James M. Vicary Company collection of business articles, 1954-1957

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Summary

Creator:
James M. Vicary Company
Abstract:
Market researcher and pollster James M. Vicary (1915-1977) founded his consulting business in the 1930s in New York. Collection consists of eight pamphlets, clippings and reprints of articles. Topics include brand and company names and name changes; bias in surveys; consumer psychology; and supermarket shopping habits. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Extent:
0.1 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.12079

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of eight pamphlets, clippings and reprints of articles. Topics include brand and company names and name changes; bias in surveys; consumer psychology; and supermarket shopping habits.

Biographical / historical:

Market researcher and pollster James M. Vicary (1915-1977) founded his consulting business in the 1930s in New York.

James McDonald Vicary was born in Detroit in 1915. He ran a consulting business that performed market research and conducted opinion polls on a wide range of topics. Vicary was also an author known for his work on "subliminal suggestion" which claimed that momentary stimulus or hidden cues could trigger desire for specific products. Vicary later confessed that much of his supposed research projects were publicity stunts and his claims were debunked when the experiments could not be replicated. Still, "subliminal advertising" remains active in the consumer cultural imagination.

Source: Wikipedia "James Vicary" accessed Apr. 19, 2023.

Acquisition information:
The James M. Vicary Company collection of business articles were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase from Between the Covers Rare Books in 2023.
Processing information:

Processed by Richard Collier, Apr. 2023;

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2023-0019.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.

Subjects:
Branding (Marketing)
Market surveys -- United States
Consumer behavior -- United States
Names:
John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History
Vicary, James M. (James McDonald), 1915-1977

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], James M. Vicary Company collection of business articles, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.