• The New York Times, CBS , Monday, October 27, 2008 11:30 AM

"When [George] Lois, born in 1931 to Greek immigrants, started plying his craft, the old-school (WASPy) advertising industry was rather staid and artless," writes Steven Heller in his positive review of George Lois On His Creation Of The Big Idea (Assouline, $50) in Sunday's New York Times Book Review.

"Lois and his mentors, like Paul Rand and Reba Sochis, and colleagues like Helmut Krone, Gene Federico and Lou Dorfsman represented the first wave of 'ethnic' men and women -- mostly New Yorkers -- who joined agencies like William H. Weintraub and Doyle Dane Bernbach or started their own small firms," Heller points out.

Dorfsman, who was primarily responsible for shaping the image of CBS over his 40-year career at the network, died last week on Long Island at age 90. 

Heller points out that Lois' ads had "humanity." He mentions one campaign in particular that sought to restore the public dignity of boxing great Joe Lewis, who had widely publicized problems with the IRS. "Of course, not all big ideas were meant to right wrongs (most were intended to sell products), but Lois sometimes used advertising to help change popular attitudes," Heller writes.

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