Hal Riney, advertising legend and founder of Publicis, has passed away from cancer yesterday. He was 75. Riney was named number 30 on the Advertising Age 100 people of the 20th century. He was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2001. AdAge, who broke the news, has a comprehensive obituary.
“Riney’s unique body of work celebrates, implicitly if not flat-out, the American spirit and voice — often his own, deep honey-coated voice-over. For Saturn cars, Crocker Bank, Alamo car rentals, Henry Weinhard beers, Gallo (with front-porch stars Bartles & Jaymes) and “Morning in America” for Ronald Reagan’s re-election campaign, Riney’s words and pictures conveyed sincerity, warmth and credibility. He was recruited from Botsford Ketchum by David Ogilvy and opened O&M’s San Francisco office in 1976. In 1986, he took over the office, renaming it Hal Riney & Partners, and went on to mastermind GM’s Saturn introduction with dazzling success. Often imitated, never surpassed, Riney’s work achieved larger-than-life levels of creative excellence.”