After 20 Years, Dewarâs Profile Still a Claim to Fame
Thirteen years after he appeared in a Dewarâs Profile ad, (âWildlife conservationist; International Airline Pilotâ), David O. Hill said friends still introduce him by saying: âHe was a Dewarâs guy.â
Eleven years after his profile ran, Les Payne (âJournalistâ) has a copy hanging on his office wall with other memorabilia: a picture of him and Jimmy Carter, his Pulitzer Prize plaque, a picture of Payne on âMeet the Press.â But without exception, said Payne, a Newsday assistant managing editor, âEveryone goes right to the ad and says, âGee, I didnât know you were a Dewarâs Profile!â
Twenty years have passed since the first profile ad appeared (Jerry Orbach, âActorâ) and, despite declining Scotch consumption in the United States, the appeal of the campaign is as strong as ever.
Top-Selling Scotch
Dewarâs became the top-selling brand of Scotch in the United States in 1980, running third until then. It now sells almost twice as much as it closest rival, J&B.; Distributed by Schenley Industries, the brand is supported by an ad budget of about $12 million this year, more than any other brand of distilled spirits, according to Mark Zimmerman, account supervisor at Leo Burnett Chicago, the agency that has handled the campaign since its inception.
As Dewarâs and its agency celebrate the campaignâs 20th anniversary, it now serves as something of a window on two decades of U.S. cultural changes.
âMy hair color has certainly changed,â observed Marilyn Michaels (âEntertainerâ), profiled in 1973 when her âLast Book Readâ was âJonathan Livingston Seagull.â âMy hair was really long and brown then. Now itâs short and blond.â
Hair color aside, other changes in Michaelsâ life style reflect national trends. Her 1973 profile spoke of her satisfaction with work and hopes for a satisfying personal relationship. âI was being the â70s single woman,â she remembered.
An Evolving Woman
Michaels got married in 1983 and has a son. âIn the early â70s, I did Dewarâs. In the late â70s, I did a campaign for Diet 7Up--I went from the hard to the soft. Next,â she predicted, âIâll probably do an ad for McDonaldâs--that shows how important Chicken McNuggets have become in my life.â
Since the campaignâs inception, 87 profiles have appeared. Dewarâs was to host a reunion in New York for 23 New Yorkers who have been subjects. Attendance is expected to be high.
A Bittersweet Note
One of those invited is Leroy Neiman, painter and Dewarâs alum circa 1970. Then, his âQuoteâ read: âMan is most himself in his pleasure, not his work . . . .â Talking about how his profile should read today, a bittersweet note crept into his soft voice. âI never thought Iâd be at this point, but now Iâm interested in how what youâve given your life to will be assessed when youâre gone,â said Neiman, now 61. âThe work itself becomes more important, and the monkey-shines, like opening a new disco--that puts me to sleep now.â
Although itâs impossible to count the number of times an individualâs profile is seen, Zimmerman, the account supervisor, said 20 million is a conservative estimate. Take Paul Binder--(âTop Hatâ), founder of the Big Apple Circus and current profile subject. His profile is running in more than 25 magazines, including Time and People, with nearly 8 million readers among them. Hundreds of thousands of commuters see Binderâs ad near the escalator in Grand Central Station, on their trains and subways, or on billboards near the Lincoln, Brooklyn Battery and Holland Tunnels.
Recognized in Public
âYou just donât realize how many people read these ads,â marveled Mish Tworkowski, profiled in 1986. âIâd be in a store and people would come up and say, âArenât you the Dewarâs person?â â Tworkowskiâs profile: âRock & Roll expert and appraiser, Sothebyâs.â
In contrast to the Dewarâs âLegends,â a campaign that also pitches the brand but targets older drinkers, the profiles are aimed at younger Scotch sippers. Although most profile subjects say the ads didnât really help their careers, those picked are usually on their way up.
And, yes, said Henry Yaris, Dewarâs U.S. business manager, âProfile people must drink Dewarâs.â
When the campaign first started, that wasnât a problem. But times have changed. Though jazz musician Henry Threadgillâs 1987 profile claims his drink is âDewarâs on the rocks, after the music stops,â the reality is a bit different. âPeople often come up to me in bars and want to buy me a shot of Dewarâs. Frankly, Iâm partial to a cup of coffee or some seltzer or some beer,â Threadgill admitted.
Payne said his life style has changed since he was a Dewarâs profile in 1978: âI was a hard-drinking investigative reporter then, but now Iâm a Perrier-sipping editor.â Payne, 35 at the time of his profile, had just finished writing a book on the Symbionese Liberation Army, the group that abducted Patty Hearst, and thought the ad would help promote it. But, he added, âI was flattered. Iâd be lying if I said I wasnât.â
Profiles Suggested
Zimmerman said people often send the agency names of people they think should be profiled. Payne, for instance, said he was suggested âby Jackie Robinsonâs wifeâs brother--he worked at Schenleyâs.â
For Hill, a pilot for Federal Express and the founder of RARE, a wildlife conservation group, appearing in the 1976 campaign was the equivalent of taking out a high-powered âpersonalsâ ad.
âI almost got married as the result of all this,â he recalled. As he tells it, a wealthy young socialite liked what she saw. Her mother ran a preliminary background check on him, inviting Hill for tea at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. He dated the daughter, but âit didnât work out,â he said.
Hill is one of the few subjects who didnât enjoy the experience. He wanted the conservation groups heâs been involved with to be the focus.
Most, however, did enjoy it. Itâs been âfantastic fun,â Tworkowski said.
âIâm real proud of it,â admitted Marilyn Michaels. âI wish I could do another one so they could show my new hair.â
Love a good book?
Get the latest news, events and more from the Los Angeles Times Book Club, and help us get L.A. reading and talking.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.