Kensinger Jones papers, 1934-2002 and undated

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Collection is restricted. The "Course Materials" subseries of the Michigan State Series is closed to researchers pending review by the collector. Original audiovisual materials are closed to...
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Summary

Creator:
Jones, Kensinger, 1919-
Abstract:
Advertising executive, 1950s-1980s. The collection documents Jones's primary career as an executive for several major advertising agencies, including Leo Burnett Company, Campbell-Ewald Company, D.P. Brother and Company, Wilding Advertising, and William R.Biggs/Gilmore Associates; and his second career as a professor of advertising at Michigan State University. Materials consist primarily of correspondence, memoranda, notes, reports, scripts, and audiovisual (including videocassettes) materials that document the development of print, radio, and television advertising campaigns for a wide variety of clients. The history and management of advertising companies in Chicago and Detroit, in Australia, and in Singapore is also represented. Major clients and campaigns documented include Chevrolet, the Florida Citrus Commission, General Motors Corporation, and Oldsmobile.
Extent:
37 Linear Feet
22,500 Items
Language:
English.
Collection ID:
RL.00648

Background

Scope and content:

The Kensinger Jones Papers, 1934-2001, document Jones's primary career as an executive for several major advertising agencies, including Leo Burnett Company, Campbell-Ewald Company, D.P. Brother and Company, Wilding Advertising, and William R.Biggs/Gilmore Associates; and his second career as a professor of advertising at Michigan State University. Materials consist primarily of correspondence, memoranda, notes, reports, scripts, and audiovisual materials that document the development of print, radio, and television advertising campaigns for a wide variety of clients. The history and management of advertising companies in Chicago and Detroit in the United States, in Australia, and in Singapore is also represented. Major clients documented include Chevrolet, the Florida Citrus Commission, General Motors Corporation, and Oldsmobile.

The Advertising Agencies Series, the largest, includes memoranda and correspondence related to the executive management of each agency and Jones's role in organizing and directing the creative activities of the agency or advertising team. Materials from Jones's work at the Leo Burnett Company consist primarily of office memoranda and weekly progress reports for radio and television commercials for clients such as: Mars, Incorporated; Kellogg Company; and the Green Giant Company. In Southeast Asia, Jones served as Regional Creative Director for Leo Burnett offices in Sydney, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Bangkok. Materials include correspondence, speeches for creative seminars, and scripts for two films for the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board. Jones worked mainly with clients in the automotive industry, specifically Chevrolet at the Campbell-Ewald Company and Oldsmobile at D.P. Brother Company (as well as at Leo Burnett). Materials about General Motors relate to the potential of television specials for corporate advertising to promote the GM "Mark of Excellence" and the corporation's responsiveness to environmental and safety issues in the late sixties and seventies. Closely related to the Advertising Agencies Series, the Correspondence and Memoranda Series consists of carbons of outgoing correspondence from Jones, filed in chronological order with some memoranda.

Nearly a third of the collection pertains to Jones's tenure from 1982-1995 as Lecturer in the Department of Advertising, the School of Communication Arts at Michigan State University. The Michigan State University (MSU) Series includes correspondence with colleagues and students, materials from academic conferences and MSU's Visiting Advertising Professional program, as well as copies of "Impact," the alumni newsletter for the Advertising Department. Of particular note are materials related to China and Taiwan in 1988 and 1990. The Course Materials Subseries details his advanced courses in creative advertising. In order to create a realistic, professional experience for the students, Jones assigned group projects that required students to create advertising campaigns or marketing strategies for national or state clients, local businesses, and university departments, including Archway Cookies, Oldsmobile, McDonalds, American Tourister, the Muskegon County Museum, and several MSU facilities and departments. The projects were presented to the class and evaluated not only by the client and Professor Jones, but also by the other students.

Throughout his life, Jones considered himself primarily to be a writer, and the Writings and Speeches Series reflects Jones's lifelong writing efforts. The series includes a wide variety of professional, personal, and unpublished writing: advertising presentations, speeches, articles, advertising seminars, scripts for radio programs and plays, poetry, an unpublished novel, and an autobiography. The Speeches Subseries and Published Articles Subseries document his creativity in advertising and his contributions to the industry as well as to local schools and organizations. Material in the Personal Series demonstrates his activities with professional and civic organizations; in addition this series contains personal correspondence and materials about the life and career of Leo Burnett.

Much of Jones's creative work in advertising was produced for the broadcast media, especially the early days of television advertising in the 1950s and 1960s. The Audiovisual Materials Series includes film and sound materials that document television advertising and Jones's creative contributions to the professional education of his advertising colleagues. Because several of his most successful films about advertising or creativity originated as speeches with slides, these materials are particularly rich in conjunction with related materials in the Writings and Speeches Series.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1919, Oct. 18
Born in St. Louis, Mo., to Walter C. and Anna (Kensinger) Jones
1937
Graduated from Roosevelt High School
1938-1939
Nadine College of Advertising, St. Louis
1939-1940
Washington University
1941-1944
138th Infantry: Alaska; 337th CTD Pennsylvania
1944, Oct. 7
Married Alice May Guseman, Pa.
Children: Jeffrey Kensinger, b.1948; Janice Anne, b. 1950
1944-1952
Freelance writer, St. Louis, for Radio Stations KMOX and KSD, Premier Radio Enterprises, Gardner Advertising Agency, and local government and non-profit agencies
1952-1957, Aug.
Leo Burnett Company, Chicago: Copywriter, Television and Radio Department; and TV Group Head (1955)
1957, Aug.-1967
Campbell-Ewald Company, Detroit: Creative Director for TV and Radio, Vice President, 1957-1960; Senior Vice President and Creative Director, 1960-1966; Executive Vice President and Creative Director, 1966-1967
1959
Grand Prix, Cannes International Film Festival, for "An American in Paris"
1961
Grand Prix, Cannes International Film Festival, for "The Magic Ride"
1968-1970
D.P. Brother Company, Detroit: Senior Vice President and Executive Creative Director
1971-1973, Mar.
Leo Burnett Company, Chicago: Senior Vice President and Executive Creative Director
1973, Mar.-1974, Apr.
Leo Burnett Pty. Ltd., Sydney, Australia: Regional Creative Director
1974, Apr.-Dec.
Leo Burnett Pte. Ltd, Singapore, Malaysia: Regional Creative Director
1974, Dec. 31
Retired from Leo Burnett Company
1975-1976
Consultant to Leo Burnett Company, Chicago and Leo Burnett Pte., Ltd, Singapore, Malaysia
1975-
Writer, farmer, Barry County, Mich.
1979
Wilding Advertising, Southfield, Mich.: Creative consultant
1981-1983
William R. Biggs/Gilmore, Kalamazoo, Mich.: Creative Supervisor
1982-1995
Lecturer, Department of Advertising, Michigan State University
1988
Visiting Lecturer, People's Republic of China, U.S. Exchange Program in Advertising
1990
Visiting Lecturer, Taipei, Taiwan and Jakarta, Indonesia
1992
Visiting Lecturer, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia
1996
Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University

Other awards include the American Film Festival, Best of Automotive Award, 1961; Film Festival Hall of Fame for two commercials, 1965; and the American Freedoms Award, 1985

Acquisition information:
The Kensinger Jones Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 1999-2001.
Processing information:

Processed by Cathy Abernathy and Michael Shumate

Completed March 12, 2002

Encoded by Michael Shumate and Jeff Payne

Processing of this collection was supported in part by a gift from Kensinger and Alice Guseman Jones.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is restricted.

The "Course Materials" subseries of the Michigan State Series is closed to researchers pending review by the collector. Original audiovisual materials are closed to researchers until use copies can be produced.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. There may be a 48-hour delay in obtaining these materials.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

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

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