Daniel “Danny” Gustafson, 60, an innovator in local automotive advertising, died of a heart attack Wednesday, Oct. 30, while on his way to a business meeting.
The founder and president of Gustafson-Shields Advertising, he was widely recognized as the man behind the success of many major Chicago car dealerships.
“He was a catalyst in automotive advertising for print and electronic advertising,” said Ken DePaola, vice president for advertising, sales and marketing for Chicago Tribune Co.
The secret of Mr. Gustafson’s success was that he took auto accounts seriously, said longtime business partner Evelyn Campbell. The result was “a real ad, instead of some comic,” she said.
Mr. Gustafson, a lifelong resident of Park Ridge, was a graduate of Maine East High School and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. His first job was in advertising sales at the Chicago Sun-Times in 1966.
In 1976 he joined the Jordan Tamraz Caruso ad firm, and in 1982 founded his own agency. Mr. Gustafson mentored numerous young men and women, many of whom now own or manage ad agencies in Chicago, Campbell said.
He was a devoted collector of antique televisions and radios, a passion he shared with others as a charter member of the Museum of Broadcast Communications and a member of the Northland Antique Radio Club and the Antique Radio Club of Illinois.
Among his prized possessions were the first television from the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair and the camera used to televise President Franklin Roosevelt at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York.
When he appeared on “The Today Show” during a segment celebrating the 50th anniversary celebration of TV, he was complimented on his collection by one of his heroes, Milton Berle.
Friends said Mr. Gustafson was quick-witted and generous. Campbell called him “the Harry Caray and Jack Brickhouse of the advertising world,” a reference to Gustafson’s humor, style and his zeal for his work.
“He had this love he brought to advertising that was totally infectious,” she said.
Visitation will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday in Nelson Funeral Home, 820 Talcott Rd., Park Ridge. Services will he held at 10 a.m. Friday in the funeral home.
