About Bruce Silverman

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Bruce Silverman is one of America’s best known and well respected marketing-communication and branding experts. A broad-view strategist, he served as EVP/Executive Creative Director at three of America’s largest advertising agencies (Ogilvy, Bozell and BBDO), as President of two of the nation’s best independently-owned agencies (Asher/Gould and Wong Doody), and as President/CEO of the principal U.S. unit of the world’s largest media planning and buying shop (Initiative Worldwide). A long-time member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Bruce also served as Vice Chairman of the Western Region of the AAAA and Vice President of the Los Angeles Advertising Agency Association. He is frequently called upon by law firms to serve as an expert witness on cases relating to Lanham Act violations, branding, marketing, false or deceptive advertising, advertising agency custom and practice and media. Bruce has testified in state and federal courts as well as before the Copyright Royalty Judges of the Library of Congress.

Bruce was the creative mind behind “Don’t Leave Home Without It” for American Express, “Bullish on America” (Merrill Lynch), “Something Special in the Air” (American Airlines), “Not made in ‘Nooo Yawk Ciddy” (Pace Picante), “The Shell Answer Man” and a dozen other award winning campaigns for such clients as IBM, Hershey’s, Baskin-Robbins, Coldwell Banker, Sizzler, Suzuki, Pabst, Sanyo, Mattel, Greyhound and Post. He is particularly proud of the very successful tobacco-use prevention campaign he created and directed for the California Department of Health Services which became the prototype for virtually every anti-tobacco campaign in the world. At Initiative Media, he supervised more than $10 billion in annual media planning and buying for Disney, Electronic Arts, Carl’s Jr., Taco Bell, Albertson’s, Acura, Bally’s Health & Fitness, Six Flags, America Online, the United States Navy and Yahoo!

Bruce has appeared frequently on television and radio and has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker and many other newspapers and magazines on subjects relating to advertising and media. He has taught advertising at Pepperdine University and UCLA Extension, and has guest lectured at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, USC, California State University Northridge, California State University San Diego, California State University San Francisco, Southern Methodist University, the University of Houston, the University of Texas, the Thunderbird School of Management, NYU, Stanford and the University of Hawaii. In 2009 he was the keynote speaker at the very first commencement exercises ever held by UCLA Extension.

Bruce established his consulting practice in 2005, working on both a retainer and ad hoc basis for marketing companies and law firms throughout the U.S. In addition, he is a Director of 24/6, Inc. and Newsletters for Hire, Inc., and serves on the advisory boards of Adam, Inc., Telecentris, Inc., Big Moving Pictures, Inc., NTB Media, Inc., and Madison Avenue Media, Inc.

A graduate of Adelphi University in New York (where he has been honored as a “Distinguished Alumnus”), Bruce is a confirmed theater and arts junkie, a world traveler and an over-the-top Lakers fan. He is also the author of How to Complain for Fun and Profit, a best-selling consumer guide to writing complaint letters.

Bruce was a founding board member of the Los Angeles Children’s Museum and later served as Chairman of the Resource Development Committee of the Starbright Foundation. He is an active member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Dean’s Advisory Board of UCLA Extension. He is married to Nancy Cole Silverman, founder of The Equestrian News.