Lester Wunderman (June 22, 1920 – January 9, 2019) was an American advertising executive widely considered the creator of modern-day direct marketing.

His innovations included the magazine subscription card, the toll-free 1-800 number, loyalty rewards programs, and many more.

He identified, named, and defined the term "direct marketing" in a 1967 speech at MIT, and was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 1998.

While there, he noted that their "mail order" accounts had the potential to be built into a broader line of business.

He introduced a "direct marketing" approach to service them, using the medium of clients’ mailboxes as a way to develop a more personal connection with potential customers than general advertising had previously found possible.

WR&K (later acquired by Young & Rubicam and eventually called Wunderman) was responsible for developing and/or promoting the Columbia Record Club, the 1-800 toll-free number for businesses (developed for a Toyota campaign), the magazine subscription card, and the postal ZIP code system.

He, Jacqueline Kennedy, Karl Katz, and Cornell Capa helped found the International Center of Photography in New York.