Jock Elliott papers, 1930-2006

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Summary

Creator:
Elliott, Jock
Abstract:
John Jock Elliott was an advertising executive with Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) during 1960-1982, including tenure as Chairman of O&M U.S. and O&M International. In addition, Elliott was an author, collector and philanthropist. The Jock Elliott Papers cover the years 1930-2005, with the bulk of materials dating from 1961-1982, the period during which Elliott served as an executive with Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) advertising agency. The collection includes correspondence, corporate annual reports, programs, speeches and photographs related to company meetings and events. The collection also includes videocassettes and memorabilia commemorating meetings and special events; materials relating to Eleanor Elliott and David Ogilvy; information on affirmative action hiring programs; as well as some speeches and correspondence from the period 1945-1959 when Elliott worked for the Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BBDO) advertising agency. Companies represented in the collection include Shell Oil, Du Pont Men's Wear and Trans World Airlines (TWA). In addition, the collection includes materials relating to Elliott's service in the Marine Corps during World War II aboard the USS Pennsylvania.
Extent:
16.6 Linear Feet
Language:
Material in English, Spanish
Collection ID:
RL.00359

Background

Scope and content:

The collection includes correspondence, corporate annual reports, programs, speeches and photographs related to company meetings and events. The collection also includes videocassettes and memorabilia commemorating meetings and special events; materials relating to Eleanor Elliott and David Ogilvy; information on affirmative action hiring programs; as well as some speeches and correspondence from the period 1945-1959 when Elliott worked for the Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BBDO) advertising agency. Companies represented in the collection include Shell Oil, Du Pont Men's Wear and Trans World Airlines (TWA). In addition, the collection includes materials relating to Elliott's service in the Marine Corps during World War II aboard the USS Pennsylvania.

Biographical / historical:

John "Jock" Elliott was born in 1921 and grew up in New York City; he attended the Browning School (1928-1934) on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire (1938), and Harvard College (AB 1942). In 1942, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, and spent most of World War II in the Pacific Theatre on the battleship Pennsylvania. After being discharged in 1945 with the rank of Major, he began working for the Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BBDO) advertising agency as a copywriter (1945-1960). He soon switched to management and within a few years, he became the company's youngest director. During his 15 year tenure with BBDO, he also served as account man for the Republican Party's Eisenhower-Nixon team (1950-1953).

Elliott joined Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) in 1960 as Senior Vice President-Director and was soon placed in charge of acquiring the Shell Oil account, O&M's largest account at the time. In 1965, David Ogilvy appointed Elliott the chairman of O&M U.S., and in 1975 as chairman of O&M International. Under Elliott's leadership, O&M's domestic billings increased from $84 million to $252 million, and international billings from $659 million to $2.03 billion. He was responsible for acquiring such clients as IBM and American Express, and for attempting to acquire the J. Walter Thompson agency in 1979, a plan that did not materialize. In 1983 he was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame.

Elliott also served as Chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) during 1974-1975; Chairman of the American Advertising Federation's Hall of Fame Committee; Director of the New York City Park Association; Vice President and Trustee of the Museum of the City of New York; Trustee of the Wildlife Conservation Society and of the Browning School; and Life Trustee of Channel Thirteen. He also served on President Reagan's Advisory Board on Private Sector Initiatives, and was a member of the Racquet and Tennis Club, the Piping Rock Club and New York's Harvard Club. Outside of advertising, Elliott was known for his sizeable collection of Christmas books, which included more than 3,000 first editions, and which resulted in publication of two volumes: A Ha! Christmas, An Exhibition of Jock Elliott's Christmas Books (1999) and Inventing Christmas, How Our Holiday Came to Be (2001). He died in 2005.

Note for clarification: Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) was co-founded by David Ogilvy in 1948. Originally called Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson, and Mather (OBM), in 1953 the company name was shortened to Ogilvy & Mather (O&M). Both entities are present in this collection.

Acquisition information:
The Jock Elliott Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as gifts in 2005-2007. A portion of accession 2007-0067, the Eleanor Elliott Papers, which deals with Jock Elliott's professional life, was removed and interfiled with the present collection.
Processing information:

Processed by Jessica Wood, October 2008; additions processed by Richard Collier August 2025;

Encoded by Jessica Wood, October 2008

Accessions 2005-0014, 2006-0089, and a portion of 2007-0067 were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.

Arrangement:

Organized into the following series: Account Books; Clippings; Correspondence; Meetings; Memorabilia; Printed Material; Reports; Stocks; Writings and Speeches; Audiovisual Materials; 2025 Additions.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection contains fragile audiovisual formats that may need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Jock Elliott Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

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