Warren Pfaff, 74, an ad man who helped define an age, died on March 10, 2004 at 12:10 a.m. at the Rosenthal Hospice Center in Stamford, CT. The cause was lung cancer, according to his wife Kathryn.

Pfaff was the creator of some of the most memorable advertising campaigns of the '60s and '70s, many of which defined the flavor of the times.

A frequent collaborator with music director Sid Woloshin and Kevin Gavin, Pfaff created the long-running TV, radio and print ad campaign that established Pan American Airways as the pre-eminent airline of the '60s. "Get out of the country, get into this world ... Pan Am makes the going great."

He wrote the lyrics to the famous McDonald's ad that ultimately was named top jingle of the 20th century by Advertising Age. The ad, created in collaboration with the late Sid Woloshin, his longtime musical partner, originally ran with the line, "We're so near and far away, so get up and get away, to McDonald's," and later was revised to "You deserve a break today, so get up and get away to McDonald's." The two also collaborated on the original Marines "We're looking for a few good men" advertising, which debuted on radio and ultimately became the elite force's signature.

When the Metropolitan Opera faced a subscription crisis in 1975, Pfaff created a campaign-"Strike a blow for civilization."-which contributed to a sellout season.

When the Joffrey Ballet Company was facing similar difficulty in the mid-'70s, Pfaff created a campaign-"The Joffrey is a time for joy-and the time is now."-to re-establish the troupe as a premier New York attraction.

Pfaff's campaigns for Rolls-Royce Motors-"The Heart and Soul of a Masterpiece" and "A Rolls-Royce is a Rolls-Royce."-helped the luxury carmaker post record U.S. sales during the '70s. His campaign for Rolls' Lotus motorcars unit, "A Lotus Is a Rare Sight," introduced the exotic sports car to the American market.

Pfaff's advertising for the many premier brands of General Cigar Company-among them Macanudo and Partagas-helped establish the company as an industry leader in America.

Throughout his career, Pfaff became known for evoking the romance of products and experiences that are the best of their kind. This included a string of successful campaigns for luxury goods retailers, including Hoffritz cutlery and Schraft's candies.

Pfaff was the chief illustrator for the Civil Rights Commission in the Kennedy administration, taking a sabbatical from JWT in 1961, when he and his wife, Kathryn, lived in Washington, D.C. His humanitarianism extended to five decades of support for The Fresh Air Fund, for which he was an active sponsor.

He appeared on stage in the 1950s as a lead actor in summer stock productions at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA, and performed in Off-Broadway productions in New York City, studying with Lee Grant, among others. He transferred his acting and graphic arts careers (Pfaff was a successful greeting card designer, prior to becoming an ad man) to the advertising world, where he became a major part of the creative revolution that took place during the go-go '60s transatlantic ad world.

Born in Brooklyn, Pfaff grew up in Great Neck, on Long Island and was in many ways a quintessential New Yorker, always working within 20 blocks of Grand Central Terminal, through which he commuted for 40 years. He maintained his ardent passion for the Giants baseball team, which left New York in 1957 for San Francisco, until the very end.

Following his graduation from Dartmouth College in 1951 (B.A., English), Pfaff studied painting as a Reynolds Fellow at the DuChamps studio in Paris. Then he joined the Navy, serving for three years as a lieutenant on a minesweeper in the Korean War.

After an acting career in the mid-'50s, Pfaff turned to the advertising business, which he joined in 1956 with the Brian Houston agency. He joined J. Walter Thompson, Inc. -- then the world's largest advertising agency -- in 1957 as copywriter and rose to senior vice president and creative director.

Pfaff's work won Clio Awards, the advertising industry's highest creative honors, for his work on the Pan Am account; he also was awarded numerous other industry accolades. In 1971, he opened his own agency, Warren Pfaff, Inc., which he led until 1990, when he merged operations with McCaffrey Ratner Gottlieb & Lane.

Pfaff is survived by his wife, Kathryn Allen Pfaff, and his family (Fred, Chris, Sandy, Margaret Wellington, and Kelvin Cooks, and three grandsons).

Memorial service was held on March 14 at the First Presbyterian Church in Stamford, CT. No flowers accepted. Contributions can be made in his name to Dartmouth College and the Rosenthal Hospice Center of the Stamford Hospital.

Family contacts: Fred Pfaff (917-902-6883; fred@fredpfaffinc.com), Chris Pfaff (201-218-0262; c.pfaff@att.net)