About The AD Club

Our History

• A group of business people meets regularly in New York City to discuss the advertising business. They name themselves the Sphinx Club, which became the Advertising Men’s League in 1906, and then, yes ladies, The ADVERTISING Club of New York in 1915. 

• The AD Club launches a series of talks at NYU that becomes the first formal teaching about advertising to be offered by an educational institution.

• The AD Club forms The Advertising Vigilance Committee. It’s the first “truth in advertising” practice, which is now a hallmark of consumer protection. The Committee evolved into today’s Better Business Bureau.

• The AD Club launches an advertising and marketing course to train World War I veterans. Today, the faculty of A&M 101 features advertising’s biggest names. The class has given more than 50,000 people their first glimpse of the business.

• The AD Club begins playing host to Presidents, princes and international dignitaries. Honored guest speakers have included Presidents Eisenhower, Truman, Hoover and Coolidge, The Prince of Wales, Commander Richard E. Byrd, and New York Mayors Walker, Wagner and LaGuardia.

• The AD Club founds the Advertising Hall of Fame to immortalize industry giants. In 1973, the Hall of Fame was turned over to the American Advertising Federation.

• The AD Club introduces the International ANDY Awards. The ANDYs celebrate great advertising and the people who create it. Winners receive the famous Oscar-style ANDY head as well as the coveted Championship ring, created in 2003 by Honorary Chairman Alex Bogusky and his agency Crispin, Porter + Bogusky.

• The AD Club Foundation is born. The mission: support the educational needs of the advertising community and encourage promising young talent to pursue careers in the industry. So far the Foundation has collected $1.5 million, helping more than 700 New York City students.

• The Club celebrated its 100th anniversary with "Night of 101 Stars." Guests included Bruce Barton, Charlotte Beers, Bill Bernbach, Jay Chiat, Phil Dougherty, William Randolph Hearst, and Annie Leibovitz.

• Advertising Week in New York spotlights the influence of advertising. The AD Club hosts “The Stars of Madison Avenue: The Business of Celebrities.” The awards presentation honors the successful unions of brand and celebrity. Honorees have included BMW, American Express, The National Fluid Milk Processing Board, Nike, L’Oreal, VISA, Accenture, Pepsi, Alka-Seltzer, Pizza Hut, Hanes, Johnson & Johnson, and MTV.