Gertrude R. Crain, the late chairman emeritus of Crain Communications Inc., has been named as one of three inductees into the American Advertising Federation's Advertising Hall of Fame. Mrs. Crain's late husband, company and Advertising Age founder G.D. Crain Jr., was inducted in 1975.
The AAF also selected Young & Rubicam Chairman Emeritus Alex Kroll and Paul Schrage, longtime senior executive vice president and chief marketing officer for McDonald's Corp.
Mrs. Crain, who died in 1996, spent 40 years at Crain and served as the company's chairman from 1974 through 1996. AAF judges said Mrs. Crain was honored for her work in helping to boost the advertising business.
"She was one of the most powerful forces for good that we have ever had," said the judges.
Mr. Kroll, who retired as chairman-chief executive officer of Y&R in 1994 and until recently served as chairman of the Advertising Council, was honored for his lifetime of work at Y&R as well as his active support of groups including the Ad Council.
Mr. Schrage, who also retired earlier this year, was honored by the judges as "the father of the brand best-known in the world."
The induction ceremonies are set for March 31 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.
Mr. and Mrs. Crain become the second husband-and-wife team in the AAF Hall of Fame. Stanley Resor, longtime J. Walter Thompson Co. president, and his wife, Helen Lansdowne Resor, a famed advertising copywriter, were inducted jointly in 1967.
