Harvey Gabor, renowned advertising creator, dies at 86
Harvey Gabor, an advertising executive who helped to create one of the world’s most famed commercials, has died at the age of 86.
Gabor, born in New York in 1934, spent a portion of his life living and working in Oakland County with his wife of 52 years Barbara Gabor. The two moved from New York to Michigan in the early 1990’s as Gabor took up a position as executive creative director for SMZ Advertising in Troy. He worked there, living in Waterford Township, until retiring in 2002. The family moved back to New York about 10 years ago.
He also spent several years teaching advertising writing at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, according to his wife. With a lifelong passion for the arts and a keen eye for finding fresh talent, Gabor left a lasting impact on the advertising industry with his work, she said.
Gabor in part created and filmed the 1971 CocaCola television advertisement “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke,” which went on to be inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame. The jingle itself was written by William Backer, another well known advertising giant who has also been inducted into the hall.
The commercial was featured on the series finale of the AMC television drama “Mad Men” that explored the world of advertising in the 1960s. The commercial appears in the final moments of the episode as a sort of epiphany moment for the show’s main character as he looks toward the next chapter of his creative life.
In 2012, Gabor was invited to New York to work with Google on creating an updated version of the advertisement. A campaign to install interactive vending machines around the world was launched. Users could download a mobile app and purchase a Coca- Cola for a stranger at a different vending machine somewhere in the world. The project was a 2012 Grand Prix winner at Cannes for mobile advertising.
Gabor was also the recipient of six Clio awards, five gold medals from the Art Directors Club of New York as well as dozens of other industry awards. He published an e-book based on his time in the industry in the 60s and 70s titled “Peeing with David Ogilvy” and also produced an off-Broadway play in the 80s.
Gabor graduated from the Cooper Union School of Art in New York in 1955. He went on to work as a designer for magazines such as Redbook and McCall’s before joining McCann-Erickson Advertising in 1965. In his career he also worked for Wells-Rich- Greene Advertising and Ogilvy & Mather Incorporated in New York City. He served as executive creative director and a member of the management council and operating board for those agencies. He also served as creative director for Ingalls Quinn & Johnson in Boston.
“He was passionate about art and was always drawing, besides that, advertising was his main passion. He loved people and he was just so, so funny,” Barbara Gabor said. “Apart from creating one of the most famous commercials of all time, his greatest legacy was how good he was at finding and recognizing young talent. He helped them grow through a very difficult business, and many of the people he mentored are in important positions in the business today.”
Gabor is survived by his wife, son Eric Gabor and four grandchildren.