J. Walter Thompson Company. Kennett Webb Hinks papers, 1953-1963 and undated

Navigate the Collection

Using These Materials Teaser

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
More about accessing and using these materials...

Summary

Creator:
J. Walter Thompson Company
Abstract:
Director of Research, Pacific Coast Manager, Manager of Berlin office, account representative, Vice President and Director of J. Walter Thompson Company, 1921-1963. The papers of Kennett Webb Hinks, an executive of the J. Walter Thompson Company, an advertising agency, span the years 1955-1963, and some are undated. The materials consist of copies of Hinks's outgoing office correspondence and memoranda. Letters discuss the planning of advertising campaigns for print, film and radio; market research; product design; selling strategies and advertising techniques; and budgeting. Many include summaries of business meetings. Correspondents include staff members, business associates and clients. The majority of the documents concern Lever Brothers Limited, manufacturer of a variety of soap and bathroom products. Other clients include the Wool Bureau and the New Holland Machine Company. There are frequent communications with other JWT offices in the United States and abroad. A limited amount of material pertains to Hinks's personal, business, and social affairs. Addition focuses on production issues pertaining to the Lever Brothers' Lux Radio and Video Theater program: casting, production services, properties (scripts, adaptations and tie-ins), ratings and reviews, move to a one-hour format, and other issues. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Extent:
2.4 Linear Feet
Language:
English.
Collection ID:
RL.00710

Background

Scope and content:

The papers of Kennett Webb Hinks, an executive of the J. Walter Thompson Company, an advertising agency, span the years 1955-1963, and some are undated. The materials consist of copies of Hinks's outgoing office correspondence and memoranda. Letters discuss the planning of advertising campaigns for print, film and radio; market research; product design; selling strategies and advertising techniques; and budgeting. Many include summaries of business meetings. Correspondents include staff members, business associates and clients. The majority of the documents concern Lever Brothers Limited, manufacturer of a variety of soap and bathroom products. Other clients include the Wool Bureau and the New Holland Machine Company. There are frequent communications with other JWT offices in the United States and abroad. A limited amount of material pertains to Hinks's personal, business, and social affairs. Addition focuses on production issues pertaining to the Lever Brothers' Lux Radio and Video Theater program: casting, production services, properties (scripts, adaptations and tie-ins), ratings and reviews, move to a one-hour format, and other issues. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

Biographical / historical:
Missing Title
Date Event
1897 Sept. 3
Born in Mineapolis, Minnesota
1920
Earned Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota
1920-1921
Studied law and taught economics at the University of Minnesota
1921-1924
Joined J. Walter Thompson's Chicago Office and served as Director of Research
1925-1929
Appointed Pacific Coast Manager based at JWT's San Francisco Office
1929-1932
Manager of JWT's Berlin Office and supervised Vienna and Warsaw offices
1932-1936
Returned to JWT Chicago as Account Representative for Swift, Elgin and Northern Trust Co. accounts
1936-1942
Elected Vice President of JWT
1942-1945
Served as Lt. Commander, a Member of the Office of Strategic Services Planning Group
1946
Joined JWT's New York Office as an Account Representative
1949
Elected Director of JWT
1952
Elected Director of J. Walter Thompson Ltd. (Canada)
1955
Elected to JWT's Board of Directors Executive Committee
1961
Became a Senior Vice President of JWT
1964 Jan.
Retired from JWT
1982 July 22
Died in Baltimore, Maryland

Active in advertising trade association work at his retirement, Hinks was a Director of The Advertising Council. He was a director of the Youth Consultation Service and the Manhattan-Westchester Division of the National Council of Christians and Jews, and a Director and Council Member of the Association for the Aid of Crippled Children.

Acquisition information:
The Kennett Webb Hinks papers were transferred to the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library from the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) in 1987.
Processing information:

Processed by: Katherine Rose

Completed April 1997

Encoded by Stephen Douglas Miller

Processing of this collection was supported in part by gifts from the J. Walter Thompson Company Fund and the John and Kelly Hartman Foundation.

Reprocessed in 2018 incorporating additions. New container list encoded by Richard Collier

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in the J. Walter Thompson Company Archives have not been transferred to Duke University. For further information, see the section on copyright in the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Before you visit:
Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], J. Walter Thompson Company. Kennett Webb Hinks papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.