MenuPreliminary Inventory of the J. Walter Thompson Company. Chicago Office. Records, 1908-2000 and undated
Collection Overview
This collection (94-110) (27,000 items, 50 linear feet, dated 1908-1989) consists mostly of vertical files, including office newsletters, speeches and writings, publications, training and planning documents from Chicago and other JWT offices. There are also 78 reels of microfilm of Chicago office ads prior to 1970, as well as significant collections of proof files especially pertaining to major clients like Kraft, Quaker Oats, and Schlitz. In addition, the collection holds several hundred "Aber Reports" dating between 1950-1971, which were market research summations of various product categories. A container list for this accession follows below.
Subsequent additions (96-169, 99-130, 99-239) (8514 items; dated 1970-1998) contain an item-level index to the massive library of research reports maintained by JWT's Chicago Office. Materials are arranged in alphabetical order; the largest alphabetical run is by company name. There are also cards for X and AV reports, general research reports, and an index to JWT People Profiles. Also included are printed proceedings from international symposia on magazine readership research for 1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, and 1991, including copies of some of the previously unpublished papers and related printed material (1998). These materials reveal the lengths to which advertisers go to gain insight into consumer thinking. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising and Marketing History. A container list for accession 99-130 follows below.
Addition (01-110) (70 items, .2 lin. ft.; dated [1980s]) consists of about 70 color slides depicting people, events, and locations within the company's Chicago offices.
Addition (02-0188) (397 items, 8.7 linear feet; dated 1980-2000 and undated) comprises primarily information on and examples of Thompson Total Branding (TTB), including in the US, England, Jamaica, and Asia. TTB began in 1996 and is JWT's method for addressing client marketing needs. Also includes copies of earlier methodologies, the T-Plan and Thompson Way; employee manuals; training material; J. Walter University intern/trainee manual (2000); information about the Lintas, McCann-Erickson, and Ogilvy and Mather agencies; material from JWT's World Partners Council meetings (Italy, 1995; Mexico, 1997) and marketing seminars held in the agency's Asia-Pacific region; six 3/4" U-matic SP and 11 VHS videocassettes, mainly of presentations and training material (1980s-1990s); 1 audiocassette; 47 color slides; and 208 electronic documents on 2 CD-ROMs. A container list for this accession follows below.
Several accessions of the JWT Chicago Office Records were completely or partially deaccessioned at the request of the JWT Chicago and returned to the JWT Record Center. These involved proprietary research in which the clients still retained an interest. The accessions involved were: 95-016 (10 boxes); 95-015 (7 boxes); 95-018 (2 boxes); 95-017 (1 box); and 99-0130 (28 boxes). For further information, contact Research Services.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- J. Walter Thompson Company. Chicago Office. Records, 1908-2000 and undated
- Creator
- J. Walter Thompson Company. Chicago Office.
- Extent
- 50,000 Items, 161 Linear Feet
- Repository
- David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
- Location
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
- Language
- English.
Administrative Information
Collections are on the move for the renovation of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Contact Rubenstein Library staff before visiting. Read More »
Access Restrictions
Collection is restricted.
In addition, patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights 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 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.
Use Restrictions
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 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Contents of the Collection
Browse List of Series
Collapse All
Expand AllPlease contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Unpublished materials less than 15 years old are closed to non-JWT researchers.
[Research reports on product categories, evidently named for a chief author, Caroline E. Aber]
[Now produced by the JWT Reference Unit]
[Compiled by Bryan Way]
[Includes Cable Capsules, and Network Notes (Chicago)]
[Mostly by N. Strouse and A. Johnson]
[Includes clippings about JWT and JWT personnel]
[Includes Packaging, mechanicals, layouts and oversize]
[Includes records and contents of Chicago proof books; detailed lists of items filmed in reels AD1-AD78. Also includes some promotional materials, such as coupons for Kraft products.]
[Includes images of ads from Chicago proof books from the early 1900s on for multiple clients. Arranged by client/date per books. Also a binder relating to the records center storage of profs in the 1980s.]
[Includes, New York, San Francisco, Australia, Belgium, Germany, India, London, and others; miscellaneous newsletters]
[Includes data and plan forms for advertising; files on Chicago office seminars [1970s]; TGI materials]
[Includes Chicago office files; Communispond; Consumer Panel; Deltakos and other subsidiaries; financial records; compensation]
[JWT London, BMRB, South Africa]
[Includes research materials, ca. 1950s-1960s]
[Includes trade, newsprint, outdoor, and consumer advertisements]
[3 proof boxes]
[2 books in a proof box]
[3 proof books]
[3 proof boxes]
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Unpublished materials less than 15 years old are closed to non-JWT researchers.
Processing note: Any original titles for folder and binders have been reproduced in quotes.
Some of the materials in this accession are not immediately accessible because they require further processing before use. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.
Unpublished materials less than 15 years old are closed to non-JWT researchers.
[Technical Services staff need to format for use copies of videocassette tapes before use.]
[Technical Services staff may need to process material in envelopes before use.]
[2 VHS videocassettes removed to Box 7.]
[2, 3/4" U-Matic sp videocassettes removed to Box 7.]
[Oversized material removed to Box 10 and 12.]
[Contains 1 VHS videocassette and 1 compact disk (Disk 002). The contents of Disk 002 have been migrated to the electronic records server. A disk directories log exists. Contact Research Services staff. The physical Disk 002 (kept in the collection) may not be used by patrons.]
[Attention: Contains pictorial materials.]
[Contains 3 color slides.]
[1 VHS videocassette removed to Box 7.]
[Disk 001 removed and its contents migrated to the Special Collections Server. A disk directories log exists. Contact a Reference Archivist.]
[Welcome box removed to Box 13.]
[Technical Services staff need to format for use copies of videocassette tapes before use.]
[Attention: Contains pictorial materials.]
[Technical Services staff need to format for use copies of videocassette tapes before use.]
[Removed from Box 1.]
[Removed from Box 1.]
[Removed from Box 1.]
[Removed from Box 1.]
[Removed from Box 2.]
[Technical Services staff need to format for use copies of videocassette tapes before use.]
[Removed from Oversized Box 12.]
[Technical Services staff need to format for use copies of videocassette tapes before use.]
[Removed from Box 1.]
[1 videocassette and 1 audio cassette tape removed to Box 8.]
[Removed from Box 1.]
[Removed from box 4.]
Historical Note
Company founded in NY in 1864. The J. Walter Thompson company is one of the world's oldest and largest advertising firms.
Subject Headings
- J. Walter Thompson Company.
- J. Walter Thompson Company. Chicago Office.
- Advertising--Management.
- Advertising--Research.
- Advertising agencies--Management.
- Brand name products--Marketing--Management.
- Employees--Training of.
- Marketing--Asia.
- Marketing--Pacific Area.
- Marketing research--United States.
- Advertising agencies--History.
- Advertising--History.
- Advertising campaigns.
- Periodicals--Circulation.
- Readership surveys.
- Audio cassette.
- CD-ROMs.
- Color slides.
- Machine-readable records.
- Videocassettes.
- John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], J. Walter Thompson Company. Chicago Office. Records, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The J. Walter Thompson Company. Chicago Office. Records was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a gift in 1994-2002.
Processing Information
Processed by Rubenstein Library staff; Joshua Kaiser
Completed September 9, 2002
Additions minimally processed by Richard Collier
Last updated August 26, 2004
Encoded by Joshua Kaiser, Ruth E. Bryan, and Richard Collier
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
This collection is unprocessed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.