Ritz Furs, You Don't Have To Spend a Million To Look Like a Million!

STARTING AT THE TOP

The first progress we made since we were video store workers, came with a phone call to the Ritz Thrift Shop, now Ritz Furs. Keith Tauber, long time owner, proved to be both friendly and helpful once he was assured that our project would not mock him

or his business in any way. He remembered the famed ad, and revealed to us that a substantial number of first time Ritz customers mention the old TV spot as being their primary reason for choosing Ritz Furs. He recalled the ad being shot, but assured us that the proud salesman who fits the Ritz Lady with her Step Up Into The Jet Set, was not him in an unbilled cameo. And although he recalled The Ritz Lady, he could not remember her name or the agency for which she worked. Mr. Tauber also put to rest the NY Times story from 1988 which claimed that a new Ritz ad had been produced~ the classic ad was the only ad, figuratively and literally.
A call was made to the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting. From them we learned that the permits for the commercial shoot were only kept for seven years, and so any clues they may once have offered regarding the ID of the elusive Ritz Model are long purged from the municipal archives.

Learning that the ad was produced by the now-defunct DiIorio Wergeles firm, we set out to find and contact any veterans from the 1970s who could shed some light on the creation of the ad. The agency was long gone- merged out of existence decades. DiIorio Wergeles accounts went to Ross Roy Communications, which became InterOne, which, in turn, became BBDO Detroit. When contacted, a BBDO representative told us that anyone at the agency who might have known about the ad are long gone from the firm. When the New York Times contacted Julio DiIorio in 1988, he told them that he was amazed by the commercial’s longevity. Mr. DiIorio has subsequently passed away, leaving his January 27, 1988 interview his- presumed- final words on the subject.