Mary Wells was working at Tinker on the Braniff account in 1966. While she was called the driving force of the agency, copywriter Richard Rich and art Director Stewart Greene were right behind her backing up her moves with incredible advertising. The three had worked together on many award winning accounts at Tinker and were a well established team.
   On April 4th, 1967 the three decided to break away from Tinker and start their own agency, Wells Rich Greene. They each invested $30,000 and got a $100,000 bank loan with the help of a financier who also happened to be a director for Braniff. Almost immediately after Wells, Rich and Greene left Tinker the Braniff account (a $7 million account) left Tinker to be handled by Wells Rich Greene. Mary insisted to the press that the switch wasn't preconceived and planned, if it were the agency could have been sued for damages. In their first weeks of business Wells Rich Greene operated out of a hotel suite, but shortly thereafter moved into a Madison Avenue office. Over the next several years, 11 staff members from Tinker would resign and join Wells Rich Greene.
   November of 67', just seven months after the start of Wells Rich Greene, Mary Wells married Braniff's president, Hardin Lawrence. Shortly after the wedding WRG dropped the Braniff account. By that time, however, a drop like Braniff wasn't a big deal to the agency, they were already billing $30 million. The agency became public for about a decade, but the hardships of public ownership proved too much to handle and switched back to being privately held.
   Mary was the president, CEO and chairman of WRG and making over $225,000 in 1969. In that same year she became the youngest person ever inducted into the Copywriter's Hall of Fame. Also in 69' Mary was named Advertising Executive of the Year by the American Advertising Federation. 1969 was a golden year for Mary Wells Lawrence.

A few of their clients over the years:
Benson & Hedges 100's
Personal razor blades
Burma line of men's toiletries
Utica Club Beer
La Rosa spaghetti
TWA (after the Braniff stint was over)
Alka-Seltzer
Philip Morris
Proctor and Gamble
American Motors
Ad Council/Deparment of Transportation's Campaign Against Drunk Driving
American General Corp.
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Central Part Conservancy
Chase Manhattan Bank
Ford Motor Co.,
Heineken USA, Inc.
Hertz Corp.,
Heuer Time and Electronics Co.
ITT New York
ITT Sheraton
Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.,
Mobil Land Development Corp.,
National Down Syndrome Society
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
New York Stock Exchange
Police Athletic League
Polytechnic University
Toys 'R Us, Paramus
United Industries/The Spectrum Group
United Jewish Appeal-Federation