Vickers and Benson

Founded in Montreal by Rex Vickers and Don Benson, 1924; spun off Carder Gray, 1980; opened Chicago branch, 1998; became a founding member of Arnold Worldwide Partners, 2000; changed name to Vickers & Benson Arnold, 2001; again changed name to Arnold Worldwide Canada, 2003. Vickers & Benson was formed in 1924 in Montreal by Rex Vickers and Don Benson. Mr. Vickers handled the venture's business affairs, and Mr. Benson, the creative. The shop's first client was Canada Starch, a national brand, but Seagram's proved the most important piece of business for the young agency and helped anchor billings during its formative years. In the mid-1930s, Mr. Benson moved to Toronto to set up what became V&B's main office; Mr. Vickers remained in Montreal. In 1952, Vickers & Benson created and placed the first TV spot in Canada, a commercial for a Montreal General Motors Corp. automobile dealership. Earlier, the shop had produced twin musical radio programs for Imperial Tobacco's Du Maurier cigarettes. At about the same time, Mr. Benson became ill and surprised his colleagues by naming as his interim replacement an outsider, public relations executive J. Bryan Vaughan. After Mr. Benson's recuperation, Mr. Vaughan became president of the agency and, subsequently, chairman. In the 1960s, the agency created the "Carling Red Cap Forever" campaign—complete with its own anthem and the Red Cap Forever Association for the loyal imbibers of Red Cap brew—which relaunched the Canadian Breweries label and brought unprecedented awareness, sales and market share to a brand that had been in steep decline. At about the same time, V&B recruited Canadian comedy duo Wayne & Shuster for a campaign themed "At Gulf, we hurry." That theme was used in more than 200 TV and radio spots. In 1967, the agency promoted Canadian history for the country's centennial celebration. The shop used musician Bobby Gimby and his song "Ca-na-da" in a two-year, coast-to-coast campaign. On behalf of the Department of National Defence's recruiting efforts, V&B capped a decade of broadcast involvement by constructing the first Canadian intercollegiate TV package in 1968. In 1971, a group of employees, including Terry O'Malley and Bill Bremner, committed to purchased the agency. With Mr. O'Malley on the creative side and Mr. Bremner concentrating on the business, the duo dominated the agency for more than two decades. (Mr. O'Malley became the principal shareholder when Mr. Bremner died in 1993.) Continue http://adage.com/article/adage-encyclopedia/vickers-benson-vickers-benson-arnold-arnold-worldwide-canada/98920/