From the creative revolution of the 1960s to the explosion of new media in the 1990s and beyond, advertising creatives have always looked for new ways to promote brands while continuously redefining the field of advertising itself. Following is a sampling of work and commentary from just a few of the 183 advertising agencies we’ve profiled in the last 50 years.

“Expediency can be the ruin of a job. Here, making money is a secondary consideration. Doing a great job is primary one.” —Bob Gage, Doyle Dane Bernbach, New York, 1966

“A woman must first prove that she’s not there because of her boobs and her hips. She’s there because she’s good and she’s earned it. Just like a man.” —Kathe Tanous Mooslie, Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1971

“There’s no such thing as creative advertising. Or good, solid advertising. There’s just advertising. It’s either effective or not effective.” —Rene Vidmer, Hecht Vidmer, 1972

“There’s no reason you can’t do a good commercial on a small budget. You’ve just got to think with the budget you’ve got.” —Joe Sedelmaier, Sedelmaier Film Productions, 1976

“What matters in finding an advertising theme is ‘What's the truth here?’ The truth is the only thing that works for both the client and the reader.” —Dan Wieden, Wieden & Kennedy, 1987

“When you produce a piece of communication for a client—whether it’s a car, a soup or anything—you’re not competing against the industry alone, you’re competing against the whole world.” —Allan Beaver, Levine, Huntley, Schmidt and Beaver, 1987

“Radio is really the most intimate medium of all, which is why you have to be so careful in how you create it. It’s so intimate because the listener is the art director.” —Joy Golden, Joy Radio, 1989

“It’s fashionable to bash awards, but how else can you compare yourself? We need a forum to see what’s new, what other agencies are doing. Otherwise we’d be working in a terrible vacuum.” —Bruce Bilsten, Fallon McElligott, 1992

“People—most people anyway—really pay attention to who they marry. And even then there are so many divorces. You’ve got to be just as careful with whom you pick as a partner in your business.” —Rick Colby, Colby & Partners, 2002 ca