Search

Alphabetical files of miscellaneous information about hundreds of mainly U.S. corporations, some of them domestic and many multinational. The fullest documentation tends to be for companies that are or have been JWT clients (notably Kraft, Quaker Oats, Sears, Ford, Northern Telcom, Gerber, Kellogg, Philip Morris, Oscar Mayer, Kemper, S.C. Johnson, McDonnell Douglas, Jos. Schlitz, 7-Up, and others) and several that are or were major competitors of JWT clients (e.g. AT&T, McDonald's, General Motors, among others). Files contain widely diverse formats of information including internal JWT unpublished reports and memoranda; many articles clipped from magazines (especially trade press) and newspapers; articles printed from computer databases; company publications and annual reports; historical booklets and articles; three vinyl record albums; and miscellaneous items. The richest files tend to be those for major JWT Chicago office accounts, with by far the greatest amount and diversity of information on Kraft. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising, and Marketing History.

The collection includes clippings, press releases, statistics, rosters, programs and press brochures/media guides about the volleyball team at Duke University. The material ranges in date from 1973-ongoing.

The papers of George Black, former advertising executive of the J. Walter Thompson Company, span the years 1968 to 1989, with the bulk of the material dating from 1972 to 1988. The papers document Black's activities during his tenure as Creative Department Head in the 1970's and then as Chairman of JWT-Frankfurt from 1976 to 1988. During the 1980's, Black presided over an expansion of business in the German Speaking Area (GSA) which included the opening of new offices in Hamburg and Düsseldorf; the establishment of JWT divisions for pharmaceutical advertising (Deltakos) and direct marketing (JWT-Direkt); and the British WPP Group's leveraged buyout of JWT in 1987. General trends and events reflected in the papers include the increasing globalization of clients and markets, the world energy and financial crises of the 1970's, JWT's international expansion and business management worldwide. Specific topics documented include ethical and legal issues surrounding children and advertising in Germany; the production of film and print advertisements for current and prospective clients; Black's membership in professional organizations such as European Association of Advertising Agencies (EAAA) and the Art Directors Club of Germany; Black's participation in JWT international strategic planning groups, with emphasis on Europe and the GSA; promotions and management changes within JWT; and special events and seminars for JWT international staff and clients. The collection consists of correspondence, memoranda, manuscripts, reports, photographs, press releases, speeches, overhead transparencies, agendas, invoices and receipts, contracts, newsletters, articles, advertisements, and collateral literature. Correspondents in the collection include media and management consultants, artists and producers, current and prospective clients, persons affiliated with various agencies, publications, and organizations, and JWT executives such as David Campbell-Harris (JWT-Milan), Jack Cronin (JWT-New York), Peter Horak (JWT-Zürich), Don Johnston (JWT-New York), Denis Lanigan (JWT-London), Eilika Schmidt-Roessler (JWT-Brussels), Alfred Tiefenbrunner (JWT-Vienna), and Hakan Verner-Carlsson (JWT-Stockholm). Clients well-documented in the collection include Braun, Campari, DeBeers, Elida Gibbs, Ford, Jacobs, Kellogg, Kraft, Lever-Sunlicht (Unilever), Nestle, Singer, Pepsi, Warner-Lambert, and Wick.