William Bernbach Marion Harper Jr. Leo Burnett David Ogilvy Rosser Reeves John Wanamaker William Paley Maurice and Charles Saatchi Albert Lasker Jay Chiat F. Wayland Ayer Helmut Krone Neil McElroy Stanley Resor and Helen Lansdowne Resor Bruce Barton Martin Sorrell Henry Luce Lee Clow Mary Wells Lawrence Alfred Sloan John Caples Dan Wieden and David Kennedy Howard Luck Gossage Shirley Polykoff Joyce Hall Ray Kroc Allen Rosenshine Claude C. Hopkins Ted Turner Hal Riney Phil Dusenberry Ira C. "Ike" Herbert Bob Gage Conde Nast John Smale Bruce Crawford John E. Kennedy John B. Watson Steve Jobs Phyllis K. Robinson William Randolph Hearst Philip Geier Jane Trahey John H. Johnson George Gallup Raymond Rubicam Keith Reinhard Carl Ally and Amil Gargano Charlotte Beers David Sarnoff George Batten James Webb Young Jack Tinker Lee Iacocca Don Belding Theodore F. MacManus Sylvester L. "Pat" Weaver Charles Austin Bates Stan Freberg Rupert Murdoch Harrison King McCann Bernice Fitz-Gibbon Joe Sedelmaier Theodore L. Bates Howard Zieff J. Walter Thompson Robert Jacoby Arthur Godfrey A.C. Nielsen Sr. James H. McGraw Sr. Jerry Della Femina Ben Duffy Earnest Elmo Calkins George Lois Michael Jordan Theodore Repplier Roone Arledge Thomas J. Burrell G.D. Crain Jr. Emerson Foote Bill Backer Joe Pytka Fairfax Cone Daniel Starch John E. Powers Victor O. Schwab Michael Ovitz Cyrus H.K. Curtis Howard H. Bell Richard Lord Michael Eisner Al Achenbaum Steve Frankfurt Lester Wunderman Peggy Charren Frank Hummert Sam Vitt Cliff Freeman Vance Packard Stephen M. Case

What does it take to land on Advertising Age's list of the top 100 players in advertising history? Impact. Having one's name on the door is not a requisite nor is heading a major advertiser. Shaping the course of advertising history is. And so the legends of the industry are obvious. In the triumvirate of greats, Bill Bernbach is the hands-down winner, #1 Bill Bernbach taking the No. 1 honor for devising the creative yardstick by which most advertising today is measured. Marion Harper Jr. follows for his creation of the agency network system. Leo Burnett takes the No. 3 spot for giving birth to advertising's most memorable and effective icons. Purists may quibble about some of the placements. Indeed, ranking Harper above David Ogilvy, #4 David Ogilvy for example, could be debated ad nauseum. Still, there's little disputing that both belong in advertising's top 10 pantheon. With impact as our barometer, there are some on the list with more controvertial contributions. Al Achenbaum, the former agency executive who as a consultant later hammered away at the industry's 15% media commission, and Robert Jacoby, #67 Robert Jacoby whose $110 million windfall from the sale of Ted Bates Worldwide still hovers over some advertisers' agency pay decisions, aren't heroes but their influence is manifest. Then there are some less predictable inclusions. Dick Lord, for one, whose symbolic war of independence against Martin Sorrell in the buyout frenzy of the 1980s, foreshadowed the ensuing battles between independent agencies and behemoth holding companies. And though the list primarily focuses on admakers, there are marketers and media makers, and even those tangential to the industry, such as Michael Ovitz and Michael Jordan. #18 Lee Clow There's retailer John Wanamaker, who lands in the top 10 for hiring the industry's first full-time copywriter, and Apple Computer creator Steve Jobs, whose close relationship with agency creative Lee Clow resulted in continued breakthrough, award-winning work. As for the messengers of the message, everyone from Bill Paley, who helped #100 Steve Case usher in TV's golden age, to Henry Luce, for his creation of a magazine empire, to Steve Case, whose America Online provides a new vehicle for advertising in the next millennium, gets their due. Worthy all.