Person

Backer, Bill

1926-2016

William Montague Backer, also known as Bill Backer, was born on June 9, 1926, in New York City, New York.
 
He was an American advertising executive. He attended Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, where he wrote musical comedies. He was also president of the Fairfax Literary Society and board member/editor-in-chief of The Chronicle. After high school, he served two years in the United States Navy. He then attended Yale University, earning a B.A. in 1950. After college, Backer sold real estate and wrote jingles for three years. His career began in the mailroom at the advertising agency McCann Erickson in 1953, where he worked his way "up the ladder" first to creative director in 1972 and then to vice chairman of the agency in 1978. In 1979, he, along with Carl Spielvogel, co-founded the advertising agency Backer and Spielvogel (it later became Backer, Spielvogel & Bates Worldwide, Inc.). The company would become one of the world's largest marketing and advertising communications companies. During his career, Backer created ad campaigns for Beech-Nut Gum, Buick, Campbell's soup, Coca-Cola, Dole, Exxon, Fisher-Price, Hyundai, Löwenbräu, Miller beer, Miller Lite, Nabisco, Oreo, Parliament cigarettes, Philip Morris, Quaker Oats, and Xerox. Some of his memorable slogans include "Things go better with Coke" and "the real thing” for Coca-Cola; "Soup is good food" for Campbell's; and "Miller Time" for Miller. In 1971, Backer created the Coca-Cola campaign and accompanying song "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony). In 1999, Advertising Age included his name in a list of the top 100 players in advertising history.
 
In 1983, he married Ann Allderdice Mudge (1932-?). He died on May 13, 2016, in Warrenton, Virginia.