Sid Lerner
Born(1930-12-10)December 10, 1930
New York City
DiedJanuary 12, 2021(2021-01-12) (aged 90)
New York City
Occupation(s)advertising and marketing industry executive and public health advocate
Known forMeatless Mondays campaign

Sidney Lerner (December 10, 1930 – January 12, 2021)[1] was an American advertising and marketing industry executive and public health advocate. He was considered one of the original "Mad Men" of the advertising world and later founded Meatless Mondays campaign.

Early life and education

Lerner was born into a Jewish family to Mollie Lebowitz and Louis Lerner in New York City. He was first in his family of immigrant to go to college.[1]

He graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in 1953 with a degree in English and journalism.[2][3] At Syracuse, he served as the editor of "The Syracusan magazine" and was part of the Orange Key junior men's honorary organization.[4]

Advertising career

Considered one of the original "Mad Men" of Madison Avenue,[5][6][7] Lerner's advertising and marketing career included work with Norman, Craig & Kummel, and Benton & Bowles advertising agencies as a creative director.

After graduation from Syracuse, Sid served in Army counter intelligence in Japan.[8] Lerner began his career in the mailroom, from where he found a position in the ranks of copywriting at Benton & Bowles.[1] During his career, he represented popular brands from Procter & Gamble, General Foods (Maxwell House), Texaco, Johnson Wax, and Charmin for which he helped created the memorable "Please Don’t Squeeze the Charmin" campaign featuring Mr. Whipple.[9]

In April 1970, Lerner started Sid Lerner Associates, a consulting business for creative advertising and new product development. This business designed, co-produced and marketed licensed tennis, gifts and sporting good products for the gift and stationery trades.[10]

Public health advocacy

Lerner founded Meatless Mondays and Healthy Mondays campaigns in 2003.[11][12] The program began at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, recommending Americans to abstain from meat one day a week for their health and the environment.[13] It became a global movement, taking hold across the U.S. and growing in over 40 countries around the world.[14][15]

According to Lerner, his father died of heart disease and his own diet was a catalyst for Meatless Mondays. Based on his doctor's advice Lerner modified his meat consumption, treating the protein more like a "condiment" than a main facet of a meal.[16][17]

Lerner and his wife, Helaine Lerner funded the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion to conduct, coordinate, and promote population and community health research, education, and outreach at the Maxwell & Newhouse Schools of Syracuse University in 2011,[18][19][20][21] Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2014,[22][23] and Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University in 2014.[6][15] He also established endowed positions at Johns Hopkins and NYU Langone to support health promotions.[24][25]

Lerner was the president of Biorings LLC, which along with Weill Cornell medical researchers, developed non-hormonal contraceptives to prevent HIV transmission.[26][27]

Lerner served on the Financial Services Leadership Forum Advisory Committee of the New York Public Library in 2010.[28] He also worked with the American Jewish Committee.[29]

Awards

In 2013, Lerner received the George Arents award, Syracuse University's highest alumni honor for "his work in wellness, advertising and philanthropy".[30][31][32]

In 2013, Lerner was awarded the Dean's Medal, the School's highest honor, by Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health for "his vision and leadership in improving the health of the public through the Meatless Monday Campaign".[13]

In 2019, Lerner received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Johns Hopkins University.[5][33]

Works

Lerner wrote six non-fiction books, including:

  • Monday morning quarterback. New York: Holt Rinehart & Winston. 1983. ISBN 9780030637766. OCLC 9685671.[3][34]
  • From the desk of. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1989. ISBN 9780151337958. OCLC 1200469579.[35]
  • Trash Cash, Fizzbos, and Flatliners. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1993. ISBN 9780395640203. OCLC 26807326.
  • A Dictionary of New Words. Barnes & Noble. 1995. OCLC 1033647257.[36]

Death

Lerner died on January 12, 2021, aged 90, at his home in New York City.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sid Lerner, Ad Man, Public Health Advocate and Philanthropist, Dies at 90". The Monday Campaigns. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "Health Promotion Advocate and Alumnus Sidney Lerner '53 Remembered". SU News. January 26, 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 Lerner, Sid (17 July 2012). "Grab bag - What's a Whirler? Words even the dictionary doesn't know". Syracuse University Magazine. 5 (2): 48. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  4. ↑ "Junior Class of Syracuse University: The Syracusan". The Onondagan. Syracuse University: 82, 92. 1952. OCLC 9753705. Retrieved 28 August 2021. Sid Lerner, editor, pursues soon-to-be parodied Meet the Greeks.
  5. 1 2 Commencement: 2019 Conferring of degrees at the close of the 143rd academic year (PDF) (Report). Johns Hopkins University. May 23, 2019. p. 13. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Thank You, Sid Lerner". Columbia Mailman School of Public Health (Press release). 19 January 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "Real Mad Men. Real Stories. Really". madmenconfidential.com. Mad Men Confidential. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  8. 1 2 "SIDNEY LERNER Obituary (2021) New York Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  9. ↑ Mulder, James T. (2 October 2011). "Syracuse University alumnus has made Monday the perfect day to go meatless or start other healthy things". The Post-Standard. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "Sid Lerner Associates, Inc. - address, map". www.nybizdb.com. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  11. ↑ Grayce West, Melanie (15 March 2013). "Ad Man's Meatless Mission". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  12. ↑ Munno, Greg (1 April 2012). "Making the Most of Monday". Syracuse University Magazine. Vol. 29, no. 1. pp. 36–39. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  13. 1 2 Parsons, Tim (October 17, 2013). "Dean's Medal Awarded to Sid Lerner". Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  14. ↑ Swartz, Aimee (17 April 2014). "Everyone's a Health Nut on Monday". The Atlantic. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  15. 1 2 "Sid Lerner: Columbia Public Health". www.publichealth.columbia.edu. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  16. ↑ Aubrey, Allison (August 9, 2010). "Campaign Aims To Make Meatless Mondays Hip". NPR. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  17. ↑ Dawn Graves, Cassidy (5 March 2021). "The Untold Truth Of Meatless Mondays". Mashed. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  18. ↑ "New University center will focus resources on public health promotion". SU News. October 3, 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  19. ↑ Fabris, Casey (4 October 2011). "Center to aid disease prevention". The Daily Orange. p. 3. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  20. ↑ Gearhart Levy, Renée (Summer 2015). "The Right Recipe" (PDF). Maxwell Perspective. Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. pp. 2–4. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  21. ↑ Gadoua, Renée K. (Spring 2016). "Culture of Health". Maxwell Perspective. Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. p. 13. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  22. ↑ Maruniak, Andrea (November 14, 2014). "New Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion Launched By Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health". Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  23. ↑ "Remembering Sid Lerner: Dear colleague and friend whose contributions shaped CLF's beginnings and inform our work to come". Center for a Livable Future. Jan 20, 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  24. ↑ "Our Integrative Health & Health Promotion Staff". nyulangone.org. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  25. ↑ "The Helaine and Sidney Lerner Professorship". Named Deanships, Directorships, and Professorships. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  26. ↑ Rodgers, John (May 19, 2009). "New Contraceptive Device Developed by Weill Cornell Researchers Is Designed to Prevent Sexual Transmission of HIV". Weill Cornell Newsroom. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  27. ↑ "Non-Hormonal Intra-Vaginal Ring Contraceptive to be Developed by QPharma AB and BioRings LLC" (Press release). 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  28. ↑ Annual Report 2010 (PDF) (Report). New York Public Library. 2010. p. 19. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  29. ↑ "SIDNEY LERNER Obituary (2021) New York Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  30. ↑ Taishoff, Laurie; Speach, Amy; Yackel, Christine; Loughlin, Wendy (1 January 2013). "Alumni Journal". Syracuse University Magazine. Vol. 30, no. 3. p. 56. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  31. ↑ "Sid Lerner 2013 Arents Award Recipient". Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  32. ↑ "Five Distinguished Alumni to Receive George Arents Award during Orange Central". SU News. September 25, 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  33. ↑ "Meatless Monday Founder Sid Lerner Receives 2019 Honorary Degree from Johns Hopkins University". Newswise. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  34. ↑ Appelbaum, Judith (13 November 1983). "PAPERBACK TALK". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  35. ↑ Druker, Hal; Lerner, Sid (19 July 2012). "From the Desk of..." Syracuse University Magazine. Vol. 6, no. 2. Syracuse University. pp. 14–19. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  36. ↑ Lerner, Sid (5 December 1993). "Viewpoints; Lexicon for the Auto-Maga-Video Age". The New York Times.
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