Bruce Barton

Born in Tennesse in 1886 ,  Barton was the son of a Congregational clergyman and grew up in various places throughout the U.S., including the Chicago area.

He graduated from Amherst College in 1907. 

He worked as a publicist and magazine editor before co-founding the Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO) advertising agency in 1919. Nine years later the agency merged with the George Batten agency to become Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BBDO). Barton headed the agency until 1961, building it into one of the industry's leaders.

 Among other famous campaign he created the character of  Betty Crocker.

Betty Crocker is a cultural icon, as well as brand name and trademark of American Fortune 500 corporation General Mills. The name was first developed by the Washburn Crosby company in 1921 as a way to give a personalized response to consumer product questions. The name Betty was selected because it was viewed as a cheery, all-American name. It was paired with the last name Crocker, in honor of  William Crocker, a Washburn Crosby Company director.

Bruce Barton  is also credited with namingGeneral Motors and General Electric.

Barton was most famous, however, as the author of many bestselling guides to personal success. He also wrote literally hundreds of articles for popular magazines, offering readers advice and inspiration for pursuing the American dream.

 His most famous book, The man nobody knows (1925), depicted Jesus Christ as a successful salesman, publicist and role model for the modern businessman.

Like a businessman and writer he cooperated with Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie. He was first who introduced them with the idea of using advertisement for product promotion.

 Politically conservative, he offered his public relations expertise to many Republican candidates over the years. 5 American presidents managed to get their posts largely due to the Barton’s help.
A staunch opponent of Roosvelt and the New Deal, he served two terms in the United States House of  Representatives ( 1937–1941), and ran in 1940 unsuccessfully for U.S Senator from New York.