Philip (Phil) Dusenberry, a veteran of more than 30 years in the creative end of the advertising business, is the Chairman and CEO of BBDO New York, the headquarters office of BBDO - which was recently honored as “Agency of the Year” for 1993 by Advertising Age and Adweek magazine, as well as the American Marketing Association.
His election as the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame 1994 Patron of the Arts is a tribute to a professionalcareer that has contributed to the growth of music as a key facet in the marketing world.
Music today is widely recognized as a prime vehicle in advertising for radio and television and Dusenberry has played an important role in fostering this unique art form.
The now legendary Pepsi commercials spotlighting such pop superstars as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Lionel Richie and Ray Charles were all the output of BBDO under Dusenberry’s leadership. BBDO creative craftsmen (and women) were also the architects of the popular Ray Charles Diet Pepsi spots, featuring the famous “Uh-huh” song and the “Uh-huh” girls.
According to Dusenberry, the musical material at BBDO is turned out by a team of first class songwriters including Peter Cofield, Jake Holmes, Joe Sicurella and Tom McFaul. Music has also been a powerful current in other BBDO-originated commercials for Pizza Hut, GE and Gillette, among numerous others.
Beyond the area of music, Dusenberry co-authored the screenplay for “The Natural,” the motion picture success which starred Robert Redford. He was also a member of the Tuesday Team, the ad hoc adagency which created President Ronald Reagan’s re-election campaign advertising. In this capacity, Dusenberry wrote and produced the 18-minute documentary film which aired on NBC-TV as a part of its coverage of the Republican National Convention in August 1984. The film has since become a permanent addition to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation in Thousand Oaks, California. Dusenberry attended Emory and Henry College before working at radio stations in Virginia, Tennessee and New York. He and his wife, Susan, currently live in New York City.