The list below is a sampling of Hall of Fame members who championed this issue.
- Rollin C. Ayers - was the first professional to urge the use of advertising to promote whole industries - fruit growers in California.
- William Bernbach - A strong believer in the quality of the products being advertised, Bernbach was famously quoted, "nothing makes a bad product fail faster than a great advertising campaign."
- Sam R. Bloom - worked to transform Zales from a small town chain of jewelry stores into the world's largest jeweler.
- Theodore Francis MacManus - linked product and maker inseparably in the public mind and believed advertisements helped to define the goals and nature of the manufacturer. He said, "The big point is that the root idea or principle expressed in the advertising not only influences and guides the public but actually becomes the all-controlling policy of the advertiser and his organization."
- James Randolph Adams - was regarded as one of the creative giants in the field of automotive advertising and as the father of Cadillac advertising, writing and supervising their advertising for 30 years during the car's greatest period of growth in reputation and production.
- Claude Clarence Hopkins - developed phrases and methods that had a deep impact in the advertising world and brought great success to his clients. By learning the science behind brewing, Hopkins was able to organize a campaign that propelled Schlitz Beer from fifth to a tie with Budweiser for first.
- Atherton W. Hobler - fostered the "Triangle of Marketing Succes." First, a product had to make a contribution to consumers. Second, it had to be a good value. Lastly, the promotion of the item had to be truthful, informative and rewarding for consumers to give it their attention.
- Edward N. Ney - According to Advertising Age, "Ney's charter for Young & Rubicam changed the shape of the agency business." And for nine years, when U.S. News and World Report surveyed people in advertising asking them who was most influential person in the field, Ed Ney was the answer seven of those times.
- Harley T. Procter - took Procter & Gamble's White Soap and renamed it Ivory. The soap's subsequent popularity was achieved in great measure through Procter's innovations in advertising and merchandising, as well as development of product features. He coined the slogan, "99 44/100% pure" from chemists' reports. He also designed the first wrapper for Ivory and patented the notched bar that serves as identification.
- Robert W. Woodruff - had a passionate concern about Coca-Cola and its product, especially the way the merits of it would be presented to what has remained the largest audience addressed by any single product in the history of advertising. He insisted that advertising for Coca-Cola reflect what he called the integrity of the product. In 1950 he turned down Time magazine's request to appear on its cover, insisting that "the story's about the company, not me." Coca-Cola thus became the first product ever to appear on the cover of Time.
- Bernard C. Duffy - is known for the $10 million "Lucky Strike" account he landed as a young man in the media department at BBDO.
- Artemas Ward - used mass advertising to direct the widespread and highly successful introduction of Sapolio soap, a household cleaner. In his campaign, Ward introduced the use of transit ads carrying jingles for Sapolio in almost all public transit vehicles in the country.
- Carl J. Ally - his work conveyed that the product and its relevance are always paramount.
- Joyce C. Hall - As the architect of the nation's greeting card industry, Hall turned a commodity deemed "unadvertiseable" into a brand leader. He had an unyielding commitment to his belief that greeting cards could achieve brand awareness and preference through innovative advertising. In 1944 the company unveiled their popular slogan: "when you care enough to send the very best."
- Rosser Reeves - used his Unique Selling Proposition (USP), which called for advertisements to focus clearly and without distraction on a unique and compelling "reason why" to buy, to create the legendary M&Ms campaign, "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth... not in your hand."
- Ira C. "Ike" Herbert - was responsible for producing such legendary campaigns for Coca-Cola as, "Things Go Better with Coke," "It's the Real Thing," and "Coke Is It." He also helped create what is often regarded as one of the most memorable commercials in the history of advertising, a spot set on a hilltop in Italy that included the now-familiar words, "I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony..."
- Michael J. Roarty - inspired and shaped famous advertising campaigns for Anheuser-Busch like, "Weekends were made for Michelob," "This Bud's for you," "Head for the Mountains of Busch," and "Gimme a Light" for Bud Light. During his tenure as vice president of marketing, Anheuser-Busch's market share went from 22 to 44 percent and sales more than doubled.
- Paul Schrage - made McDonald's innovations like breakfast, PlayPlaces, drive-thru and Extra Value Meals into industry standards. He created demand for high-quality new products among customers around the world. He not only designed the current Golden Arches logo and selected the red and gold colors recognized around the world, but he also created the Marketing Code, McDonald's guidebook to manage brand image.
- Stanley Marcus - created an advertising strategy that revolutionized direct-mail marketing: the Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalogue, featuring the unique "His and Hers" gifts, which makes national news when announced each year. Designer Bill Blass once called him the "intellectual retailer."
- Charles D. Peebler Jr. - worked intimately on major campaigns including "Pork. The Other White Meat" and the Milk Mustache. He partnered with the milk processors to fight for a referendum that would allow them to consolidate and spend funds for advertising.
- Hall "Cap" Adams Jr. - revitalized Leo Burnett's culture in the public eye, and in 1988, was named "Agency of the Year" by both Advertising Age and ADWEEK, the first time one agency received the honor from both magazines in the same year. Under Adams' watch, new business boomed with the addition of Beef Industry Council, Miller Lite, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System launch and more.
- Dave Thomas - was featured for nearly 13 years in more than 800 commercials, which the Guinness Book of World Records recognized as the "Longest Running Television Advertising Campaign Starring a Company Founder." He devised a method to prepare fresh, made-to-order hamburgers and also created the modern-day pick-up window. Wendy's was also the first fast-food franchise to feature a salad bar and baked potatoes nationwide.
