Dick Rich, Who Helped Redefine TV Advertising, Dies at 84

Dick Rich, a copywriter and advertising executive who turned the disadvantages of indigestion and outsize cigarettes into classic 1960s television commercials for Alka-Seltzer and Benson & Hedges 100s, died on Nov. 11 in Manhattan. He was 84.

Rich was a founding member of Wells Rich Greene, one of the small firms that helped define the freewheeling spirit of television advertising in the 1960s. Within months of the firm’s formation, in 1966, he created two fast-paced, trendsetting spots. Both featured ordinary people performing daily tasks. Both increased sales for their clients. And both were funny enough to bear repeated watching.