Inventory of the Jock Elliott Papers, 1945-2005 and undated, bulk 1961-1982
[top]Descriptive Summary
Repository
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke
University
Creator
Elliott, Jock.
Title
Jock Elliott Papers, 1945-2005 and undated, bulk 1961-1982
Language of Material
Material in English
, Spanish
Extent
12.6 Linear Feet
9450 Items
Abstract
9450 Items
John
"Jock"
Elliott was an executive with Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) during 1960-1982, including tenure as Chairman of O&M U.S. and O&M International. In addition, Elliott was an author, collector and philanthropist.
The Jock Elliott Papers cover the years 1945-2005, with the bulk of materials dating from 1961-1982, the period during which Elliott served as an executive with Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) advertising agency. The collection primarily consists of correspondence, corporate annual reports, programs, speeches and photographs related to company meetings and events. The collection also includes videocassettes and memorabilia commemorating meetings and special events; materials relating to Eleanor Elliott and David Ogilvy; information on affirmative action hiring programs; as well as some speeches and correspondence from the period 1945-1959 when Elliott worked for the Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BBDO) advertising agency. Companies represented in the collection include Shell Oil, Du Pont Men's Wear and Trans World Airlines (TWA).
[top]
Administrative Information
Access RestrictionsCollection is open for research.
However, original videotapes are closed to research until use copies can be made. Contact Research Services for more information.
Collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Copyright Notice
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 Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Jock Elliott Papers, Rare Book,
Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The Jock Elliott Papers were received by the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library as gifts in 2005-2007. A portion of accession 2007-0067, the Eleanor Elliott Papers, which deals with Jock Elliott's professional life, was removed and interfiled with the present collection.
Processing Information
Processed by Jessica Wood, October 2008
Encoded by Jessica Wood, October 2008
Accessions 2005-0014, 2006-0089, and a portion of 2007-0067 were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and our local Style Guide.
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Biographical Note
Chronology List| 1921 | Born John Elliott, New York, N.Y. |
| 1928-1934 | Attended the Browing School, New York, N.Y. |
| 1938 | Attended the St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H. |
| 1942 | Received A.B. from Harvard College |
| 1942 | Joined the U.S. Marine Corps |
| 1945 | Joined BBDO as copywriter |
| 1946 | Married Eleanor Thomas |
| 1950-1953 | Served as television advisor to Republican Party |
| 1956 | Became BBDO Vice President |
| 1958 | Became BBDO Management Supervisor |
| 1960 | Joined O&M as Senior Vice President-Director |
| 1965 | Chairman of O&M U.S. |
| 1975 | Chairman of O&M International |
| 1974-1975 | Chairman of American Association of Advertising Agencies |
| 1982 | Retired from O&M |
| 1983 | Inducted into Advertising Hall of Fame |
| 1999 | Published A Ha! Christmas |
| 2001 | Published Inventing Christmas, How Our Holiday Came to Be |
| 2005 | Died, Mt. Kisko, N.Y. |
John "Jock" Elliott grew up in New York City, and attended the Browning School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and eventually Harvard College. In 1942, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, and spent most of World War II as a major on the battleship Pennsylvania. After being discharged in 1945, he began working for the Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BBDO) advertising agency as a copywriter. He soon switched to management and within a few years, he became the company's youngest director. During his 15 year tenure with BBDO, he also served as account man for the Republican Party's Eisenhower-Nixon team.
Elliott joined Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) in 1960 as Senior Vice President-Director and was soon placed in charge of acquiring the Shell Oil account, O&M's largest account at the time. In 1965, David Ogilvy appointed Elliott the chairman of O&M U.S., and in 1975 as chairman of O&M International. Under Elliott's leadership, O&M's domestic billings increased from $84 million to $252 million, and international billings from $659 million to $2.03 billion. He was responsible for acquiring such clients as IBM and American Express, and for attempting to acquire the J. Walter Thompson agency in 1979, a plan that did not materialize. In 1983 he was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame.
Elliott also served as Chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA); Chairman of the American Advertising Federation's Hall of Fame Committee; Director of the New York City Park Association; Vice President and Trustee of the Museum of the City of New York; Trustee of the Wildlife Conservation Society and of the Browning School; and Life Trustee of Channel Thirteen. He also served on President Reagan's Advisory Board on Private Sector Initiatives, and was a member of the Racquet and Tennis Club, the Piping Rock Club and New York's Harvard Club. Outside of advertising, Elliott was known for his sizeable collection of Christmas books, which included more than 3,000 first editions, and which resulted in publication of two volumes: A Ha! Christmas, An Exhibition of Jock Elliott's Christmas Books (1999) and Inventing Christmas, How Our Holiday Came to Be (2001). He died in 2005.
[top]Collection Overview
The Jock Elliott Papers cover the years 1945-2005, with the bulk of materials dating from 1961-1982, the period during which Elliott served as an executive with Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) advertising agency. The collection primarily consists of correspondence, corporate annual reports, programs, speeches and photographs related to company meetings and events. The collection also includes videocassettes and memorabilia commemorating meetings and special events; materials relating to Eleanor Elliott and David Ogilvy; information on affirmative action hiring programs; as well as some speeches and correspondence from the period 1945-1959 when Elliott worked for the Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BBDO) advertising agency. Companies represented in the collection include Shell Oil, Du Pont Men's Wear and Trans World Airlines (TWA).
Note for clarification: Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) was co-founded by David Ogilvy in 1948. Originally called Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson, and Mather (OBM), in 1953 the company name was shortened to Ogilvy & Mather (O&M). Both entities are present in this collection.
Subject Headings
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
- Elliott, Jock.
- Elliott, Eleanor.
- Ogilvy, David, 1911-1999.
- Advertising agencies--United States--Management.
- Advertising agencies--United States--History--20th century.
- Advertising executives--United States.
- Affirmative action programs--United States--Management.
- Marketing research--United States.
- American Association of Advertising Agencies.
- Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, Inc.
- Ogilvy & Mather.
- Shell Oil Company.
- Trans World Airlines.
- Corporation reports.
- Appointment books.
- Clippings.
- Memorabilia.
- Photographs.
- Speeches.
- Videocassettes.
- John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Related Material
Materials pertaining to the Ogilvy & Mather agency may be found in the William E. Phillips Papers, Anthony Weir Papers, Edgar Hatcher Papers, the Robert S. Smith Papers, the David B. McCall Papers, the J. Walter Thompson Company Advertising Vertical Files, and the American Association of Advertising Agencies Records. Materials pertaining to Elliott's personal life and philanthropic activities may also be found in the Eleanor Elliott Papers.
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Detailed Description of Collection
Appointment Books, 1961-2004
(3 Boxes)
Contains Jock Elliott's appointment books from the years 1961-2004. Arranged chronologically with the exception of the book for 1978, which is located in Box 3.
Box 1
1961-1976
(16 books)
Box 2
1977-2004
(27 books)
Box 3
1978
Clippings, 1960-2005 and undated
(1 Box)
Contains news and magazine clippings related to Jock Elliott's and David Ogilvy's careers; administrative changes at O&M; Elliott's overseas travels as Chair of O&M international; and advertising trends. Also includes clippings related to the employment of minorities and women in advertising; and related to the publication of Elliott's two Christmas books. Original folder titles were retained, where applicable. Where no arrangement was provided, items were arranged roughly by subject. Large-format items have been removed to Oversize Materials and noted in the container list.
[Advertising Age, 1961-2002: Removed to Oversize Materials, Box 22]
[Argentina visit, 1986-1987: Removed to Oversize Materials, Box 22]
Box 3 (continued)
Asia trips, 1975-1980
Australia trip, 1969
Christmas books publicity, 1999, 2002 (Some items removed to Oversize Materials, Box 22)
[
"Confessions of a Magazine Reader,"
1965: Removed to Oversize Folder 1]
Diversity in hiring, 1968
Elliott features, 1973-2003
Ogilvy & Mather
General, 1964-2005
Obituaries, 1999
Sale, 1989
Tear sheets, undated
"Who Runs America,"
U.S. News & World Report, 1982
Miscellaneous magazine clippings, 1960-2004 (Some items removed to Oversize Materials, Box 22)
Correspondence, 1947-1996 and undated
(7 Boxes)
Contains primarily business related correspondence between Jock Elliott and O&M employees and affiliates, with the bulk of material dating between 1965 and 1982. Includes memoranda relating to meetings of advertisers in the U.S. and abroad; O&M overseas branches; particular accounts; the advisability of cigarette advertising campaigns; as well as correspondence regarding Elliott's speeches; and several folders of correspondence between Elliott and David Ogilvy. Also includes memoranda regarding O&M Securities Exchange Commission transgressions; and Elliott's correspondence during his years spent at BBDO. Several folders contain carbon copies of Elliott's correspondence files between the years 1967 and 1978. Also includes correspondence relating to the TWA Airlines account. Original folder titles were maintained and folders were arranged alphabetically.
Box 3 (continued)
General, 1965-1979
AAAA annual meeting, 1968
Box 4
Acquisition of Scali McCabe Sloves, 1976
American Association of Advertising Agencies, 1978
BBDO, 1947-1950
Caples, John, 1973-1975
Cigarette advertising, 1973-1975
Colossus merger, 1963-1964
Congratulatory, 1965-1966
(1-3 of 7 folders)
Box 5
Congratulatory (continued), 1965-1966
(4-7 of 7 folders)
Elliott's 75th birthday, 1996
Fire advertisement, 1969 (Some items removed to Oversize Folder 2)
Hall of Fame congratulations, 1980-1984
International Management Meeting, 1976
Kershaw, Andrew, O&M Canada President
General, 1975-1976
Condolences and service arrangements, 1978
London talk, 1977-1978
(Some items removed to Oversize Materials, Box 22)
London and Australia visits, 1969
MBA Communications, 1976
Box 6
Moss, Frank (Senator), 1974
National Press Club of Australia, 1977
Ogilvy, David, 1965-1980
(6 folders)
O'Hara, Sir Robert, 1981
Box 7
Overseas branches
China, 1980
Germany, 1979-1981
Italy, 1979-1982
Japan, 1979-1982
London, 1979-1981
Post-Keyes-Gardner account, 1975
Rereads, 1967-1978
(1-3 of 14 folders)
Box 8
Rereads (continued), 1967-1978
(4-13 of 14 folders)
Box 9
Rereads (continued), 1967-1978
(14 of 14 folders)
Security Exchange Commission Transgressions, 1977
Speech-related correspondence, 1968-1974
Staff memoranda, 1965-1984
Succession, 1978-1979
Sudler & Hennessey acquisitions and merger, 1971-1972
TWA Airlines, 1968-1972
Travel itineraries, 1977 and undated
Wunderman, Ricotta and Kline, 1964-1966
Meetings, 1968-1994 and undated
(2 Boxes)
Contains correspondence, memoranda and flyers relating to O&M staff meetings; the Advertising Hall of Fame luncheon; and events of the AAAA. Original folder titles were maintained and arranged alphabetically. Meeting programs were moved into the Printed Materials series, and speeches were moved into the Writings and Speeches series. Miscellaneous unfoldered photographs of meetings were placed in this series.
Box 10
AAAA annual meeting, 1978
AAAA Puerto Rico, 1975
Advertising Educational Foundation Board of Directors meeting photograph, 1994
Board Meeting photographs, 1981
Hall of Fame luncheon, 1982
Heads of Offices Meeting, 1973
International Management Meeting, 1976
Box 11
International Management Meeting, 1979
Merrill Lynch marketing policy meetings, 1968-1978
Miscellaneous meeting photographs, 1977-1884
Memorabilia, 1965-2003
(2 Boxes)
Contains awards, certificates and ephemera relating to Elliott's major life events while employed at O&M, including birthday and retirement celebrations. Also includes photographs of O&M employees and affiliates in the U.S. and abroad; of Elliott's business and personal travels; and a photograph and letter from Ronald Reagan regarding the President's Citation Program for Private Sector Initiatives. Framed items were removed and placed in folders. In the case of travel memorabilia, which arrived paperclipped together with a group label, label titles were maintained. Photographs arriving in albums were removed and placed in album specific folders. Scrapbook prepared for Elliott in celebration of his sixtieth birthday was placed in a separate oversize box. Unfoldered items were placed in folders of miscellaneous photographs or ephemera. Large-format items have been removed to Oversize Materials and noted in the container list.
Box 11 (continued)
Advertising Hall of Fame certificate, 1984
[America's Awards, Blue Ribbon Selection Committee Appreciation Award, undated: Moved to Oversize Materials, Box 22]
Bureau of Advertising award photograph, undated
European Heads of Office photograph, 1980
[Elliott 60th birthday, 1981: Removed to Oversize Materials, Box 23]
Elliott portrait photographs, undated
Elliott Tribute bound program, 1982
Travel
Greywalls, 1966
Hong Kong, 1980
Jakarta, 1975
Nairobi, 1978
Rhine, 1966
OBM and associates photographs, 1965
Office photographs, 1974-1975
Retirement celebration, Monaco, 1982
Ronald Reagan
Letter, 1984
Photograph, 1988
United States Information Agency Award, 1982
Miscellaneous ephemera, 1966-1986 and undated
Box 12
Three-dimensional items
Lifetime Achievement Award, Advertising Educational Foundation, 2003
O&M International Management Meeting, Monaco, Award, 1982
Printed Material, 1964-2001 and undated
(3 Boxes)
Contains meeting and event programs; issues of advertising magazines and journals; and newsletters. Includes O&M newsletters Flagbearer and Viewpoint. Also includes two books: 50th Advertising Hall of Fame; and OBM, A Celebration, One Hundred and Twenty-Five Years in Advertising. Includes several items in Spanish from Elliott's 1986 trip to Argentina. Materials arrived loose and in no apparent order. Items were grouped by publishing organization and title, where applicable, and arranged alphabetically.
Box 13
AAAA Annual meeting programs, 1968
Ad Council bulletins, 1975-1990 (Some items removed to Oversize Materials, Box 22)
Ad Week, 1999-2001
[Advertising Age, 1980:
American Advertising magazine, 1984-1993
Books
50th Advertising Hall of Fame, 1999
OBM, A Celebration, One Hundred and Twenty-Five Years in Advertising, 1975
Flagbearer newsletter, 1960-1994 (Some items removed to Oversize Materials, Box 22)
Miscellaneous
Advertising magazines, 1963-1987
Booklets and programs, 1974-1981
Newsletters, 1964-1990
Box 14
Programs
Convention programs, 1979-1987
O&M staff meeting programs, 1979-1985
Special event programs, 1966-1967
Synposis newsletter, 1966-1968
Viewpoint, 1973-1994
(4 folders)
Reports, 1956-1986 and undated
(2 Boxes)
Contains reports prepared for O&M staff meetings and for O&M clients; overseas offices; and the Federal Trade Commission. Includes findings on hiring practices regarding women and minorities in the advertising business, and specifically at O&M. Clients represented include Shell Oil, Du Pont Men's Wear. Also includes a 1975 report on American attitudes towards the idea of Puerto Rico becoming a U.S. state. Original folder titles were maintained, and items were arranged alphabetically.
Box 14 (continued)
Australia, 1969
Federal Trade Commission, 1983
Japan, 1972
Box 15
Manila, 1964-1965
Minority groups, 1972-1975
(3 folders)
Ogilvy & Mather
Annual reports, 1966-1986
Expansion opportunities, 1969
Progress report on affirmative action, 1968
Report on full-page versus smaller advertisements fo Du Pont Men's Wear, 1956
Shell, 1981
Statehood for Puerto Rico, 1975
Study of Reputation of O&M, 1975
Summary of Pertinent Information about O&M, 1963
Women, 1973
Wunderman, Ricotta & Kline merger, undated
Stocks, 1964-1989
(1 Box)
Contains correspondence and memoranda relating to O&M's profit-sharing plan; Elliott's company holdings; as well as general notices and reports to O&M shareholders. Items from 1972-1973 arrived in a labeled folder, which was maintained. Two copies of a proposal for the merger of Mather & Crowther arrived in report covers. Report covers were removed, and proposals were placed in folders, with original titles maintained. Folder titled
"Miscellaneous"
was derived from materials gathered from unfoldered, loose correspondence, and placed in two folders of miscellaneous stock-related correspondence.
Box 15 (continued)
General memoranda, 1965-1981
(2 folders)
Box 16
Merger with Mather and Crowther, 1964
(2 folders)
Writings and Speeches, 1945-2004 and undated
(5 Boxes)
Consists primarily of typewritten speeches written by Jock Elliott for presentation at meetings of O&M; the AAAA; as well as at invited talks at other organizations, clubs, colleges and universities. Includes some speeches written during Elliott's employment at BBDO between 1945 and 1956. Also included are hand- and typewritten drafts and published copies of Elliott's articles written for Cosmopolitan and the New York Times Magazine, of Elliott's two books on Christmas, as well as miscellaneous short writings and poems. Includes Elliott's eulogy for David Ogilvy written for the edited volume Farewell: The Greatest Eulogies of Our Time. The majority of speeches arrived in chronological order, with some appearing interspersed among loose files of other series. Speeches from correspondence, meeting and printed matter series were removed and placed in this series, in chronological order. Elliott's other writings arrived unfoldered and in no apparent order. Where possible, they were foldered and arranged alphabetically by title.
Box 16 (continued)
Index of speeches
BBDO, 1945-1959
(2 folders)
General, 1962-1969
(6 folders)
Box 17
General, 1970-1977
(10 folders)
Box 18
General, 1977-1982
(9 folders)
Box 19
General, 1982-1997
(12 folders)
Box 20
General, 1998-2004
(3 folders)
A Ha! Christmas, An Exhibition of Jock Elliott's Christmas Books (book), 1999
"How Hard It Is to Write Easily,"
Cosmopolitan magazine, 1981
Institute of Canadian Advertising, Graham Phillips Speech, 1978
Inventing Christmas, How Our Holiday Came to Be (book), 2001
"Memories of a Battleship,"
1990
New Year's Day poems, 1978-1992
"David Ogilvy,"
in Farewell, The Greatest Eulogies of Our Time, 2003
"Perfect Christmas Card,"
undated
Miscellaneous, undated
Audiovisual Materials, 1984-1988 and undated
(1 Box)
Contains videos of events, including the 1984 Advertising Hall of Fame luncheon; the 1987 O&M Institute of Directors Annual Conference; and a 1986 WNET broadcast entitled "Gala of Stars." Also includes a New York Times-produced film entitled
"Iphigene"
and two short features on the careers of Jock and Eleanor Elliott. Videos were arranged alphabetically, with those produced by O&M grouped together.
Restrictions on Access: Original videotapes are closed to research until use copies can be made. Contact Research Services for more information.
Originals [Closed to research]
Box 21
Cine Metric, Jock Elliott, Hall of Fame, 1984. TRT: 1:30. Format: Umatic.
Hall of Fame on Jock, undated. TRT: approx. 5:00. Format: VHS.
Institute of Directors Annual Conference, 1987. TRT: 37:00. Format: VHS.
Institute of Directors Annual Conference, 1987. TRT: 37:00. Format: VHS.
Institute of Directors Annual Conference, 1987.
"Reskilling Britain"
. TRT: 37:00. Format: VHS.
Institute of Directors Annual Conference, 1987. TRT: 37:00. Format: VHS (NTSC Submaster).
"Iphigene,"
A New York Times History Production, 1986. TRT: 19:00. Format: VHS.
Jock Elliott, S. Kahn, Kelleher, undated. TRT: approx. 10:00. Format: VHS.
"Wedding of Two Careers, Jock and Elly Elliott,"
1988. TRT: approx. 60:00. Format: VHS.
WNET, Gala of Stars, 1986. Tape 1: Acts 1-4. TRT: 120:00. Format: VHS
WNET, Gala of Stars, 1986. Tape 2: Act 5. TRT: 30:00. Format: VHS.
Oversize Materials 1961-2002 and undated
(2 Boxes)
Consists of large-format items removed from previous series. Includes magazine clippings, newspaper clippings related to Elliott's 1986-1987 visit to Argentina, full issues of Advertising Age, proofs of an article about David Ogilvy, and proofs of posters for a fire safety advertising campaign. Items are arranged by their original series.
Box 22
Clippings
Advertising Age, 1961-2002
Argentina visit, 1986-1987
Christmas books publicity, 1999, 2002
Miscellaneous magazine clippings, 1963-1990
Correspondence
London talk, 1977-1978
Memorabilia
Blue Ribbon Selection Committee Appreciation Award, undated
Printed Materials
Ad Council bulletins, undated
Advertising Age, full issue, 1980
Flagbearer, 1994
Box 23
Memorabilia
Elliott 60th Birthday, 1981
Commemorative binder
Loose items
Folder 1
Clippings--
"Confessions of a Magazine Reader,"
1965
Folder 2
Correspondence--Fire advertisement, 1969
