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Inventory of the J. Walter Thompson Company. Eleanor Newman Papers, 1974-1985 and undated

Abstract

Founded in 1864, the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) is one of the largest and oldest enduring advertising agencies in the United States. Eleanor Newman was an Account Representative and Office Manager with JWT during the years 1976-1985.

The Eleanor Newman Papers cover the years 1974-1985, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1979-1983, roughly the period during which Newman served as Office Manager of the J. Walter Thompson (JWT) Entertainment Group, and as Account Representative for the Health & Tennis Corporation account. The collection includes media plans, schedules, budgets, invoices, market research, proofs, tear sheets, photographs, conference call reports, memoranda and correspondence, and proposals related to the advertising campaigns of various JWT clients. Companies represented include Dentcare, Genesco, Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises, Jack La Lanne Spa, Vertical Club, Cover Girl, Freirich Meats, Beatrice Foods, Samsonite, Cable Shop, and Screenvision. Also included in the collection are media plans for the New York Arrows indoor soccer team, the 1981-1982 seasons of the New York City Opera, and several Broadway musicals including Mr. Lincoln, Really Rosie and Snow White.

Descriptive Summary

Repository
David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
Creator
J. Walter Thompson Company.
Title
J. Walter Thompson Company. Eleanor Newman Papers, 1974-1985 and undated
Language of Material
English
Extent
9.5 Linear Feet, 6225 Items
Location
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Series Quick Links

Collection Overview

The Eleanor Newman Papers cover the years 1974-1985, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1979-1983, roughly the period during which Newman served as Office Manager of JWT's The Entertainment Group, and as Account Representative for the Health & Tennis Corporation (later part of Bally Total Fitness Corporation) account. The collection includes media plans, schedules, budgets, invoices, market research, proofs, tear sheets, photographs, conference call reports, memoranda and correspondence, and proposals related to the advertising campaigns of various JWT clients. Companies and products represented include Dentcare, Genesco, Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises, Jack La Lanne Spa, Vertical Club, Covergirl, Freirich Meats, Beatrice Foods, Samsonite, Cable Shop, and PIAF/Screenvision. Also included in the collection are media plans for the New York Arrows indoor soccer team; the 1981-1982 seasons of the New York City Opera; and several Broadway musicals including Mr. Lincoln, Really Rosie and Snow White.

The collection is arranged into thirteen categories: General Files; Broadway; Cruise Tours; Dentcare; Fitness; Footwear; Freirich Meats; New York City Opera; Outdoor Advertising; Samsonite; Sports; Television; and Oversize Materials. The General Files include JWT directories, market research, office memoranda and forms, and correspondence relating to Mark Schoenfeld, Media Director at JWT Entertainment Group. Broadway files include media plans relating to the musicals Mr. Lincoln, Really Rosie, Snow White, Vaudeville Show, among others. The files on sightseeing cruise tours, Freirich Meats, the New York City Opera, Cable Shop and PIAF/Screenvision include advertising proofs, tear sheets, television and radio advertising schedules, and media plans. The Footwear files include proposals, advertising copy, proofs, media plans and market research for Covergirl and Genesco's Charm Step and Easy Street lines of shoes. Samsonite, the largest category of files in the collection, includes several booklets of research findings on the 1980s luggage market, marketing proposals and recommendations, and advertising tracking studies. The Outdoor Advertising files includes photographs, market research and correspondence related to billboard, bus and bus shelter advertising of Broadway musicals in New York City. Oversize Materials consist of large-format items removed from other series and housed separately.

Many of the marketing proposals and market research findings arrived in binders labeled with a title sheet or subject headings. Items were removed from binders, and original titles were used. Several sections were removed from their respective series into a separate oversize box.

Administrative Information

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Collection is open for research.

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Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

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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

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Includes memoranda, correspondence, handwritten notes, and printed information relating to the operation of J. Walter Thompson Company accounts and the JWT subdivision The Entertainment Group. Arranged alphabetically.

Directories, undated
Box 1
Media market research, rates and schedules, 1979-1981
Box 1
Media plan drafts and correspondence, 1981-1982
Box 1
Memoranda and notes, undated
Box 1
Rebate information, 1980-1981
Box 1
Schoenfeld (Mark) correspondence, 1979
Box 1

Includes proposals, schedules and purchase orders for television, radio and print advertising of selected Broadway shows. Original folder titles were maintained. Arranged alphabetically.

General media plans, 1981
Box 1 (continued)
Media schedules, 1980
Box 1 (continued)
Proofs, 1980
Box 1 (continued)
Purchase orders, 1980
Box 1 (continued)
Radio and television production charges, 1980
(2 folders)
Box 1 (continued)
Really Rosie media plan, 1981
Box 1 (continued)
Snow White media plan, 1980
Box 1 (continued)
Various productions media plans, 1979-1980
Box 1 (continued)
Vaudeville Show media plan, 1980
Box 1 (continued)

Includes invoices, financial estimates, press kits, market research, proofs, marketing campaign proposals, tear sheets and media schedules for the sightseeing cruise companies Circle Line and Cruise Lines. Arranged alphabetically.

Billing and invoices, 1979
Box 1 (continued)
Financial estimates, 1979
Box 2
Office memoranda, 1979
Box 2
Press kit, 1979
Box 2
Proofs, 1979
Box 2
Proposals, 1979
Box 2
Tear sheets, 1979
Box 2
Television production estimates, 1979
Box 2
Television and radio schedules, 1979
Box 2
Cruise Lines, media data, 1981
Box 2

Includes financial estimates, invoices, media proposals, proofs and printed material relating to the marketing of the dental company Dentcare. Arranged alphabetically.

Billing estimates and correspondence, 1981
Box 2 (continued)
Invoices, 1981
Box 2 (continued)
Media plans, 1981
Box 2 (continued)
Monthly Billing Reports, 1980-1981
Box 2 (continued)
Proofs and flyers, 1981
Box 2 (continued)
Yellow pages service orders, 1981
Box 2 (continued)

Contains conference call and meeting reports, financial reports, print media proposals relating to the Health & Tennis Corporation (HTC). Also includes materials relating to HTC subsidiaries the Jack La Lanne Spa and the Vertical Club, such as media campaign proposals, rates, schedules, memoranda, correspondence, model head shots, tear sheets and television buy invoices. Original folder titles were maintained. Arranged alphabetically.

Account shift plan, 1981
Box 3
Call reports, Los Angeles office, 1982
Box 3
Call reports and meeting reports, New York, 1982
Box 3
Gross sheets, 1982
Box 3
Print campaign, 1982
Box 3
Status report, 1982
Box 3
Campaign, 1982-1983
Box 3 (continued)
Memoranda and correspondence, 1982
Box 3 (continued)
Radio campaign proposal, 1982
Box 3 (continued)
Television buys, 1982-1983
Box 3 (continued)
Television proposal, 1982
Box 3 (continued)
Copy strategy, 1981
Box 3 (continued)
Media schedules, 1982
Box 3 (continued)
Model head sheets, 1981
Box 3 (continued)
Proofs, 1981
Box 3 (continued)
Prospective publications, 1981
Box 3 (continued)
Rates, 1982
Box 3 (continued)
Tear sheets, 1981
Box 3 (continued)

Includes advertising campaign plans, conference call reports, project lists, tear sheets, product design information and market research relating to the footwear market, and particularly to the companies Cover Girl and Genesco, including Genesco subsidiary branches of Charm Step and Easy Street. Original folder organization and titles were maintained. Arranged alphabetically.

Advertising Platform, 1981
Box 4
Call Reports, 1981
Box 4
Media plans, 1982-1983
Box 4
Print advertising, 1981
Box 4
Project lists, 1981
Box 4
Trade media and direct mail, 1982
Box 4
General files--Production charges, 1982
Box 4 (continued)
Call reports
Box 4 (continued)
Campaign materials
Box 4 (continued)
Advertising platform
Box 4 (continued)
Call reports
Box 4 (continued)
March project list
Box 4 (continued)
Media plans
Box 4 (continued)
Shoe designs
Box 4 (continued)
Tearsheets
Box 4 (continued)
Men's Footwear Review, 1982
2 folders
Box 4 (continued)
Proposal for marketing campaign, 1982
Box 4 (continued)

Series includes schedules, campaigns, budgets and buy invoices for television, radio and print advertisements of the 1981 and 1982 seasons of the New York City Opera, including Operetta plans from 1981. Also includes memoranda and correspondence relating to these campaigns. Original folder organization and titles were maintained, except for media plans. These were separated into seasons and made into a Media Plan sub-category. Large-format materials were removed to Oversize Materials. Arranged alphabetically.

Campaign proposal, 1982 Spring
Box 4 (continued)
1981 Spring
Box 4 (continued)
1982 Spring [Items removed to Oversize Materials, Box 8.]
Box 4 (continued)
1982 Fall [Items removed to Oversize Materials, Box 8.]
Box 4 (continued)
Media schedules and budget, 1981
Box 4 (continued)
Office memoranda, 1981
Box 4 (continued)
Operetta plans, 1981
Box 4 (continued)
Proofs, undated
Box 4 (continued)
Radio and television buys, 1982
Box 4 (continued)

Includes market research, schedules, contracts and photographs relating to billboard and bus shelter advertising in New York City. Most of the materials pertain to the advertisments of JWT client TDI. Also includes photographs of billboards in Times Square. Arranged alphabetically.

Market research, undated
Box 5
Contracts, 1979
Box 5
Photographs, 1979
Box 5
Schedules, 1979
Box 5
Times Square billboards, 1979
Box 5

Series contains financial records, five-year reviews, budgets, market research, marketing proposals, model release forms, and correspondence relating to Samsonite campaigns during the years 1976 to 1984. Includes a subseries of agenda packets for presentations on luggage market research, and materials relating to the 1982 "Survivor" advertising campaign. Also contains two folders of correspondence between JWT and the Leo Burnett Advertising Company of Chicago. Original folder organization and labels were maintained. Arranged alphabetically by title.

Files in storage, undated
Box 5 (continued)
Financial records, 1983
Box 5 (continued)
Leo Burnett Advertising Company correspondence, 1984 [Items removed to Oversize Materials, Box 8.]
2 folders
Box 5 (continued)
Ad tracking study, 1983
Box 5 (continued)
Information planning base, 1976-1977
(2 folders)
Box 5 (continued)
Luggage Advertising Review, 1982-1983
(2 folders)
Box 5 (continued)
Luggage Market in the 1980s, 1981
Box 5 (continued)
Point of View Regarding the Future of the Luggage Market, 1976
Box 5 (continued)
Preliminary Discussion of Samsonite Research Needs, 1976
Box 5 (continued)
Proposal for Monitoring the Short Term Impact of Alternative Spending Levels, 1983
Box 6
Proposal for Strategic Research of the Luggage Market, 1976
Box 6
Proposal for Strategic Study of the Luggage Market, 1981
Box 6
Qualitative Study on the Luggage Market, 1982
Box 6
Segmentation study, 1982
Box 6
Model release forms, 1976-1984
Box 7
Advertising program, 1983
Box 7
Advertising recommendations, 1984-1985
(2 folders)
Box 7
Awareness tracking, 1983 wave
Box 7
Beatrice Foods proposal, 1983
Box 7
Five-year review, 1983
Box 7
Five-year review, media delivery, 1983
Box 7
Information summary for strategic review board, 1981
Box 7
Issues and concerns for 1985, 1983
Box 7
1981 February, 2 copies
Box 7
1981 March
Box 7
Strategic and copy development, 1981
Box 7
Strategy, 1979
Box 7
T-plan, 1981
Box 7
Traditional Select Opportunity, undated
Box 7
Strategic plan, 1974, 1979
(2 folders)
Box 7
Survivor campaign, 1982
Box 7
Television and radio commercials, 1983 list
Box 7

Includes media plans for the indoor soccer team, the New York Arrows, and for the televised series, the World Games. Original folder titles were maintained. Arranged alphabetically.

New York Arrows media plan, 1981-1982
Box 7 (continued)
World Games media plan, undated
Box 7 (continued)

Includes schedules, cost estimates, scripts, campaign proposals, tracking and focus group research for the television shopping network Cable Shop. Also includes market research and media plans related to PIAF/Screenvision, and media research data for RCTV. Arranged alphabetically.

Estimates, 1982
Box 7 (continued)
Men, 1982
Box 7 (continued)
Women, 1982
Box 7 (continued)
Genesco campaign, 1982
Box 7 (continued)
Management overview, 1982
Box 7 (continued)
Original scripts, 1982
Box 7 (continued)
Pilot test review, 1982
Box 7 (continued)
Proposal, 1982
Box 7 (continued)
Schedules, 1982
Box 7 (continued)
Tracking research, 1982
(4 folders)
Box 7 (continued)
Ideal Audience, The Power to Influence It, 1981
Box 7 (continued)
Market analysis, 1981
Box 7 (continued)
Media plans, 1981
Box 7 (continued)
RCTV media data, 1981
Box 7 (continued)

Comprises large-format files removed from elsewhere in the collection.

Managers meeting agenda, 1982 August
Box 8
Jack La Lanne Spa, media schedules, 1982
Box 8
New York City Opera, media plans, 1982
Box 8
Leo Burnett Advertising Company correspondence, 1984
Box 8
Proofs, undated
(9 folders)
Box 8

Historical Note

Eleanor Newman graduated from Brooklyn College, majoring in English and Theater. Before joining JWT, she taught English to the gifted at the New York City Board of Education for six years.

Newman began working for the J. Walter Thompson (JWT) Company's New York office in 1976, first as secretary to the Director of Corporate Press. She was then promoted to Administrative Assistant, responsible for editing press releases; researching for annual reports; and writing articles for J. Walter Thompson News, the company newsletter. She also researched and wrote a major speech on the future of government advertising, presented at the American Association of Advertising Agencies convention in the spring of 1977. At the founding of the JWT Entertainment Group in September 1977, Newman was promoted to Office Manager, and made responsible for office services, hiring, and communication with the New York East Side Office. In 1978, she was promoted to Account Representative of the Entertainment Group. She subsequently handled the accounts of Caesars World, Radio City Music Hall, Ford's Theatre, Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises, and several Broadway shows. While at the Entertainment Group, she participated in the JWT Management Trainee Program, which culminated in a four-day seminar at Princeton University in 1980. In June 1981, Newman returned to the JWT East Side Office to become Account Representative for Health & Tennis Corporation, handling all the advertising for the forty-eight Jack La Lanne, Holiday Health Spa, and European Health Spa clubs, as well as the Vertical Club. She also handled Cable Shop responsibilities for Charm Step shoes on the Genesco account. In June 1982, she was promoted to Account Supervisor.

Newman also ghost-wrote articles for Penthouse, Playboy and the Chicago Tribune; and edited children's books on health, science, and Africa, in addition to a book on tennis and a biography of Elton John.

Subject Headings

Related Material

Related Material

Related materials may be found in the following Hartman Center collections of J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) Archives: Ted Wilson Papers; Account Files Collection; Review Board Records; Bertram Metter Papers; and New York Office Records. Materials relating to women in advertising may be found in the JWT Rena Bartos Papers; JWT Nan Findlow Papers; JWT Lois Gaeta Papers; and the JWT Sidney Ralph Bernstein Company History Files. Materials relating to JWT's Cable Shop may be found in the JWT Chicago Office Non-Proprietary Research Reports; the JWT Publications Collection; and the JWT Newsletters Collection. Materials relating to the JWT Entertainment Group may be found in the JWT Edward G. Wilson Papers.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], J. Walter Thompson Company. Eleanor Newman Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Provenance

The Eleanor Newman Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a gift in 1993.

Processing Information

Processed by Jessica Wood, September 2008

Encoded by Jessica Wood, September 2008

Accession 93-054 was processed and 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.