J. Walter Thompson Company. Staff meeting minutes, 1927-1938, 1951-1952 and undated

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Summary

Creator:
J. Walter Thompson Company
Abstract:
Founded in 1864, the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) is one of the oldest and largest enduring advertising agencies in the United States. It is headquartered in New York. Collection consists chiefly of verbatim minutes of a variety of staff meetings held at the New York and Chicago offices of JWT. Also included are advertisements, photographs, articles, and other printed material attached to minutes as background material or supplemental reading for the meetings. A set of subject indexes are included for some of the meeting series. Topics discussed include account histories, case studies and company profiles; activities of international and domestic JWT offices including country profiles; advertising and client relations during a depression; development and use of advertising media (film, outdoor, print, radio, television); general business and economic conditions; market research; new business activity; promotional techniques (coupons, merchandising, retail store displays); the structure and function of various JWT departments; and social trends. Companies frequently mentioned include Andrew Jergens, Cutex, General Motors, J.C. Penney, Johns-Manville, Lever Brothers, Kraft, Pennsylvania Railroad, and Standard Brands. Speakers include Alfred Harcourt, Arno Johnson, Clarence Darrow, Claude Hooper, Daniel Starch, Edward Steichen, Fanny Bell, John B. Watson, John U. Reber, Kennett Hinks, Margaret Bourke-White, Paul T. Cherington, Rudy Vallee, Ruth Waldo, Sam Meek, Stanley Resor, Will Hays, and William Esty. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Extent:
8.0 Linear Feet
Language:
English.
Collection ID:
RL.00749

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists chiefly of verbatim minutes of a variety of staff meetings held at the New York and Chicago offices of JWT. Also included are advertisements, photographs, articles, and other printed material attached to minutes as background material or supplemental reading for the meetings. A set of subject indexes are included for some of the meeting series. Topics discussed include account histories, case studies and company profiles; activities of international and domestic JWT offices including country profiles; advertising and client relations during a depression; development and use of advertising media (film, outdoor, print, radio, television); general business and economic conditions; market research; new business activity; promotional techniques (coupons, merchandising, retail store displays); the structure and function of various JWT departments; and social trends. Companies frequently mentioned include Andrew Jergens, Cutex, General Motors, J.C. Penney, Johns-Manville, Lever Brothers, Kraft, Pennsylvania Railroad, and Standard Brands. Speakers include Alfred Harcourt, Arno Johnson, Clarence Darrow, Claude Hooper, Daniel Starch, Edward Steichen, Fanny Bell, John B. Watson, John U. Reber, Kennett Hinks, Margaret Bourke-White, Paul T. Cherington, Rudy Vallee, Ruth Waldo, Sam Meek, Stanley Resor, Will Hays, and William Esty.

Biographical / historical:

Founded in 1864, the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) is one of the oldest and largest enduring advertising agencies in the United States. It is headquartered in New York.

Acquisition information:
The J. Walter Thompson Company. Staff meeting minutes were transferred to the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library from the J. Walter Thompson Company in 1987.
Processing information:

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

Processed by: Rhonda Mawhood

Completed August 22, 1994

Encoded by Stephen Douglas Miller, Alvin Pollock

Reprocessed in 2020-2021 by Joshua Larkin Rowley, Meredith Graham, and Richard Collier; major revision to collection guide.

Arrangement:

Organized into the following series: Restricted Materials (Originals); Use Copies.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:

Access to the originals is restricted. Photocopies are available for general use.

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.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in the J. Walter Thompson Company. Staff Meeting Minutes 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.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], J. Walter Thompson Company. Staff meeting minutes, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University