Mithun Agency


Mithun was an advertising and marketing firm, founded in 1933 by Ralph Campbell and Ray Mithun. It was part of Interpublic Group of Communication Companies. The core business was consumer advertising through radio, TV, print, digital, mobile and out-of-home. The company was based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On January 27, 2016, Mithun ended its 83-year history through a restructuring that consolidated Mithun, Compass Point Media and McCann Worldgroup’s Minneapolis-based General Mills account team into newly formed McCann Minneapolis.

History

Early history

Ralph Campbell and Ray Mithun started their advertising agency as "Campbell Mithun" in the midst of the Great Depression during a time of widespread business closings and bank failures. Ralph Campbell was president for 10 years and chairman for four years before retiring in 1947. He died in 1949 at the age of 63.
Ray Mithun, earned a reputation as a visionary founder when in an internal memo he proclaimed that "Everything Talks." This statement and tenet, which remained as a staple of the agency, explains how every component of communications should work together seamlessly, like cogwheels. Mithun remained involved with the agency until his retirement in 1978 and died 20 years later.
Within the first decade of business, anchored by a client roster including Andersen Windows, Land O’Lakes and Northwestern National Bank - Ray Mithun, at the age of 34, was named president and billings had grown to $2.7 million by 1943. A 1274% increase since 1933.

1950s–1960s

By the late 1950s and early 1960s, Campbell Mithun was highly regarded within the advertising industry for its creative work. One of the ad campaigns that propelled the company was the "Land of Sky Blue Waters" television spot for Hamm's beer. The success of this campaign led to many other accounts across the country such as Toro, Interstate Bakery and General Mills.

1970s-1980s

1990s-2000s

2010-2016