[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 31 (Monday, March 18, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E370-E371]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING JOHN SMALE AS HE IS INDUCTED INTO THE ADVERTISING HALL OF FAME

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                            HON. ROB PORTMAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 18, 2002

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a friend and 
distinguished constituent, John Smale, the retired Chairman and CEO of 
The Procter & Gamble Company and former Chairman of General Motors 
Corporation, who will have the honor of being inducted into the 
American Advertising Federation's Advertising Hall of Fame in New York 
City on March 19, 2002.
  The Advertising Hall of Fame is the most prestigious honor bestowed 
in the advertising industry. It is awarded to individuals who have set 
the standard for lifetime advertising excellence. John Smale joins a 
notable group of industry luminaries that includes David Ogilvy, Ray 
Kroc, Jay Chiat, William Bernbach and William Paley.
  John Smale was selected because he has been a major proponent of the 
power of advertising to build brands and an advocate of building global 
brand loyalty through advertising. He is truly a pioneer and an 
innovator. He joined Procter & Gamble in 1952 and later, as an 
associate advertising manager in 1958, he began informing the American 
Dental Association (ADA) about Crest toothpaste's fluoride-based anti-
cavity research. After the ADA awarded Crest its first seal of approval 
in 1960, Crest became the category leader with its ``Look Ma, no 
cavities'' advertising campaign.
  Under his leadership as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive 
Officer in the 1980s, John engineered an aggressive series of landmark 
changes that restructured the company from the coveted brand management 
system--where products compete against one another--to a broader one of 
category management. Significantly, this allowed the P&G manager to 
oversee both the product and its advertising. He was committed to new 
product development and invested $2 billion into new acquisitions that 
resulted in tremendous growth, making the company the nation's leading 
personal care products company. He did this while emphasizing P&G's 
strengths in market research and without compromising its basic values. 
During his tenure, the company expanded from 24 categories to 39, and 
owned the leading brand in most of them.
  John Smale engineered other important company changes, many targeted 
to the company's enormous global expansion. In Japan, the world's 
second largest consumer market, he hired Japanese managers, and 
required those from the U.S. to study Japanese language and culture. In 
1992, he was elected Board Chairman of the General Motors Corporation 
where he also designed a major restructuring program.

[[Page E371]]

  But his significant influence didn't end in the corporate boardroom; 
he is also an effective civic leader. In the late 1980s, he unselfishly 
chaired the Cincinnati Infrastructure Commission--known as the Smale 
Commission--and enlisted other community leaders in an examination of 
ways to make critical improvements in the city's infrastructure. The 
Commission's report is widely viewed as the most comprehensive 
assessment of the city's physical assets. He has also served on the 
Board of Directors of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, the 
Nature Conservancy, and the National Park Foundation; a trustee of the 
Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts and the Cincinnati Museum 
Association; a member of the Board of Governors of United Way and the 
National Advisory Board of Goodwill Industries of America.
  John Smale is an innovator and achiever. One veteran corporate 
analyst ranked him as one of the top three chief executives of the past 
half century. As he receives advertising's most prestigious honor, we 
congratulate him and thank him for his vision, his commitment and his 
service to his community and his country.




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