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Vol. IUpdated November 20261,425 termsCambridge and Toronto

The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

LegendsJulian Koenig

Copywriter · 1921–2014

Julian Koenig

The copywriter of short, friendly sentences behind "Think Small," "Lemon" and Timex, who also named Earth Day.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Mid-century gouache-and-ink portrait illustration of Julian Koenig, in the style of a 1960s magazine ad
Julian Koenig. An illustration, not a photograph.

What Julian proved

  1. A self-deprecating headline can be the most confident one on the page.
  2. A torture test is a demonstration people remember: Timex took a licking and kept on ticking.
  3. A name is a campaign. He named Earth Day.

I wrote Timex, it takes a licking and keeps on ticking, and I wrote think small in the first Volkswagen advertising, and I named Earth Day.

Julian Koenig · Speaking to his daughter for This American Life, rebroadcast on NPR · Source

Key campaigns

  • Volkswagen: "Think Small" and "Lemon"
  • Timex: "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking"
  • Earth Day (the name)

The agency

Terms from the work

Each one opens its glossary entry.

Sources

The portrait is an illustration made for this guide, not a photograph.