MenuInventory of the J. Walter Thompson Company. Ted Wilson Papers, 1966-1977
Abstract
The J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT), founded in 1864, is one of the oldest and largest enduring advertising agencies in the United States. Ted Wilson was an executive at JWT from 1947 to 1977.
The Ted Wilson Papers span the years 1966-1977, and comprise correspondence, office files, client files, reports, and speeches that document Wilson's career as an administrator coping with JWT's financial difficulties resulting from the world-wide economic hardship of the mid-1970s. In addition, the papers illustrate Wilson's involvement in the reorganization of the company, as well as his management of several advertising account teams, including the New Holland Machine Company and the Phillips Petroleum Company. The papers mention a variety of JWT company operations, including company programs such as Communispond (communications consulting), while touching on a variety of social issues including the employment of minorities and the Watergate affair.
Descriptive Summary
- Repository
- David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
- Creator
- J. Walter Thompson Company.
- Title
- J. Walter Thompson Company. Ted Wilson Papers, 1966-1977
- Language of Material
- English
- Extent
- 2.4 Linear Feet, 1800 Items
- Location
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Collection Overview
The Ted Wilson Papers span the years 1966-1977, and document Wilson's career as an executive for the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT). The papers comprise correspondence, office files, client files, reports, and speeches that depict Wilson as a skillful administrator coping with JWT's financial difficulties resulting from the world-wide economic hardship of the mid-1970s. In addition, the papers illustrate Wilson's involvement in the reorganization of the company, as well as his management of several advertising account teams, including the New Holland Machine Company and the Phillips Petroleum Company. The papers mention a variety of JWT company operations, including company programs such as Communispond, while touching on a variety of social issues including the employment of minorities and the Watergate affair. There is no material in this collection documenting the early years of Wilson's career or life after his retirement in 1977. The collection also lacks materials dating from 1971 through mid-1973, the period during which Wilson worked in JWT's Chicago Office.
The collection is arranged in three series: Client Files; Correspondence, and Subject Files.
The Client Files Series documents JWT's relationship with numerous clients such as Inter-Continental Hotels, Miles Laboratories, the New Holland Machine Company, Pan American Airlines, Phillips Petroleum, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), Scott Paper Company and Squibb Beech-Nut.
The Correspondence Series chiefly consists of outgoing letters and memos written by Wilson and his secretaries, originating from Wilson's office in New York. The materials concern a broad range of issues, including the reorganization of JWT, one of the most important administrative tasks Wilson undertook during his presidency.
The Subject Files Series pertains mainly to various company operations, and consists of office files, primarily reports and speeches, originating during the period when Wilson was Associate Manager in JWT's New York Office. The papers illustrate Wilson's career as an administrator as well as an advertising executive. Included are uncollated Review Board records, dating from 1966, for various clients.
Restrictions on access: Sensitive personnel materials pertaining to individual employee matters are closed to non-JWT users until 2045. In addition, Review Board records may be read, but cannot be photocopied.
Related materials within the JWT Archives include the Accounts Files Collection, the Review Board Records, the Dan Seymour Papers, and the Don Johnston Papers. The Biographical Information Files contain a folder for Wilson consisting of news clippings and other materials.
Administrative Information
A majority of collections are stored off site and must be requested at least 24 business hours in advance for retrieval. Contact Rubenstein Library staff before visiting. Read More »
Access Restrictions
Collection is restricted.
Sensitive personnel materials pertaining to individual employment are closed to non-JWT users for 75 years from the date of the file creation.
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 AllConsists of reports, news clippings, and some advertisements pertaining to particular JWT clients. The folders also include the Review Board records from 1970 for many of the individual clients in this series. Those for various clients from 1966 are filed in the Subject Files Series. The series is arranged alphabetically by client.
Sensitive personnel materials pertaining to individual employee matters are closed to non-JWT users until 2045. Those items have been physically removed to Restricted Materials Series; a dummy folder, indicated by a title enclosed in brackets, has been substituted for the original material. In addition, Review Board reports may be read, but cannot be photocopied.
Correspondence Series, 1970-1977
Consists of Wilson's letters, mostly dating from his years as President and Chairman of the Board, and touching on a variety of subjects, ranging from personal matters to company business to historical events such as the Watergate affair during Richard Nixon's presidency. The series contains a copy of Wilson's letter (April 22, 1974) in which he writes to a judge regarding Dwight Chapin, a former Nixon aide. The series also includes materials that reveal Wilson's views on the reorganization of the company, one of the most important administrative tasks Wilson undertook during his presidency. Materials in the series also depict Wilson as an advertising professional. For example, A memo to the Burger King account team, dated Aug. 5, 1976, contains Wilson's suggestions that reflect his experience with advertising campaigns. In addition, materials such as Wilson's memo written on Nov. 4, 1975 highlight concerns over contemporary social issues including the employment of minorities. JWT attempted to expand its minority work force through company programs such as the Jobs Training Program, under which JWT hired and educated hard-core unemployable young minorities. Arranged chronologically.
Sensitive personnel materials pertaining to individual employee matters are closed to non-JWT users until 2045. Those items have been physically removed to Restricted Materials; a dummy folder, indicated by a title enclosed in brackets, has been substituted for the original material.
Contains materials relating to various aspects of company operations as well as a number of JWT programs including Communispond, New Products Development, and Name Development. The other materials include market reports and studies (such as the 1970 Mail Order Study) and Review Board reports for various clients (other Review Board reports for 1970 can be found in the Clients Series). One of the most extensive files, for the Creative Department, contains one year's worth of detailed weekly work flow reports. Some materials do not directly relate to advertising, and reflect the broad responsibility Wilson had as an administrator. These include a published court document of a lawsuit brought against JWT by a former JWT executive. Arranged alphabetically.
Sensitive personnel materials pertaining to individual employee matters are closed to non-JWT users until 2045. Those items have been physically removed to Restricted Materials Series; a dummy folder, indicated by a title enclosed in brackets, has been substituted for the original material. In addition, Review Board reports may be read, but cannot be photocopied.
Program begun by JWT executive Kevin Daley in 1970 to address the public communications needs of business, such as for presentations and announcements.
Study of motivational and retention issues concerning secretaries and clerks at JWT.
Restricted Materials. 1965-1970
Restriction on access: Sensitive personnel materials pertaining to individual employee matters are closed to non-JWT users until 2045.
Historical Note
| Date | Event(s) |
|---|---|
| 1920 Aug. 15 | Born Edward Bohde Wilson II, New York, N.Y. |
| 1942 | Graduated from Wesleyan University (Middletown, Conn.) |
| 1942-1945 | Spent three years in the Army Air Corps, being discharged as a First Lieutenant following service in the European theater with the 9th Air Force |
| 1945-1947 | Worked for Fibre Conduit Company (Orangeburg, N.Y.) |
| 1947 | Joined J. Walter Thompson Company |
| 1956 | Elected Vice-President |
| 1964 | Promoted to Senior Vice-President |
| 1967 | Made Associate Manager of the New York Office and elected to the Board of Directors |
| 1971 | Elected Executive Vice President and a member of the Executive Committee Moved to the Chicago Office as Managing Director |
| 1972 | Responsibilities expanded to include the Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Hawaii Offices |
| 1973 | Returned to the New York Office as Chairman of the Executive Committee and Director of All Advertising Operations |
| 1974 | Became President and Chief Operating Officer |
| 1975 | Elected Chairman of the Board |
| 1977 | Retired from J. Walter Thompson Company |
Subject Headings
- Wilson, Ted, 1920-
- J. Walter Thompson Company.
- J. Walter Thompson Company. New York.
- Phillips Petroleum Company.
- New Holland Machine Company.
- Advertising agencies.
- Advertising agencies--History.
- Advertising agencies--Management.
- Advertising agencies--United States.
- Advertising executives.
- Advertising executives--United States.
- Minorities--Employment--United States--History.
- John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], J. Walter Thompson Company. Ted Wilson Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The J. Walter Thompson Company Ted Wilson Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a transfer in 1987.
Processing Information
Processed by Richard Collier, Akira Ishii, Brooke Stanley, March 2006
Encoded by Richard Collier
Completed March 2006
Accession is described in this finding aid.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and our local Style Guide.