Martin Francis Conroy was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 advertising

Advertising

Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

 executive best known for a direct mail

Direct mail

Advertising mail, also known as direct mail, junk mail, or admail, is the delivery of advertising material to recipients of postal mail. The delivery of advertising mail forms a large and growing service for many postal services, and direct-mail marketing forms a significant portion of the direct...

 ad for the Wall Street Journal that was in continuous use for 28 years, from 1975 to 2003.

Born in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 and a graduate of Xavier High School (New York City)

Xavier High School (New York City)

Xavier High School is a independent Jesuit university-preparatory high school for young men located at 30 West 16th Street, in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1847, as the College of St. Francis Xavier by Father John Larkin, S.J...

, Conroy earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the College of the Holy Cross

College of the Holy Cross

The College of the Holy Cross is an undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA...

 in 1943. He then served in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 in Germany. Upon his return, he took a job as a copywriter at Bloomingdale's

Bloomingdale's

Bloomingdale's is an American department store owned by Macy's, Inc. .Bloomingdale's started in 1861 when brothers Joseph and Lyman G. Bloomingdale started selling hoop-skirts in their Ladies Notions' Shop on Manhattan's Lower East Side...

. He was on the editorial staff of Esquire

Esquire (magazine)

Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...

magazine when he took a position at BBDO

BBDO

BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency began in 1891 with George Batten's Batten Company, and later in 1928, through a merger of BDO and Batten Co. the agency became BBDO...

 in 1950.

The subscription solicitation letter began:

On a beautiful late spring afternoon, twenty-five years ago, two young men graduated from the same college. They were very much alike, these two young men. Both had been better than average students, both were personable and both — as young college graduates are — were filled with ambitious dreams for the future.

"Recently, these men returned to their college for their 25th reunion.

The letter goes on to note that they worked at the same company, but one man was a low-level manager and the other was president. Though the letter does not specifically state it, it implies the more successful man subscribed to the Wall Street Journal. It is widely considered a classic soft sell

Soft sell

In advertising, a soft sell is an advertisement or campaign that uses a more subtle, casual, or friendly sales message. This approach works in opposition to a hard sell....

 advertisement.

Conroy died in Branford, Connecticut

Branford, Connecticut

-Landmarks and attractions:Branford has six historic districts that are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places . These include buildings in Federal, Arts and Crafts, and Queen Anne styles of architecture...

 from complications of lung cancer

Lung cancer

Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...

. He is survived by his wife Joan, his eight children, and his thirteen grandchildren.