David W. Dole is a genealogist and former broadcasting and advertising executive (Leo Burnett agency). The Industry Standard Commercial Identification (ISCI) system is a coding system used by television stations and advertisers to identify and track television commericials. The ISCI code consists of and 8-character identifier, four letters (identifying the advertiser) and four numbers (identifying the specific commercial), in the format ABCD1234. Each version of every commercial receives a unique identifier. David Dole is also the author (in the 1990s) of the Publishers Genealogical Coding Service (PGCS), used by librarians and genealogists to codify bibliographic information for obituaries. The David W. Dole ISCI Records span the years between 1969 and 2004 and document the creation and management of the Industry Standard Commercial Indentification (ISCI) system. The collection consists of press releases, correspondence, pamphlets, clippings, articles, published registers, and technical documents that pertain to the proposal, design and implementation of the ISCI system. Materials pertain to the involvement of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), including the purchase of the ISCI system from Dole by the AAAA/ANA in the 1990s, and the replacement of ISCI with a new system, Ad-Id.

The David W. Dole ISCI Records span the years between 1969 and 2004 and document the creation and management of the Industry Standard Commercial Indentification (ISCI) system. The collection consists of press releases, correspondence, pamphlets, clippings, articles, published registers, and technical documents that pertain to the proposal, design and implementation of the ISCI system. Materials pertain to the involvement of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), including the purchase of the ISCI system from Dole by the AAAA/ANA in the 1990s, and the replacement of ISCI with a new system, Ad-Id.

John Benjamin Harris is Professor Emeritus of Management and Marketing at Virginia State University. He pioneered governmental and commercial awareness of African American advertising markets and, in the 1970s, became the Director of the Virginia State Office of Minority Business Enterprise and Special Assistant to the Governor for Minority Enterprise. The John Benjamin Harris Papers span the years 1955-1991 and include scholarly articles, corporate reports and proposals, product labels, 16mm film reels, and audio tapes. Materials represent Harris' academic and professional work at New York University and Virginia State University as well as his work for the Virginia State Office of Minority Business Enterprise. Topics touched on in the collection include minority business enterprises; minority markets and minorities (especially African Americans) as consumers; and African American mass media. In addition, the collection reflects Harris' work for the advertising industry with employers including Cunningham & Walsh, Inc., the Leo Burnett Company, Inc., and the Ted Bates Company. Brands represented include Alka-Seltzer (Miles Laboratories), Campbell Soup, Coca-Cola, Cleveland Electric, Eastman Kodak, Pillsbury, and Schlitz.

The John Benjamin Harris Papers span the years 1955-1991 and include scholarly articles, corporate reports and proposals, product labels, 16mm film reels, and audio tapes. Materials represent Harris' academic and professional work at New York University and Virginia State University as well as his work for the Virginia State Office of Minority Business Enterprise. Topics touched on in the collection include minority business enterprises; minority markets and minorities (especially African Americans) as consumers; and African American mass media. In addition, the collection reflects Harris' work for the advertising industry with employers including Cunningham & Walsh, Inc., the Leo Burnett Company, Inc., and the Ted Bates Company. Brands represented include Alka-Seltzer (Miles Laboratories), Campbell Soup, Coca-cola, Cleveland Electric, Eastman Kodak, Pillsbury, and Schlitz.

The collection is organized into three series: Writings, Package Labels, and Audiovisual Materials. The Writings Series includes scholarly articles, reports, and proposals from Harris' academic and professional career in marketing research. The Package Labels series includes images of Campbell Soup Company branded product labels. The Audiovisual Materials series includes reels of television and radio advertisements for various company brands and advertising agencies.

The John E. Brennan Outdoor Advertising Survey Reports document the professional endeavors of outdoor advertising design researcher John E. (Jack) Brennan for the time period 1947 to 1980. His work primarily consisted of conducting market surveys on the effectiveness of billboard advertisement design and layout, and reporting his findings to subscribers to advance design efficiency for the industry. About 786 surveys cover 15,720 different advertisement designs posted on signs in major markets around the US. Forty-two different cities were covered in 27 states. His survey interviewers questioned participants on how well they remembered advertisements and product brand names. Brennan then analyzed the survey data to produce practical information for advertisers and advertising companies on improving advertisement copy, thereby increasing advertising efficiency and profits. His emphasis was on outdoor advertisement design and copy, not traffic or other outdoor industry factors. The collection is comprised mainly of paper files, most containing color photographs attached to the paper data reports or sleeved along side them. Other significant items include the Copy Clues reports which capitalize on the data Brennan compiled, suggesting outdoor advertisement (also known as poster) design improvements. Other supporting materials within the collection include survey methodology information, related writings, summary data files, and business correspondence. Even without the context of Brennan's survey forms and data, the collection is a sizable photo library of mid-20th century commercial art created for outdoor advertising. Additional description of the individual series presented below may be found within the container list.

The collection begins with a small amount of Business Correspondence related to the surveys completed by Brennan's company Poster Appraisal Service (also General Media and Copy Research Co., and Outdoor Advertising Research Institute). Information documenting how Brennan conducted surveys makes up the next series called Methodology Files, which includes some interview forms and instructions. These are followed by the Outdoor Advertising Survey Reports themselves, which form the bulk of the collection. An individual survey was normally conducted in one city using about 20 different advertising designs. Each report is a compilation of data for one billboard advertisement, including a breakdown of statistics by male and female participants, and usually including color snapshot photographs of each design. Researchers of the collection can see the photos used in survey interviews, noticing how brand names were hidden and revealed as participants were questioned as to whether they remembered the entire advertisement and/or the brand name advertised. Design efficiency for individual cities may be studied since surveys are arranged by geographic location. Data may also be studied over time since ads are arranged chronologically within each location grouping. Certain ads were also compiled and survey data studied according to product type. For example, researchers may see how effective certain candy bar advertisements were across the country. Brennan encouraged subscribers to his service to look at reports themselves and come to their own conclusions about how to improve billboard advertisement design.

The Outdoor Advertising Survey Reports Series is also documentation of the more than 15,000 pieces of creative work produced by many different advertising agencies and their advertisers including D'Arcy Advertising; Foote, Cone, and Belding; J. Walter Thompson; McCann-Erickson; and Young and Rubicam. The photographed billboards were operated by many outdoor advertising companies including Central, Foster and Kleiser, Houston Poster, Middleton, Packer, and United. In addition to the photos with the survey reports, there are also several files of loose photographs, including pictures of billboards that were likely produced in preparation for surveys. A sampling of the product brands featured in the advertisements includes Admiral appliances, Amoco gasoline, Ballantine Beer, Budweiser Beer, Chevrolet automobiles, Coca-Cola soda, Conoco gasoline, Dr. Pepper soda, Edsel automobiles, Folger's coffee, Ford automobiles, Fritos snacks, Jax Beer, Libby's canned goods, Mobil gas and oil, Mrs. Baird's Bread, Nash automobiles, Northern Tissue, NuGrape soda, Pabst Beer, Schlitz Beer, Sealy mattresses, Shell gasoline, Stratolounger, and Sunshine food products.

The Summary Data Files contain much of the same condensed survey information on advertisement remembrance and product identification found at the front of each survey's folder. The folders in this series contain compiled data sheets of specific data types (remembrance, or identification, etc.) for all (or many) of the surveys conducted in one city. In addition to survey data, there are other documents such as a design master record that presents information in a summary form.

Copy Clues are the monthly reports sent to Brennan's subscribers that interpret survey data, and place it in usable form. This series reflects conclusions drawn from the survey data to communicate specific information on various advertisement attributes. For instance, if multiple designs with dark backgrounds had low remembrance scores, and designs with white backgrounds scored high, Brennan might have brought to his subscriber's attention that white backgrounds make more effective advertising. Did more people remember a product brand if the product was depicted along with a child or without one? Subscribers could receive Copy Clues to answer such questions as well as to receive the survey reports. The final series, Other Surveys and Outdoor Advertising-Related Materials, contains other organizations' surveys, writings, and further information related to outdoor advertising that does not necessarily fit into the previous groupings.

Related collections in the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library include a number of other outdoor advertising collections, such as the Outdoor Advertising Slide Library, the John Paver Papers, the John Browning Papers, the Duplex Advertising Co. Records, the H.E. Fisk Collection of War Effort Mobilization Campaigns, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America Records, the Outdoor Advertising Poster Design Collection, the Garrett Orr Papers, the R.C. Maxwell Company Records, the Howard Scott Papers, and the Strobridge Lithographing Company Advertisements.

Founded in 1864, the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) is one of the oldest and largest enduring advertising agencies in the United States. The JWT 16mm Microfilm Investigations span the years 1913-1950 and consist of research reports, market studies, account histories, office overviews, campaign studies and other investigative documents. Clients include Andrew Jergens, Ballantine, Corning, Kodak, Emerson Drug, General Cigar, J&J Colman, J.B. Williams, J.P. Stevens, Johns-Manville, Lehn & Fink, Lever Brothers (Unilever), Lorillard, Northam Warren, Penick & Ford, Pond's, R.T. French, Scott Paper, Standard Brands and the U.S. Marine Corps. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

The JWT 16mm Microfilm Investigations span the years 1913-1950 and consist of research reports, market studies, account histories, office overviews, campaign studies and other investigative documents. Clients include Andrew Jergens, Ballantine, Corning, Eastman Kodak, Emerson Drug, General Cigar, J&J Colman, J.B. Williams, J.P. Stevens, Johns-Manville, Lehn & Fink, Lever Brothers (Unilever), Lorillard, Northam Warren, Penick & Ford, Pond's, R.T. French, Scott Paper, Standard Brands and the U.S. Marine Corps.

The Advertising Vertical File contains subject files on a wide range of advertising topics, and is primarily comprised of news clippings, articles, and pamphlets. Topics range from financial information, legal aspects of marketing, employment trends, awards, information on individuals in the industry, media, packaging, trademarks, and marketing research. The file was created and maintained as an internal reference file by the Information Center in JWT's New York Office. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

Correspondence, memos, reports, speeches, and printed items relating to Stridsberg's career at the J. Walter Thompson Company. Documentation includes reports and pamphlets that address television advertising to men and children, brand advertising, public service campaigns, the role of research in advertising, tobacco marketing, JWT's international offices and clients. Also included are texts of speeches by Rena Bartos and other JWT officers, and Stridsberg's reminiscences of his years at J. Walter Thompson Company in the 1960s and 1970s, especially regarding Ralph Nader and the Ford Motor Company as well as international cigarette marketing. The printed material includes issues of a serial, Motivations (1956-1957), and other bulletins published by Ernest Dichter's Institute for Motivational Research. Audiovisual materials include radio compilation cassettes produced by the Radio Advertising Bureau and other entities; 16mm films Coca-Cola campaigns by McCann-Erickson agency (undated) and a 1976 reel from Dancer Fitzgerald Sample. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

Bertram Metter worked for over thirty years as an advertising and marketing executive, most notably as a copywriter, creative director, and Vice Chairman at J. Walter Thompson USA (JWT). In in early years at JWT, Metter worked as a direct response specialist for the Ford Motor Company direct marketing operation. He also served as a primary on the Ford account, during which time he directed print and television promotion for Ford and played a key role in the launching of several new car models. The Bertram Metter Papers span 1908 to 2000, with the bulk of the collection dating 1953 through the late 1980s. Collection contains materials in a variety of formats, including correspondence, writings, newspaper and magazine clippings, sheet music, printed materials, photographs, and photostats. In addition to materials for the Ford Motor Company, the collection documents Metter's work for other major clients, including the Pepsi-Cola Company (Mexico) and Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company. Bulk of the collection consists of advertising and marketing research, client reports and correspondence, promotional materials, and other professional files. Also contains materials related to Metter's later work as a consultant and author, including drafts of an unpublished book manuscript entitled Breaking the Rules at J. Walter Thompson, a chronicle of his career at JWT.

The Bertram Metter Papers span 1908 to 2000, with the bulk of the collection dating 1953 through the late 1980s. The collection includes materials in a variety of formats, including correspondence, writings, newspaper and magazine clippings, sheet music, printed materials, photographs, and photostats, that document Metter's thirty years in advertising and marketing, with a focus on his career as a copywriter, creative director, and Vice Chairman at J. Walter Thompson USA (JWT). The collection provides a record of Metter's early work as a "direct response specialist" for the Ford Motor Company direct marketing operation, and other roles on the Ford account (Metter directed print and television promotion for Ford and played a key role in the launching of several new car models). In addition to Ford materials, the collection documents Metter's work for other major clients, including the Pepsi-Cola Company (Mexico) and Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company. While the bulk of the collection consists of advertising and marketing research, client reports and correspondence, promotional materials, and other professional files, the collection also contains materials related to Metter's later work as a consultant and author, including drafts of an unpublished book manuscript entitled "Breaking the Rules at J. Walter Thompson," a chronicle of his career at JWT.

The collection is organized into four series: Professional Files, Writings, Ford Motor Company Account Files, and Other Clients.

The Professional Files Series contains JWT office (non-client) files, memoranda, and publications; industry publications and press clippings; overviews of Metter's professional biography; and limited files on Metter's consulting work for Ross Roy Advertising. The Writings Series contains Metter's writings on the advertising industry; bulk of series is composed of an unpublished book manuscript entitled "Breaking the Rules at J. Walter Thompson," comprised primarily of chapter drafts and research. The Ford Series, the largest series in the collection, includes materials relating to the launch and promotion of new models (Escort, Maverick, Mustang, Olympic, Pinto, Thunderbird, and Torino); marketing research and strategic reports; Ford direct mail materials and newsletters; television commercial scripts and storyboards; advertisement clippings and headlines; reproduction prints of early photographs of the Model T from the Ford Archives, Henry Ford Museum; photostats promoting the Ford Erika; and photocopies of sheet music of Ford songs from the early twentieth century. The Other Clients Series includes materials relating to general marketing research; new business acquisition; and promotional campaigns for clients other than Ford, including Firestone, Liggett & Myers, and Pepsi-Cola (Mexico). Large-format materials have been removed from their original series location and relocated to Oversize Materials.

Founded in 1864, the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) is one of the oldest and largest enduring advertising agencies in the United States. Brouillard Communications, a division of JWT, was established in 1973 and specialized in business-to-business advertising and corporate communications. Brouillard closed in 2009. Collection consists of two alphabetical information and reference files for business category and individual company materials. Includes correspondence, research reports, clippings, tear sheets, printed corporate materials such as annual and quarterly reports, new business and client presentations. Companies represented include American Express, AT&T, Bethlehem Steel, Boeing, CIGNA, CIT, DuPont, General Electric, GTE (later Sprint), Honeywell, Hughes Aircraft (later Raytheon), IBM, International Paper, ITT, Kodak, Lockheed, McDonnell Douglas, Monsanto, Morgan Stanley, Motorola, Pennwalt, Pfizer, RJR Nabisco, Rockwell, Sharp, Shell, 3M, Travelers, TRW, Walt Disney, Westinghouse and Xerox. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

Collection consists of two alphabetical information and reference files for business category and individual company materials. Includes correspondence, research reports, clippings, tear sheets, printed corporate materials such as annual and quarterly reports, new business and client presentations. Companies represented include American Express, AT&T, Bethlehem Steel, Boeing, CIGNA, CIT, DuPont, General Electric, GTE (later Sprint), Honeywell, Hughes Aircraft (later Raytheon), IBM, International Paper, ITT, Kodak, Lockheed, McDonnell Douglas, Monsanto, Morgan Stanley, Motorola, Pennwalt, Pfizer, RJR Nabisco, Rockwell, Sharp, Shell, 3M, Travelers, TRW, Walt Disney, Westinghouse and Xerox. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

Collection created by the JWT Chicago Office Information Center as a reference and research tool for business use. The term "non-proprietary" is JWT's term for research prepared or collected by the company but not on behalf of specific clients. The collection includes market and consumer research reports arranged alphabetically by subject. A small number of items represent JWT research done, but most were created by market research firms (e.g., Yankelovich, Elmo Roper and Associates), cable TV stations (e.g., MTV Networks), or magazines (e.g., Seventeen, Good Housekeeping), and others. Topics include consumer demographic analyses for the United States, especially of food and beverage products and restaurant services. Marketing to women is a major subject; there is also information on marketing to men, baby boomers, teens, and children. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising and Marketing History. (02-256)

This collection (94-110) (27,000 items, 50 linear feet, dated 1908-1989) consists mostly of vertical files, including office newsletters, speeches and writings, publications, training and planning documents from Chicago and other JWT offices. There are also 78 reels of microfilm of Chicago office ads prior to 1970, as well as significant collections of proof files especially pertaining to major clients like Kraft, Quaker Oats, and Schlitz. In addition, the collection holds several hundred "Aber Reports" dating between 1950-1971, which were market research summations of various product categories. A container list for this accession follows below.

Subsequent additions (96-169, 99-130, 99-239) (8514 items; dated 1970-1998) contain an item-level index to the massive library of research reports maintained by JWT's Chicago Office. Materials are arranged in alphabetical order; the largest alphabetical run is by company name. There are also cards for "X" and "AV" reports, general research reports, and an index to JWT People Profiles. Also included are printed proceedings from international symposia on magazine readership research for 1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, and 1991, including copies of some of the previously unpublished papers and related printed material (1998). These materials reveal the lengths to which advertisers go to gain insight into consumer thinking. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising and Marketing History. A container list for accession 99-130 follows below.

Addition (01-110) (70 items, .2 lin. ft.; dated [1980s]) consists of about 70 color slides depicting people, events, and locations within the company's Chicago offices.

Addition (02-0188) (397 items, 8.7 linear feet; dated 1980-2000 and undated) comprises primarily information on and examples of Thompson Total Branding (TTB), including in the US, England, Jamaica, and Asia. TTB began in 1996 and is JWT's method for addressing client marketing needs. Also includes copies of earlier methodologies, the T-Plan and Thompson Way; employee manuals; training material; J. Walter University intern/trainee manual (2000); information about the Lintas, McCann-Erickson, and Ogilvy and Mather agencies; material from JWT's World Partners Council meetings (Italy, 1995; Mexico, 1997) and marketing seminars held in the agency's Asia-Pacific region; six 3/4" U-matic SP and 11 VHS videocassettes, mainly of presentations and training material (1980s-1990s); 1 audiocassette; 47 color slides; and 208 electronic documents on 2 CD-ROMs. A container list for this accession follows below.

Several accessions of the JWT Chicago Office Records were completely or partially deaccessioned at the request of the JWT Chicago and returned to the JWT Record Center. These involved proprietary research in which the clients still retained an interest. The accessions involved were: 95-016 (10 boxes); 95-015 (7 boxes); 95-018 (2 boxes); 95-017 (1 box); and 99-0130 (28 boxes). For further information, contact Research Services.