Skip to content

Vol. IUpdated November 20261,425 termsCambridge and Toronto

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

LegendsPhyllis Robinson

Copy chief · 1921–2010

Phyllis Robinson

Doyle Dane Bernbach's first copy chief, who wrote the warm, witty voice of the agency's early years.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

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

What Phyllis proved

  1. Warmth and wit can sell to everyone: "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's."
  2. A copy department can be a school. Her team trained Mary Wells and Paula Green.
  3. Casting a believable pair can carry a campaign for years, as James Garner and Mariette Hartley did for Polaroid.

Key campaigns

  • Levy's: "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's Real Jewish Rye"
  • Ohrbach's department store
  • Polaroid, with James Garner and Mariette Hartley
  • El Al Airlines

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.