcy-MacManus Masius advertising agencies. John Bowen oversaw the merger and the firm's drive toward globalization. In 1999 the company had worldwide billings of $6.7 Billion Dollars and was the 11th largest advertising agency in the world.

Key dates

Major Advertising Creative and Media accounts included
During the Depression, D'Arcy executive Archie Lee and illustrator Haddon Sundblom created the original Santa Claus icon for Coca-Cola ads. The Coca-Cola version of Santa Claus was a departure from earlier German depictions of St. Nicholas as a thin, aloof fellow. The firm also engineered such slogans as: "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature" ; "Taste the rainbow" ; and "Melts in your mouth—not in your hands". Anheuser-Busch's slogan "This Bud's for you", created by Anheuser-Busch's lead accountant in the 1940s became another one of their significant marketing campaigns.

Company Merged and Name Retired

DMB&B was acquired by French firm Publicis and closed in 2002. The D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles archives were transferred to the "Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising and Marketing History," part of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Duke University in 1991. An additional, and final, donation took place in 2001.