Jerry Della Femina

Jerry Della Femina – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Dive deep into the life and legacy of Jerry Della Femina—American advertising legend, restaurateur, and outspoken “Madman.” Explore his quotes, career path, philosophy, and enduring influence in business and media.

Introduction

Jerry Della Femina (born July 22, 1936) is one of the most colorful and controversial figures in American advertising. Known as a “Madman” of Madison Avenue, he turned audacious ideas and irreverent style into high-profile campaigns, built a major agency, and later moved into restaurants, publishing, and media. His career spans decades of transformation in marketing, and his persona—outspoken, brash, witty—makes him memorable. Understanding Della Femina’s trajectory offers insight into how personality, risk, and creativity intersect in business.

Early Life and Family

Jerry Della Femina was born Gennaro Tomas Della Femina on July 22, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York. The New York Times.

His humble origins shaped his outlook: he understood both the grit of blue-collar life and the allure of creative ambition.

Youth and Education

After high school, Della Femina began working in the advertising milieu even before formal training. At 16, he was a delivery boy for an ad agency; he also worked at The New York Times as a messenger, learning firsthand how the advertising industry functioned behind the scenes.

In 1961, he finally secured a copywriting position at Daniel & Charles, launching a creative trajectory that would lead him through multiple agencies before founding his own firm.

That early scrappiness—working nights, delivering, hustling—became part of his identity and brand in advertising. His education was as much on the job as in the classroom.

Career and Achievements

Rise in Advertising

Della Femina’s early agency roles included working at Daniel & Charles, Delehanty, Kurnit & Geller, and later at Ted Bates Advertising. Della Femina, Travisano & Partners, with Della Femina as chairman and Travisano handling creative supervision.

Under their leadership, the agency grew in size and reputation. They secured accounts such as Blue Nun wine, Isuzu (with the famed “Joe Isuzu” campaign), Pan Am, Beck’s Beer, and more.

Author and Personality

Della Femina’s fame extended beyond his campaigns. In 1970, he published From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor: Front-Line Dispatches from the Advertising War, a memoir/manifesto of the advertising world.

His outspoken style, bold opinions, and willingness to lampoon clients, agencies, and the industry itself earned him a reputation as one of the “Mad Men” of advertising.

Later Ventures & Transitions

In 1986, Della Femina sold his agency to British firm WCRS (reportedly for about USD 30 million), but continued working within it. Jerry, Inc.

Beyond advertising, Della Femina entered the restaurant business. He owned Della Femina restaurants in East Hampton and New York City (Park & Lex), until selling them in 2011. The Independent, a weekly regional newspaper in East Hampton.

Honors and Recognition

• He received honorary doctorates from the University of Missouri in 1983 and Long Island University in 1989.

• Advertising Age named him among the “100 Most Influential Advertising People of the Century.”

• His books, his persona, and his role as an industry provocateur secured him lasting fame in advertising history.

Historical Milestones & Context

Jerry Della Femina’s career unfolded during a central era of advertising transformation: the rise of creative agencies in the 1960s (the “Creative Revolution”), the consolidation of media, and the increasing role of personality and branding in business. His memoir From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor captured the zeitgeist of the guerrilla, edgy side of advertising in that era.

He represents a bridge between the “Mad Men” era—where aggressive creativity, ego, and boldness ruled—and the modern business era, where agencies became bigger, mergers common, and risk often tempered. His decision to leave when control shifted captures the tension many creatives faced as corporate structures intruded.

Moreover, his crossover into restaurants and media shows how advertising personalities often branch into broader cultural enterprise—branding themselves as figures, not just service providers.

Legacy and Influence

Jerry Della Femina’s influence remains visible in several ways:

• Creative spirit as brand: His persona, the "publicity slut" moniker, and his willingness to critique his own peers blurred the line between creator and brand, a tactic now common in personal branding.

• Inspiration to new generations: Many ad creatives cite his memoir and boldness as encouragement to voice opinions, take risks, and not cower to client conservatism.

• Agency model cautionary tale: His exit after selling his firm is often cited when discussing the costs of selling creative businesses—demonstrating how control, culture, and vision can be lost in mergers.

• Cultural marker: His memoir is still read as a primary source for the golden/dangerous era of advertising in the 1960s and 1970s.

• Cross-industry expansion: His ventures into restaurants and publishing show how advertising fluency can translate into cultural capital and diversified business.

Personality and Talents

Della Femina is known for his bold, irreverent, often contrarian style. He rarely minced words, unafraid to criticize clients, trends, and the industry itself. His talent was in audacious ideas—ads that cut through noise, campaigns that poked the status quo. He combined a blue-collar work ethic with ego, mentoring, and showmanship.

He also had an entrepreneurial temperament: not content to rest in one domain, he shifted into restaurants and media. His ability to connect storytelling, publicity, branding, and self-promotion made him a figure whose reputation became part of his offering.

Famous Quotes of Jerry Della Femina

Here are several notable Jerry Della Femina quotes and famous sayings that reflect his worldview on advertising, business, and life:

• “Nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising.”

• “There is a great deal of advertising that is much better than the product. When that happens, all that the good advertising will do is put you out of business faster.”

• “I honestly believe that advertising is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.”

• “I’m hard-nosed about luck… If you're persistent in trying and doing and working, you almost always make your own fortune.”

• “From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor.” (a title used as slogan)

• “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”

• “That's great advertising when you can turn Chicago into a city you'd want to spend more than three hours in.”

• “I learned much from my father just by watching his example. If I saw him hold a door open for someone, I learned to do the same.”

• “It goes back to all of us wanting to be in Hollywood. We’re all dying to win an Oscar.”

These quotes illustrate his belief in risk, honesty, and the raw interplay between advertising and reality.

Lessons from Jerry Della Femina

1. Boldness can build reputation. Della Femina’s willingness to offend, challenge, and provoke helped him stand out in a crowded industry.

2. Creative integrity matters more than profit. He chose leaving over staying in a firm that lost its culture, showing that vision is worth protecting.

3. Know when to diversify. His shift into restaurants, publishing, and media demonstrates that an advertising mind can branch into many areas of influence.

4. Talent must be matched with hustle. His origins and early rejections didn’t deter him—persistence was central to his climb.

5. Clarity and honesty resonate. Many of his quotes and campaigns rise from blunt truths rather than obfuscation or hype.

Conclusion

Jerry Della Femina stands as a vivid figure in the history of American advertising: a “Madman” who brought personality, audacity, and irreverence to the business of persuasion. His life—from Brooklyn delivery boy to agency founder, author, restaurateur, and cultural commentator—illustrates the power of narrative, risk, and character in commerce. His famous quotes continue to be cited by marketers, creatives, and entrepreneurs who want lessons in honesty, boldness, and navigating the tensions between control and growth. Explore further his books—From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor and An Italian Grows in Brooklyn—and revisit his agency legend to see how one strong voice can ripple through an industry.