Karl Malden Became an Advertising Legend at American Express

Posted by Carroll Trosclair Jul 2, 2009

American advertising lost its third media icon within two weeks when Karl Malden died July 1, 2009. Like Ed McMahon and Billy Mays, who died in late June, Malden was recognized for the television commercials he starred in for decades.

For 21 years Malden promoted American Express Travelers Cheques, closing a long series of commercials with the line "Don’t leave home without them." The commercials often depicted a person or couple losing cash on a vacation or business trip, then using their American Express Travelers Cheques to resume their trip.

Malden was chosen for the American Express role for his "everyman" resemblance that most people could relate to and because he had distinguished himself as Lieutenant Mike Stone, a tough cop in the popular 1972-77 show The Streets of San Francisco.

The "don’t leave home without them" series of commercials was proposed by David Ogilvy, the legendary head of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency.

Before becoming the public face of American Express Travelers Cheques, Malden won recogition as an actor on both Broadway and in Hollywood, winning awards in shows such as "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "On theWaterfront."

But many people remembered him primarily for his role in the American Express commercials. In 1989 he told the Chicago Tribune: "After 50 years of doing all those other things in the business, wherever I go, the one thing people will say to me is, ‘Don’t leave home without it.’ What am I going to say? It’s kind of frustrating in a way, but at the same time, American Express has been very good to me, and it’s given me independence."

The day that he died American Express issued a statement saying Malden "was always the leading man to his fans at American Express, and we are grateful for our long association with one of the giants of the entertainment world."

"Don’t leave home without it" is now a generic line used to promote dozens of products and services.

Sources:

"Oscar-winning actor Karl Malden dies," by Jim Cheng, USA TODAY, 7-1-09