Bofinger & Associates, founded by Charles F. Bofinger, was an advertising agency that produced brochures for various Hershey Entertainment & Resorts (HE&R) accounts, including Hersheypark. HE&R was the recipient of a silver medal from the Neographic Awards, presented by the Graphic Arts Association of the Delaware Valley, in 1976 for among other things, the 1976 Hersheypark brochure.
Bofinger & Associates History
Bofinger & Associates was founded by Charles F. Bofinger, in 1961, in Glenside, Pennsylvania. He expanded the company a year later, and it was renamed Bofinger-Kaplan Advertising from 1962 – 1975. It was called Bofinger & Associates from 1976 – 1980.
Bofinger was chief executive of his advertising agency. In 1980, he sold his business to competing agency Spiro & Associates. Bofinger left the advertising business and focused on printmaking and painting. His artwork was featured in a variety of galleries over the years. He passed away on May 27, 2013, at the age of 88.
Close relationship with Hershey
Charles F. Bofinger maintained a close relationship with the Hershey Entities (Milton Hershey School, HE&R, The Hershey Company), because he was a well-known alumni of the Milton Hershey School.
Bofinger had lived on Farm 53 (Eastmoor) during some of his time at what was then called the Hershey Industrial School. In 1939, he was one of three Hershey boys to win a Scholastic Award at the 15th Annual Scholastic Awards – he won an award in art. Bofinger graduated with honors in social studies on June 1, 1943, in a class of 112.
After graduating from Milton Hershey School, Bofinger served for three years as a radioman first class in the United States Navy with the Pacific Fleet. He participated in the invasion of Okinawa, Iwo Jima, the Marshall Islands, and Saipan.
Following his time in the Navy, from 1946-1950, he studied at the Imperial School of Fine Arts. According to a profile on his website, Bofinger privately studied under Nina Scull, a well known portrait artist and musician, who was director of the school. After graduating, he went on to work for several department stores working in their advertising departments, including being advertising manager of John Wanamaker.
On June 6, 1966, Bofinger was awarded Alumnus of the Year at the Commencement Ceremony for Milton Hershey School. Three years later, October 5, 1969, Bofinger participated in the Milton Hershey School’s Homecoming Weekend when he was speaker for the Sunday morning worship services in the Hershey Community Theatre. Bofinger spoke about “The Golden Rule.”
In 1974, Bofinger was president of the Milton Hershey School Alumni Association. In that capacity, he participated in an event at the Hershey Lodge on July 17, which honored Arthur Whiteman, Chairman of the Board of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, and Jim Bobb, President of HE&R. Whiteman had recently retired, and Bobb was retiring at the end of the summer season.
He also established the Memorial Grove at Founders Hall, and planted the first tree in the grove.
Ad agency for HE&R
Bofinger & Associates began representing HE&R products in 1969 when they began to run the advertising and promotion of Hershey Cocoa Butter Soap. By the mid-late 1970s, Bofinger & Associates served as the advertising agency for HE&R, producing brochures for various properties, including the award winning Hersheypark brochure from 1976.
Bofinger appeared with Ned Book, president of HE&R, and several other company leaders (seen below), when the company announced that HE&R was taking over management of the Lancaster Hilton Inn, a hotel in downtown Lancaster (today the Lancaster Marriott), and renaming the property Hotel Brunswick, on April 1, 1976.
HE&R ended their contract with Hotel Brunswick in 1978, citing low occupancy and not enough local business to attract people to stay at Hotel Brunswick (at the time downtown Lancaster had relatively fewer businesses – several buildings were still under construction).
The relationship with Bofinger & Associates continued through to the sale of the company to Spiro & Associates in 1980. Spiro assumed the contract until it was terminated in 1982 by HE&R.
