Media Post‘s coverage of Google’s DoubleClick acquisition has a timeline of America’s greatest ad agencies. Check out this one (emphasis added):

1873: Foote, Cone & Belding founded as one of America’s first advertising agencies. One of its founders, Fairfax Cone, states: “Good advertising is always written from one person to another. When it is aimed at millions it rarely moves anyone.”

So, 130 years after Fairfax Cone said that, the marketing profession is rediscovering the fundamental truth of those words.