Kaplan Thaler Group
{{Short description|American advertising agency, 1997 to 2015}}
{{Infobox company
| name = The Kaplan Thaler Group
| logo = File:Kaplan Thaler group logo.jpg
| logo_size = 240px
| logo_caption = Second logo used for the Kaplan Thaler group, until the merger with another agency in 2015 when the name changed
| industry = Advertising
| founded = {{Start date and age|1997}}
| successor = Publicis New York
}}
The Kaplan Thaler Group was an American advertising agency that opened in 1997,{{cite book |last1=Kaplan Thaler |first1=Linda |last2=Koval |first2=Robin |title=Bang! |date=2003 |publisher=DOUBLEDAY |location=New York |isbn=0-385-50816-6 |page=3 |edition=1}}{{Cite press release |date=July 12, 2012 |title=Publicis New York And Kaplan Thaler Group Merge To Form Publicis Kaplan Thaler |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/publicis-new-york-and-kaplan-thaler-group-merge-to-form-publicis-kaplan-thaler-162220215.html |website=PR Newswire}} and created ad campaigns, including the Aflac Duck. The company began with six people in a small apartment. In July 2012, the Kaplan Thaler Group merged with Publicis New York.
History
The Kaplan Thaler Group was an American advertising agency. It began as a small boutique agency out of the founder's home in Chelsea, Manhattan. The Kaplan Thaler Group began with six employees on the {{Convert|700|sqft}} third floor of the brownstone where Linda Kaplan Thaler lived on 19th Street in Chelsea.{{Cite book |last1=Kaplan Thaler |first1=Linda |title=GRIT TO GREAT |last2=Koval |first2=Robin |publisher=Crown Business |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-8041-3912-0 |edition=1st |pages=20}} Linda Kaplan Thaler served as CEO and Chief Creative Officer of the Kaplan Thaler Group since founding the agency in 1997.
Over a period of 15 years, the Kaplan Thaler Group grew "from a startup to a company with more than $1 billion in billings."{{Cite web |last=Vanden Plas |first=Joe |date=June 8, 2021 |title=How a legend was made of advertising quackery |url=https://www.ibmadison.com/industries/insurance/how-a-legend-was-made-of-advertising-quackery/article_ed3fa149-fb1b-5f25-8c1c-3ded1f26815b.html |website=In Business Greater Madison}} The agency created the Aflac duck,{{Cite book |last=Riggs |first=Thomas |url=https://vdoc.pub/documents/encyclopedia-of-major-marketing-campaigns-7tt9r4md4n90 |title= Encyclopedia Of Major Marketing Campaigns |date=2000 |publisher=Thomson Gale |isbn=978-0-7876-7356-7 |pages=34–39}} Herbal Essences Totally Organic Experience,{{Cite web|url=https://marketing-case-studies.blogspot.com/2008/05/|title=Marketing Campaign Case Studies|website=marketing-case-studies.blogspot.com}} Continental Airlines "Work Hard. Fly Right.", and Swiffer Sweeper campaigns.
In 2002, the advertising agency N. W. Ayer & Son, which called itself the oldest advertising agency, retired its name and merged with Kaplan Thaler Group, which served Ayer's client Continental Airlines.{{Cite web |last=Sanders |first=Lisa |title=Agency Shutdown: Bcom3 Pulls Plug on Ayer |url=https://adage.com/article/news/agency-shutdown-bcom3-pulls-plug-ayer/52428 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131118192033/http://adage.com/article/news/agency-shutdown-bcom3-pulls-plug-ayer/52428/ |archive-date=2013-11-18 |website=AdAge}} Also in 2002, the advertising agency D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B) was acquired by French firm Publicis and closed;{{Cite news |last=Elliot |first=Stuart |date=October 15, 2002 |title=Publicis begins an extensive, and risky, reshuffling of accounts and people. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/15/business/media-business-advertising-publicis-begins-extensive-risky-reshuffling-accounts.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027043308/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/15/business/media-business-advertising-publicis-begins-extensive-risky-reshuffling-accounts.html |archive-date=27 October 2021 |work=The New York Times}} longtime client Procter & Gamble shifted its Dawn and Swiffer brands from defunct D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles to Kaplan, adding roughly $80 million in U.S. billings.{{Cite news |date=January 12, 2004 |title=Special Report Agency of the Year |url=https://adage.com/images/random/agyr04_reviews.pdf |work=AdAge}}
On July 12, 2012, the Kaplan Thaler Group merged with Publicis New York, part of French multinational Publicis. The resulting company was called Publicis Kaplan Thaler.{{Cite web |title=Kaplan Thaler - New York Advertising Agency |url=https://www.agencyspotter.com/kaplan-thaler |website=Agency Spotter}} In June 2015, Publicis New York ended the use of the name "Kaplan Thaler".{{Cite web |last=Morrison |first=Maureen |author-link= |date=June 30, 2015 |title=Publicis Drops Kaplan Thaler Moniker |url=https://adage.com/article/agency-news/publicis-drops-kaplan-thaler-moniker/299285 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701173327/http://adage.com/article/agency-news/publicis-drops-kaplan-thaler-moniker/299285/ |archive-date=2015-07-01 |website=AdAge}}