25,000th McDonald’s opens
Ronald McDonald entertains children while adults order food at the celebratory opening of McDonalds' 25,000th restaurant, in Bronzeville at 207 East 35th Street, Chicago, Illinois. Chicago Sun Times
25,000th McDonald’s opens
Ronald McDonald entertains children while adults order food at the celebratory opening of McDonalds' 25,000th restaurant, in Bronzeville at 207 East 35th Street, Chicago, Illinois. Chicago Sun Times

You’ve been saving your money for a major purchase when a magazine advertisement for an expensive watch catches your eye.

On the glossy page the words “luxury,” “taste” and “high quality” surround a picture of a delicate watch.

Next thing you know, you’re online entering your credit card details and buying it.

This is an example of the power of suggestion, a tool that advertisers use to sell goods and services to unassuming consumers.

This method of applying psychological tools to advertising was refined by psychologist Walter Dill Scott. A Chicagoan, Scott is among the first scholars to apply psychology to advertising. He’s also one of the many Chicagoans who left lasting contributions to the American cultural landscape through studies that transformed the world of advertising and business.

Walter Dill Scott
Psychologist Walter Dill Scott posing next to his portrait by Paul Trebilcock, circa 1932-1935. A Chicagoan, Scott was one of the first to apply psychology to advertising. Chicago Daily News

Scott was born in Cooksville in 1889. He graduated from Northwestern University, where he later became the world’s first professor of psychology in advertising.

His studies of human behavior led to theories on suggestibility. Scott was a proponent of the theory that the consumer was irrational and easily influenced by the hypnotic power of advertising copy.

He believed that advertisements that appealed to the five senses were the most effective. In an article for the Atlantic in 1903, he referred to the advertising world as the nervous system of the business world.

“As our nervous system is constructed to give us all the possible sensations from objects, so the advertisement which is comparable to the nervous system must awaken in the reader as many different kinds of images as the object itself can excite,” Scott wrote.

He also founded the Scott Company in 1912. The consultancy firm helped businesses apply psychological theories to advertising and organizational practices to boost their effectiveness.

He served as president of Northwestern University from 1920 to 1939.

But Scott wasn’t the only Chicagoan to push the advertising industry forward. WBEZ contributor Shermann “Dilla” Thomas joined producer Cianna Greaves to celebrate the local madmen and women who loomed large during America’s golden age of advertising, creating icons like the Pillsbury Doughboy and Rudolph.

Black Advertising in Chicago
Barbara Proctor (left) of Proctor & Gardner and Tom Burrell (right) of Burrell Advertising were instrumental in creating advertisements for brands targeting Black consumers. Proctor rose to prominence as the first African American woman to head an advertising agency, while Burrell’s legacy includes work for McDonald’s, such as the infamous “Calvin’s Got a Job” commercial. Chicago Sun-Times

Cianna Greaves is the morning news producer for WBEZ. Follow @CiciGreaves.

25,000th McDonald’s opens
Ronald McDonald entertains children while adults order food at the celebratory opening of McDonalds' 25,000th restaurant, in Bronzeville at 207 East 35th Street, Chicago, Illinois. Chicago Sun Times
25,000th McDonald’s opens
Ronald McDonald entertains children while adults order food at the celebratory opening of McDonalds' 25,000th restaurant, in Bronzeville at 207 East 35th Street, Chicago, Illinois. Chicago Sun Times

You’ve been saving your money for a major purchase when a magazine advertisement for an expensive watch catches your eye.

On the glossy page the words “luxury,” “taste” and “high quality” surround a picture of a delicate watch.

Next thing you know, you’re online entering your credit card details and buying it.

This is an example of the power of suggestion, a tool that advertisers use to sell goods and services to unassuming consumers.

This method of applying psychological tools to advertising was refined by psychologist Walter Dill Scott. A Chicagoan, Scott is among the first scholars to apply psychology to advertising. He’s also one of the many Chicagoans who left lasting contributions to the American cultural landscape through studies that transformed the world of advertising and business.

Walter Dill Scott
Psychologist Walter Dill Scott posing next to his portrait by Paul Trebilcock, circa 1932-1935. A Chicagoan, Scott was one of the first to apply psychology to advertising. Chicago Daily News

Scott was born in Cooksville in 1889. He graduated from Northwestern University, where he later became the world’s first professor of psychology in advertising.

His studies of human behavior led to theories on suggestibility. Scott was a proponent of the theory that the consumer was irrational and easily influenced by the hypnotic power of advertising copy.

He believed that advertisements that appealed to the five senses were the most effective. In an article for the Atlantic in 1903, he referred to the advertising world as the nervous system of the business world.

“As our nervous system is constructed to give us all the possible sensations from objects, so the advertisement which is comparable to the nervous system must awaken in the reader as many different kinds of images as the object itself can excite,” Scott wrote.

He also founded the Scott Company in 1912. The consultancy firm helped businesses apply psychological theories to advertising and organizational practices to boost their effectiveness.

He served as president of Northwestern University from 1920 to 1939.

But Scott wasn’t the only Chicagoan to push the advertising industry forward. WBEZ contributor Shermann “Dilla” Thomas joined producer Cianna Greaves to celebrate the local madmen and women who loomed large during America’s golden age of advertising, creating icons like the Pillsbury Doughboy and Rudolph.

Black Advertising in Chicago
Barbara Proctor (left) of Proctor & Gardner and Tom Burrell (right) of Burrell Advertising were instrumental in creating advertisements for brands targeting Black consumers. Proctor rose to prominence as the first African American woman to head an advertising agency, while Burrell’s legacy includes work for McDonald’s, such as the infamous “Calvin’s Got a Job” commercial. Chicago Sun-Times

Cianna Greaves is the morning news producer for WBEZ. Follow @CiciGreaves.

Mary Dixon: Chicago was a center for advertising during the golden age of the 1960s and '70s. But its marketing roots stretch back to the creation of companies like Marshall Field's after the Chicago fire. From the Pillsbury Doughboy to the Marlboro Man to a Children's story about a red nosed reindeer. Chicago is responsible for iconic moments in marketing and pop culture, joining WBEZ Producer Cianna Greaves to delve into the history of advertising in Chicago is urban historian Sherman "Dilla" Thomas.

Cianna Greaves: What are some other famous sides from Chicago?

Sherman "Dilla" Thomas: Oh man, don't get me started. There's so, so many to choose from. I remember one that got me in trouble as a kid, right? I used to wear my sister's deodorant, "strong enough for a man yet made for a woman." Of course the very awesome, Jolly Green Giant comes from Chicago as well,

Cianna Greaves: Chicago ad agencies were also pioneers and diversity and were among the first to integrate not only their staff but their product. How was that change significant for Black consumers. 

Sherman "Dilla" Thomas: On the one hand, I guess I sort of can understand why most, if not all advertising was, was targeted towards folks we refer to as white, right? They're the majority of the country and you're trying to make money. So you're trying to sell to the majority of the country, but Chicago change just the landscape because of all the amazing and unique talent that we have in Chicago, primarily African American talent, right? The Bronzeville neighborhood had a restrictive racial covenant which boxed them in, but because it boxed them in, it put a lot of talent in a relatively small space. And so advertisers were able to get jingle, not only jingle writers, but people who could actually perform. You had amazing people like Carol Williams, one of the first ever Black only advertising ladies, right? Mrs. Barbara Proctor. And then the very, very awesome Tom Burell. They all come from Chicago and they add that representation that the make you feel like you're part of the sale to advertising.

Cianna Greaves: Now you mentioned Tom Burrell, his ad agency created probably one of the most memorable ads targeted at Black consumers in the 1990s. And I remember this quite well. It was a commercial for McDonald's about a young man, who got a job at the chain restaurant.

McDonald's Ad Tape: Wassup. Where's Calvin. Waddup! A J.O.B. man. What? He's still flipping those burgers at Mickey D's? Here's your order. Thanks Calvin. He's not tired of that yet. Could be kicking with us, man. Having big fun. He says he has a plan man. Meet the newest member of our management team, Calvin.

Cianna Greaves: So this commercial was so popular and it ran for several years in the early 90s. What was so remarkable about Calvin and his job at McDonald's?

Sherman "Dilla" Thomas: One again, it was comes out of Tom Burrell's ad agency, right? So so it's a Black activation. But two, before the Calvin ad, if you were a guy that didn't play sports, right? But you lived in the neighborhood and you had to walk by a group of gangbangers, you know, best of luck to you, right? But then after that Calvin ad, what happened was, it gave those people kind of kind of an image of what you were right? And that you you were not you know involved in what they were involved in. And so, it went from becoming an ad right to an actual verb, if somebody saw you, you know you're straight narrow guy on your way to work, they say "Hey man leave him alone. That's one of those Calvin's right there." I don't know if Tom Burrell knew that it would have that type of impact before he made it. But the fact that it did have that impact, is a fact.

Cianna Greaves: Alright Sherman, so what is your favorite Chicago ad?

Sherman "Dilla" Thomas: Man, that's putting me on the spot. The I wanna be like Mike ad comes out of Chicago. But for me it'd be those late 1970 knee high ads that had the sisters singing. 

Knee High Ad Tape: Knee High Song

Sherman "Dilla" Thomas: And a side note, that's Jason Weaver's mother and aunt singing on the on those infamous ads. Yeah either that or the 588-2300. Right, that one too.

Cianna Greaves: I'm from New York. And that ad used to run all the time. I had no idea it was from Chicago.

Sherman "Dilla" Thomas: You know what I say right? Everything dope about America comes from Chicago.

Cianna Greaves: Indeed it does. Well I'm sure we'll all be humming that telephone number for the rest of the day. Sherman "Dilla" Thomas is an urban historian and a WBEZ contributor. Thank you so much Sherman.


WBEZ transcripts are generated by an automatic speech recognition service. We do our best to edit for misspellings and typos, but mistakes do come through.