- Scope and Content:
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The Jock Elliott Papers cover the years 1945-2005, 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 primarily consists of 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).
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.
- Biographical / Historical:
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Chronology List
| Date |
Event |
| 1921 | Born John Elliott, New York, N.Y. |
| 1928-1934 | Attended the Browing School, New York, N.Y. |
| 1938 | Attended the St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H. |
| 1942 | Received A.B. from Harvard College |
| 1942 | Joined the U.S. Marine Corps |
| 1945 | Joined BBDO as copywriter |
| 1946 | Married Eleanor Thomas |
| 1950-1953 | Served as television advisor to Republican Party |
| 1956 | Became BBDO Vice President |
| 1958 | Became BBDO Management Supervisor |
| 1960 | Joined O&M as Senior Vice President-Director |
| 1965 | Chairman of O&M U.S. |
| 1975 | Chairman of O&M International |
| 1974-1975 | Chairman of American Association of Advertising Agencies |
| 1982 | Retired from O&M |
| 1983 | Inducted into Advertising Hall of Fame |
| 1999 | Published A Ha! Christmas |
| 2001 | Published Inventing Christmas, How Our Holiday Came to Be |
| 2005 | Died, Mt. Kisko, N.Y. |
John "Jock" Elliott grew up in New York City, and attended the Browning School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and eventually Harvard College. In 1942, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, and spent most of World War II as a major on the battleship Pennsylvania. After being discharged in 1945, he began working for the Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BBDO) advertising agency as a copywriter. 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.
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); 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.
- Acquisition Information:
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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:
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Processed by Jessica Wood, October 2008
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:
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The collection is arranged into eleven series: Account Books; Clippings; Correspondence; Meetings; Memorabilia; Printed Material; Reports; Stocks; Writings and Speeches; Audiovisual Materials; and Oversize Materials. Account Books include small appointment books maintained by Jock Elliott. Clippings consist of newspaper and magazine clippings related to management changes at O&M, advertising trends, overseas travels of Jock and Eleanor Elliott, feature stories on the Elliotts and David Ogilvy, and articles on advertising in which Jock Elliott was quoted. Correspondence includes letters and memoranda between Jock Elliott and O&M employees and affiliates, general memoranda to O&M staff, and congratulatory letters to Elliott on occasions of his career promotions. Meetings consist of correspondence, itineraries and flyers related to various O&M and AAAA meetings. Memorabilia include awards, photographs of business and personal travels, and small mementos of celebratory events. Printed Material include programs, selected issues of advertising journals and magazines, and books related to O&M. Reports include prepared reports on hiring statistics in advertising agencies, proposals for potential advertising campaigns, annual reports and market research reports. Stocks include correspondence and shareholders reports related to O&M stocks and mergers. Audiovisual Materials consist of videotapes documenting the careers of Jock and Eleanor Elliott, and of particular meetings and events of O&M or the Advertising Hall of Fame. Writings and Speeches primarily consist of typescripts of Jock Elliott's speeches given at company and AAAA meetings, general advertising events, and events of colleges, universities and clubs. Also includes drafts and published versions of Elliott's poems and articles. Oversize Materials consist of large format items removed from other series, and include a commemorative binder prepared for Elliott's sixtieth birthday, posters, as well as large magazine issues and clippings.
Many of the materials arrived loose and unfoldered. These items were grouped first by type of material, then by subject title, and finally by date, where possible. Items that arrived in report covers, binders and clear plastic sleeves were removed and foldered, with original titles maintained. Photographs that arrived in albums were removed and placed in mylar sleeves, grouped by album subject with original titles maintained. Photographs that arrived paperclipped together according to theme were similarly placed in sleeves, and organized by original title.
- Physical Location:
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For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
- Rules or Conventions:
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Describing Archives: A Content Standard
