A confidant and close associate of Lee Iacocca, he was known for contributing the turnaround of Chrysler Corporation by creating the ad campaign that helped to revive the ailing company and reshape its image.
[2] As chief executive of Kenyon & Eckhardt, Kelmenson walked away from an $80 million-a-year contract with Ford Motor Company to become the exclusive advertising agency of the Chrysler Corporation after Ford fired its president Lee Iacocca, a longtime friend of Kelmenson's who was then joined Chrysler as chief executive.
[2] Kelmenson's advertising campaign contributed to the turnaround of Chrysler's fortunes by securing a government bailout and saving the automaker and turned Iacocca into a folk hero who registered third on the Gallup Poll's list of the men Americans respected most in the 1980s.
[1] Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, he became chief executive of Bozell, a marketing, advertising and public relations firm.
His other clients included Colgate-Palmolive, Air France, Seagram, Elizabeth Arden, General Motors, Daimler Chrysler and Mitsubishi.