With the force of a strong personality, a gracious and convincing manner, sound ideas and a willingness to devote a fair share of his time and talents to the advancement of his profession, Rollin Ayres was long recognized as the leading spokesman of organized advertising on the Pacific Coast.
Ayres was not only the founder and president of the first advertising agency in California, but also an organizer and first president of the San Francisco Advertising Club in 1903. He served with great distinction as president of the Pacific Coast Advertising Association, where he inaugurated a campaign of "Three Minute Talks," long a feature of advertising conventions on the West Coast. The awards presented each year as a part of the plan were named after the "father" of the idea.
Ayres was also prominent on the national scene. He served as the governor of the 12th District, Advertising Federation of America, comprising the Pacific Coast territory. From about 1911 to 1916, Ayres was a leader of the truth-in-advertising movement, carrying the banner up and down the West Coast. He urged for the passage of state legislation in the form of the truth-in-advertising bill and later assisted in the development of Better Business Bureaus in many WestCoast cities.
He was among the first to urge the use of advertising to promote whole industries. He sold the idea to raisin growers in Fresno, prune growers in San Jose and to orange growers in Los Angeles. These and other industries soon became big businesses, aided by the power of advertising.