Rosem’ry Bertel, a legend of the 80’s and 90’s advertising scene, has passed away at 85 years old.
A creative director at George Patterson, Y&R, Leo Burnett and one of the first women in Australian advertising to have her name on the door of two major independent agencies, DBHS&L (Dutton Bertel, Hiccox, Stewart and Luscombe) and RBM&R (Reese, Bertel, Maddox and Reardon) Bertel was trailblazer for female creativity at a time of very little senior female representation.
Starting her career as a junior at USP Needham in the early 60s, she quickly became known for her copywriting skills and love of cheeky wordplay. Her first major break was in the Myer marketing department, where she achieved some notoriety for a new campaign branding a front-fastening bra as the ‘drive-in bra’.
Bertel’s most notable campaigns include the highly loved and successful launch of Big M, the flavoured milk which was a sensation in the summer of 1978, the first time Coca-Cola was outsold at all major summer festivals. Featuring scantily clad young men and women on the beach, the launch and subsequent campaigns were a tribute to Aussie summer and still made “Most Loved Commercials” lists for decades after the launch.
Other campaigns included Budget’s ‘Budget Drives Your Dollar Further’ and ‘Guess Whose Mum’s Got a Whirlpool?’ as well as the launch of Skinny Milk, another successful campaign for Victorian Dairy.
She also taught at Copy School and RMIT, sharing her love of advertising and clever copy with the next generation of advertising hopefuls. Bertel won numerous awards and was nominated as a Legend of Advertising by several industry groups, as well as being interviewed for many publications and books about the “Golden Age” of advertising.
In later life, Bertel and her husband Peter started a boutique agency specialising in property and luxury marketing, she named some of the most iconic property developments in Melbourne, including The Melburnian and Yarra’s Edge.
Ted Horton, founder of Big Red agency, told B&T: “Many years ago when I started my advertising career, Rosem’ry Bertel was already a legend in the Australian advertising industry. She wasn’t just a role model for women in the industry, she was universally respected and a role model for all creatives, me included.
“As a creative director at George Patterson, she won universal acclaim for her fabulous Big M work. It set the standard then and decades later it still sets the standards. Larger than life and full of life and laughter, she truly was one of a kind. My sincere condolences to her family and many friends.”
Bertel passed peacefully at home on 26 June 2025, she is survived by her husband Peter and her children, Finn, Simon and Jessica, who is managing director of GUT ASIA.
