Advertising Hall of Fame Inducts Classical Pianist Roy F. Eaton at Waldorf-Astoria March 25

[Roy F. Eaton]

We know Roy F. Eaton as a classical pianist, but for many years he was also an advertising executive responsible for music. Roy is about to be inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame:

American Advertising Federation

61st Annual

Advertising Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Celebrate those who have made advertising great.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

The Waldorf-Astoria, Grand Ballroom

Reception: 11:00 a.m. • Luncheon: 11:45 a.m.– 2:30 p.m.

“Roy F. Eaton, Former Vice President, Music Director, Benton & Bowles

Anyone over 30 will recognize music written or produced by Roy Eaton. 'You can trust your car to the man who wears the star.' All together now, 'We’re having Beefaroni. It’s made from macaroni.' Eaton’s Beefaroni served the brand for over 20 years. And, in September 2007, Advertising Age named that Texaco jingle from 1962 as the foundation for one of the twentieth century’s top 100 creative campaigns. Indeed, Eaton’s music has made an indelible mark on advertising.

“Eaton was not born to write ad jingles. His father and mother, a mechanic and a domestic worker from Jamaica gave birth to Eaton in 1930. Despite losing part of a finger on his right hand in an accident when he was three years old, Eaton took up classical piano when he was six. He first played Carnegie Hall in 1937. After New York’s High School of Music and Art, Eaton graduated from CCNY (magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa) and the Manhattan School of Music.”

“When Young & Rubicam hired Eaton as a copywriter and jingle composer in 1955, he became 'the first black at a major agency, with a creative function on general accounts,' according to Stephen Fox’s, Mirror Makers: A History of American Advertising and Its Creators. Eaton’s undeniable talent and drive cracked the color barrier at last.”