Shell Answer Man
Encyclopedia
The Shell Answer Man was a series of television advertisements from the 1960s through the 1990s sponsored by Shell Oil in which answers were provided to common questions from the public about driving, with advice on vehicle maintenance, repair and safety, as well as guidance to users of home heating oil
. Companion booklets, a series titled the Shell Answer Books, were inserted into major magazines and distributed as free giveaways at Shell gas stations. The ads were aimed at typical drivers, helping inform them how to avoid wasting gasoline through such tips as not making jackrabbit starts, ensuring proper tire inflation, regular oil changes and proper basic maintenance of their vehicle, as well as guidance on how to get the most out of heating one's home.
The campaign was developed in the late 1960s for Shell by the advertising firm of Ogilvy & Mather
, a relationship that would continue for nearly four decades. Print ads addressed other oil uses, such as touting the benefits of switching to an oil-powered hot water heater and encouraging those using oil to heat their homes to ensure they have enough oil in their tank before the cold weather arrives. By the time Shell ended the relationship in 1999, Ogilvy & Mather had 60 employees based in Houston, Texas
largely dedicated to the Shell account, and when O&M closed the office in Houston it dropped other local accounts that it could no longer justify supporting.
Actor and announcer Don Morrow
appeared in the campaign in the 1960s, offering tips to drivers. Actor Vince O'Brien
landed the role of the Shell Answer Man in the late 1960s and 1970s, an opportunity he described in a newspaper interview as being "like hitting the state lottery." O'Brien's balding, mature appearance made him an effective authority figure in the campaign. Actor Richard Anderson
played the role of the Shell Answer Man in the 1970s and 1980s.
Heating oil
Heating oil, or oil heat, is a low viscosity, flammable liquid petroleum product used as a fuel for furnaces or boilers in buildings. Home heating oil is often abbreviated as HHO...
. Companion booklets, a series titled the Shell Answer Books, were inserted into major magazines and distributed as free giveaways at Shell gas stations. The ads were aimed at typical drivers, helping inform them how to avoid wasting gasoline through such tips as not making jackrabbit starts, ensuring proper tire inflation, regular oil changes and proper basic maintenance of their vehicle, as well as guidance on how to get the most out of heating one's home.
The campaign was developed in the late 1960s for Shell by the advertising firm of Ogilvy & Mather
Ogilvy & Mather
Ogilvy & Mather is an international advertising, marketing and public relations agency based in Manhattan and owned by the WPP Group. The company operates 497 offices in 125 countries with approximately 16,000 employees.-History:...
, a relationship that would continue for nearly four decades. Print ads addressed other oil uses, such as touting the benefits of switching to an oil-powered hot water heater and encouraging those using oil to heat their homes to ensure they have enough oil in their tank before the cold weather arrives. By the time Shell ended the relationship in 1999, Ogilvy & Mather had 60 employees based in Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
largely dedicated to the Shell account, and when O&M closed the office in Houston it dropped other local accounts that it could no longer justify supporting.
Actor and announcer Don Morrow
Don Morrow
Don Morrow is an American actor and announcer. He started his broadcast career while a student at Syracuse University on the GI Bill shortly after World War II. His first job was with Syracuse's first TV station WHEN as newscaster and announcer...
appeared in the campaign in the 1960s, offering tips to drivers. Actor Vince O'Brien
Vince O'Brien
Vince O'Brien was an American character actor, who appeared as a doctor in Woody Allen's film Annie Hall and appeared on television and in print ads as the Shell Answer Man....
landed the role of the Shell Answer Man in the late 1960s and 1970s, an opportunity he described in a newspaper interview as being "like hitting the state lottery." O'Brien's balding, mature appearance made him an effective authority figure in the campaign. Actor Richard Anderson
Richard Anderson
Richard Norman Anderson is an American actor in film and television, known to TV audiences as Steve Austin's and Jaime Sommers' boss, Oscar Goldman, in both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman TV series and their three subsequent TV movies: The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man...
played the role of the Shell Answer Man in the 1970s and 1980s.