Bill Stein: Critters & Creatures
In 2016, I was helping my father-in-law, commercial artist Bill Stein (1923- 2020), prepare for a move by sorting through his flat files of artwork and sketches accumulated over his 60+ year career. Lots of Hamm’s work, naturally, and a drawer filled with Inky Lou posters. But there were other critters and creatures, too – animal and human, whimsical and fantastical. I hadn't realized how many times Bill had to help brand a company through the personality and antics of an advertising mascot. I put together a booklet for him, "Critters & Creatures," that compiled examples of the characters that Bill had drawn (and in several cases, created), along with his brief memories about each of them. This is my introduction to the collection, along with four of the best-known mascots. * * * In the world of advertising, they’re known as “critters,” the popular pitchmen of the Leo Burnett Company . The Chicago ad agency was behind such 20th Century marketing icons as Tony the Ti