Veteran advertising advocate Dan Jaffe will retire at year’s end, the Association of National Advertisers said.
Jaffe has headed ANA’s government relations operations in Washington, D.C., for most of four decades, most recently as group executive VP. Succeeding him in that post is Christoper Oswald, who joined ANA in 2018 and heads up advocacy efforts on the Hill.
Jaffe joined ANA in 1985 and before that was a House and Senate staffer, serving as counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee and staff director of the Consumer Protection subcommittee.
Jaffe has advocated for advertiser rights on Capitol Hill, at the Federal Trade Commission, the Food and Drug Administration and elsewhere, and has been a leading opponent of ad taxes.
“Dan has amassed an incredible array of accomplishments that would be the envy of any professional executive, which have added enormous value for ANA members and elevated the ANA’s reputation in the marketing ecosystem,” ANA CEO Bob Liodice said. “His many achievements have left an indelible mark on our entire industry, and the debt marketers owe him is enormous.”
“My heartfelt thanks go out to the tremendous government relations staff in Washington and especially to Bob Liodice for his constant support and encouragement,” Jaffe said. “Anyone in association government relations work knows that they can only succeed if they have the strong support of the association’s leadership, and Bob has always had our back. For that I am extremely grateful.”
Before joining ANA, Oswald was VP of advocacy for the Direct Marketing Association. He was also on the board of the Digital Advertising Alliance.
"Dan Jaffe is the unquestioned dean of all things Advertising in Washington," said Adonis Hoffman, founder and chairman of Business in the Public Interest, and former SVP and counsel at the American Association of Advertising Agencies. "His institutional knowledge of law, policy and regulation has guided and advanced the industry throughout mega changes in the market. With an encyclopedic command of precedent and case law, Dan has been the preeminent go-to man for the advertising industry. His stamp on public policy ranging from children's advertising to online privacy is indelible and his wise counsel will be missed by all. I am proud to call him a friend and colleague and one of the classiest acts in Washington."
