In cult classic film The Endless Summer, two California surfers, Mike Hynson and Robert August, chase summer around the globe, traveling from Africa to Australia to Tahiti and back again in search of the perfect wave. They try things they have never done before: riding at never-before-surfed spots, hiking miles across sand dunes to remote locations, making friends with native people who marvel at their boards and try their luck at the sport.

This is an apt metaphor for the evolution of branding, marketing and advertising over the last century. Just as surfers sought the perfect wave long before surf forecasts, skilled marketers have pursued the perfect way to connect brand to buyer through shifting tides of media, culture and technology.

From Words on Walls to Global Icons: The Early Days

Branding began with marks on pottery and livestock to denote origin and quality. Over centuries, these marks evolved into trademarks, and later into the emotional symbols we recognize today.

Advertising as we know it – a structured effort to engage and influence audiences – emerged more clearly in the early 20th century. By mid-century, agencies began forming what would become the foundations of modern marketing.

Two names stand tall in this lineage.

The Creative Revolution: Storytelling Meets Strategy

In the mid-1900s, the advertising landscape began to shift from mere announcements to narratives that moved people. Bill Bernbach and his contemporaries at agencies like Doyle Dane Bernbach sparked a “creative revolution” that emphasized empathy, truth and human insight over bombastic claims.

Meanwhile, Leo Burnett built one of the world’s largest agencies by creating characters and stories that became cultural touchstones: the Marlboro Man, Tony the Tiger, the Pillsbury Doughboy. His belief was simple and profound: “Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” I distinctly remember seeing his work on billboards in Chicago when I was a kid in the 1980s and telling my aunt, “I want to make those when I grow up!” Burnett’s work showed that strong advertising is rooted in narrative and human connection. It certainly connected with me.

Another true icon was David Ogilvy, often called the “Father of Advertising.” Ogilvy championed respect for the audience, famously saying: “The consumer is not a moron. She’s your wife.” This was a strategic imperative reminding us advertising must speak with intelligence to invite people rather than shout at people.

Then there was Mary Wells Lawrence, the first woman to lead a major New York agency. In her memoir, A Big Life in Advertising, she chronicled decades of transformation, reminding us that this industry is equal parts art and courage. Her story reflects how advertising learned to balance scientific discipline with intuition, persistence and creativity.

Branding: The Quest for Identity and Meaning

As advertising matured, so did the concept of brand. Branding moved beyond logos and slogans to become a discipline about identity, promise and experience. Consumers no longer bought products – they bought meaning.

This is similar to the surfers in The Endless Summer who didn’t chase any wave – they chased the perfect wave. They explored culture, geography and nuance from Waikiki in Hawaii to far-off lands like Ghana and Nigeria only to return to Waikiki and proclaim it the winner.

Likewise, great brands have a singular, perfect start: with voice-of-the-customer data. There is simply no better foundation for building a memorable story that inspires people to select and stay loyal to a brand than the sentiments of their happiest customers. This is why to this day firms like Leo Burnett Worldwide, Inc., and Ogilvy still rely on voice-of-the-customer data to build the biggest brands in the world, and it’s why I distilled that approach to its most essential parts and have been delivering it to Big Buzz clients for nearly 20 years so they can attract and retain their ideal clients for years and even decades.

Yes, the model is truly that perfect.

Advertising Today: The Endless Summer of Strategy

The story of branding, marketing and advertising is like an endless summer. There is always a new wave to chase — new platforms, new audiences, new data, new cultural currents. Yet the essence remains the same: understanding people, telling compelling stories and creating meaning that lasts.

Just as the surfers in The Endless Summer traveled the globe in search of summer’s promise, so have marketers traveled the landscape of human attention for the perfect connection between brand and buyer, driven by curiosity, discipline and a relentless pursuit of better. Or even perfection!

Out of the wide blue ocean of marketing, we create a focused energy people notice. Since 2007, Big Buzz® has helped Stage II to Stage III organizations systemize marketing to achieve growth goals. Get details: visit www.bigbuzzinc.com and follow Wendy.