Howard Zieff

Howard B. Zieff (21 October 1927 – 22 February 2009), (pronounced Zeef ) was an American director, television commercial director, and advertising photographer.

Zieff was born to Jewish parents in Chicago, Illinois, then moved to Los Angeles, CA. with his family. He studied art for one year at Los Angeles City College, then dropped out in 1946 to join the United States Navy. He learned photography at the Naval Photography School in Pensacola, Florida and then, after his discharge, at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He became a commercial photographer in New York City in the 1950s, earning a reputation in the 1960s as one of the city's best-known advertising photographers. His campaigns included "You Don't Have To Be Jewish" for Levy's rye bread, "Mamma Mia, that's a spicy meatball" for Alka-Seltzer, and ads for the New York Daily News, Polaroid, and Volkswagen. His advertising was known for its humor as well as its high production values; for a Hertz rental-car ad, he commissioned the construction of a facsimile of West Hollywood's Sunset Strip, while an ad for Tetley tea included locating old Spitfire planes.