The Hartman Center and the Rubenstein Library hold many materials related to the development, implementation, and evaluation of direct marketing. The following is an overview of these collections, which include books and serial publications, catalog and infomercial collections, and the archival papers of advertising agencies, executives, and some advertisers. They include many examples of direct mailings, catalogs, and commercials, as well as evidence of how advertisers thought about, implemented, and evaluated direct marketing strategies.

When direct-marketing is the primary subject of a collection this overview provides an abstract of the collection and a link to the finding aid. For collections of which direct marketing materials are only a small part, this overview provides a more specific description of the relevant materials and their location, as well as a link to the finding aid. In some cases, a collection contains only one or two relevant documents. They have been included in this overview because, together, these documents provide the researcher with several writings, speeches, and essays on direct marketing, usually by individual advertising agency executives.

• Agency Records
• Career Papers
• Advertisers
• Additional Hartman Center Materials
• Related Rubenstein Library Materials
• Additional Searching Information

Advertising Agency Records

Bates Worldwide Records, 1934-2003 and undated
The Bates Worldwide, Inc. Records span the years 1934-2003 and document the activities of this major global advertising agency over the course of its corporate life. Bates built its early reputation as an advertising agency with a particular talent for promoting pharmaceutical products. See the direct marketing series, boxes VF47-VF48. These boxes include (but are not limited to) direct marketing materials pertaining to pharmaceuticals, and drug stores and pharmacies. See also VF4 (coupons), VF5 (direct-to-consumer medical products), and VF84 (catalogs).

J. Walter Thompson Company, Account Files 1885-2008 and undated
The JWT Account Files spans the years 1885-2007, with the bulk of materials covering 1920-1995. It is an artificially-created collection of information about client accounts held by the JWT and provides information about JWT's management of its advertising campaigns. Additionally, the files document deliberations about such topics as media selection; markets and marketing; and target audience for individual advertising campaigns. There are numerous materials related to direct marketing for Ford, as well as the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Sprint, and White Castle Restaurants. (Although, note that some White Castle materials are restricted.)

Ford

• Box FD17, Direct Mail Promotional, 1968
• Box FD19, Direct Mail Promotional, 1999
• Box FD32, Misc. Companies, Direct Mail
• Box FM4, General strategy, Stimulator, direct marketing strategy, 1987
• Box FM17, Contour, Direct Mailing Layouts, 1997; Crown Victoria direct marketing proposal, 1990
• Fox FM18: Escape, direct mailing, 2000
• Box FM19: Explorer, Direct mail, 1983
• Box FM21: Thunderbird, Direct mail, 1971, 1962
• Box FM39: Worldwide Direct Marketing Operation, 1997
• FM84: Ford Story (speeches on direct mail), 1953
• Boxes FM94-FM96: Worldwide Direct Marketing Operations (some restrictions)

USMC

• MC14: Direct mail items, 1983-2000 and undated

U.S. Sprint

• Box SR1: direct marketing 1987
• Box SR14: direct mail and response program materials, 1980s
• Box SR25: MCI direct mail, 1988
• Box SR24: International competitive direct mail, 1996

White Castle Restaurants also has direct mail materials, but they are restricted because these files also contain unpublished materials from early 2000s.

J. Walter Thompson Company, Advertising Vertical Files 1950-1994
The JWT Advertising Vertical Files contains subject files on a wide range of advertising topics, and is primarily comprised of news clippings, articles, and pamphlets. Topics range from financial information, legal aspects of marketing, employment trends, awards, information on individuals in the industry, media, packaging, trademarks, and marketing research. The file was created and maintained as an internal reference file by the Information Center in JWT's New York Office. See boxes 61 and 62 for materials on direct mail.

This collection is minimally processed and contains miscellaneous files from the Detroit office. The direct mail materials contained in the collection are examples of Ford car and truck direct mailings, and some materials related to the bottling industry. The collections contain no material related to the accounts or the development of those ads. See accession 93-015, boxes 29, 68, and 69.

J. Walter Thompson Company Newsletter Collection, 1910-2005
The Newsletter Collection comprises the agency's internally produced newsletters, which date from 1916 through 2005. These include newsletters from the main office, certain domestic and international offices, divisions and affiliates of JWT. The collection contains materials from the early 1950s related to direct marketing generally, as well as Ford and the US Marine Corps specifically. See box D05 and newsletters dated July 6 and 13 1953.

J. Walter Thompson Company, London Office Records, 1920s-2005 and undated
JWT's London Office first opened in 1899, and was the first international office of any American advertising agency. Box 255 of the Knowledge Center files includes extensive materials on direct marketing in the UK and US, 1985 and 1994-1999. These materials consist of collected magazine and trade publication articles, medium studies, direct marketing awards, JWT Direct Marketing Briefing Pack, and various miscellaneous documents. These materials are generally clippings from publications, but some are original, internal JWT documents.

J. Walter Thompson Company, Publications Collection, 1887-2005
The J. Walter Thompson Company Publications Collection spans the years 1887 to 2005 and includes printed materials produced by the various offices, partners, subsidiaries and related firms of the J. Walter Thompson Company. There is a single document in this collection related to direct mail: "Direct Mail: Two Mediums Not One" (1951), Box DG11.

J. Walter Thompson Company, Writings and Speeches, 1912-2000 and undated
The Information Center of the New York Office began as a collection of writings and speeches by former JWT executives. Later, scrapbooks and binders of speeches by Stanley Resor and Arno Johnson and Norman Strouse were added, and the Information Center expanded its activities to routinely collect texts of speeches given by current JWT staff. Relevant materials:

• Box 8: Derry F. Daly, "Direct Mail Advertising"
• Box 11: 1958 article by Charles Gavin, "Direct Mail's Big Challenge: to Meet Changing Market Needs"
• Box 13: 1962 pamphlet "Getting Response from your Direct Mail Advertising"
• Box 44: 1968 speech by Dan Seymour, "Agency Looks at Direct Mail"
• Box 45: 1952 speech by Norman Strouse "Advertising Agency Answers Challenge of Direct Mail"
• Box 51: 1952 Article "$64 Question in Direct Mail Selling"

Wunderman Archives, 1946- 2010
Wunderman is a direct marketing and behavior-oriented marketing communications firm founded in 1958 as Wunderman Ricotta & Kline. The Wunderman Archives span the years 1946-2010 and comprise the administrative records of direct-mail and direct marketing agency Wunderman and its predecessor entities Wunderman Ricotta & Kline, Wunderman Worldwide, Wunderman Cato Johnson, and Impiric, as well as its subsidiary offices in the U.S. and abroad, associated firms such as Stone & Adler and Chapman Direct, and its relations with parent company Young & Rubicam. It includes general office files, policy and procedure manuals, training materials, awards, account files, new business records, professional papers of founder Lester Wunderman and other key executives, samples of client campaigns, photographs, slides and audio cassettes and videocassettes.

Career Papers

JWT Harry Clark Papers, 1945 -1992 and undated
Harry Clark was an advertising executive who served as Director of JWT's Frankfurt Office and eventually of JWT's New York Office; and co-founder of Smith Clark Associates, a consulting firm based in Princeton, N.J. The collection includes two talks/essays on "Advertising and the Role of Direct Marketing Today: An Overview" from 1985. (Box 29) O. Milton Gossett Papers, 1951-2004 and undated Finding Aid: http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/findingaids/gossettmilton/ O. Milton Gossett was an advertising executive with Compton Advertising and Saatchi & Saatchi agencies. He was also a member of the National Advertising Review Board and conducted career workshops for college students in conjunction with the American Advertising Federation. This collection contains only two direct marketing documents: Direct Marketing Day speech, 1980 (box 4) and "The Competitive Equilibrium of a Direct Market and Core" with Shapley, L. (handwritten drafts), undated (Box 107).

R. Philip Hanes Papers, 1928- 2010
The papers of R. Philip Hanes span the years 1928 to 1987 with the bulk occurring during the 1960s through the 1980s. The Hanes collection is useful as a study of a southern businessman and arts supporter, not only in North Carolina but also nationally, from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. A principal focus of the collection is the arts involvement of Hanes on a local (Winston-Salem), state (North Carolina), regional, as well as national level. As a result of Hanes's encouragement for the arts, in part through board memberships on numerous arts organizations, the manuscripts contain much information about these organizations as well. Collection contains direct mail printed materials for the Arts Council, Jargon Society, North Carolina Dance Theatre, North Carolina Museum of Art, and the Spoleto Festival.

Kensinger Jones Papers, 1934- 2001
Kensinger was an advertising executive in the 1950s-1980s. The collection documents Jones's primary career as an executive for several major advertising agencies, including Leo Burnett Company, Campbell-Ewald Company, D.P. Brother and Company, Wilding Advertising, and William R.Biggs/Gilmore Associates; and his second career as a professor of advertising at Michigan State University. This collection contains only a single document on direct marketing, "Direct Mail to Whom?" talk delivered to the Direct Mail Club of Detroit, Mar. 7 (Box 63, and slides Box 75).

JWT Bertram Metter Papers, 1908-2000 and undated, bulk 1953-1989
Bertram Metter worked for over thirty years as an advertising and marketing executive, most notably as a copywriter, creative director, and Vice Chairman at J. Walter Thompson USA (JWT). In in early years at JWT, Metter worked as a direct response specialist for the Ford Motor Company direct marketing operation. He also served as a primary on the Ford account, during which time he directed print and television promotion for Ford and played a key role in the launching of several new car models. This collection includes Ford direct marketing materials and newsletters, articles about JWT Direct Network and the Ford Direct Mail project. There are also Ford Direct Mail and Metter direct mail printed materials.

JWT Jack Peters Papers, 1965-1989 and undated
Jack Peters worked at JWT 31 years and served as Chief Operating Officer and President of JWT-USA (1984-1987) and JWT-Worldwide (1986-1987). This collection includes a single document on direct marketing: a copy of Clark Vitulli's Direct Marketing Day speech (1985).

Kenneth Roman Papers, 1906-2011 and undated
Kenneth Roman is a former advertising executive and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather agency, and author of several books. The collection spans the years 1906-2011 and primarily contains materials gathered during Roman's research for a biography of David Ogilvy, The King of Madison Avenue. This collection includes only a single document on direct marketing, "The Importance of Direct Marketing," 1992 (Box 3).

Arlie R. Slabaugh Collection of Direct Mail Literature, 1921-1953
Arlie R. Slabaugh was a publisher, hobby shop dealer and mail order promoter, and collector of periodicals related to the mail order business. The collection offers an overview of the mail order industry during pre-war and World War II-era in the United States. The collection contains periodicals, amateur newspapers, hobby catalogs and printed ephemera, primarily from the 1930s-1940s, but also including examples from the 1920s and 1950s. Most are monthly periodicals, published as staple-bound or self-folding newsprint or glossy pamphlets, with some illustrations. Many of the items are regional in scope, possibly originating from major printing centers and distributed to local markets, particularly in the U.S. South, the Midwest and California.

John Stevenson Papers 1947- 1983 and undated
John Stevenson was a pioneer in direct mail and the director of Greystone Press, which specialized in subscription encyclopedias and continuity series books. The John Stevenson papers span the years 1947-1983 and include correspondence, advertising designs, direct mail/direct marketing mailings, financial records and other materials that document Stevenson's career with Greystone Press selling encyclopedias, book club subscriptions, literary continuity series and home reference manuals. Some of the materials were co-produced by Fred Breismeister, a former New York Post copywriter.

JWT Norman H. Strouse Papers, 1852- 1990 undated
Norman Hulbert Strouse served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JWT during the 1960s. See Box 7 for the program and other materials related to the Direct Mail Advertising Association Annual Conference (1953). See box 21 for "Discussion of Direct Mail Advertising" (1951), talk delivered to the Ford Dealers' Association.

Benjamin Sussman Papers, 1940- 1995
Benjamin Sussman (1921-2003) was an advertising executive and founder of the Sussman, Jordan and Pollacheck advertising agency. He also worked for Petersen Publishing and as a freelance writer. See the following for direct marketing related materials:

• Box 10, Folder D-400: Direct marketing general files - includes articles about direct marketing and materials from the Direct Marketing Association, 1970s-1990s
• Box 11, Folder D-401: Consists mostly of articles about direct mail strategies, some examples of direct mail materials mailed to Sussman's home
• Box 11, Folders D-402, 403, 404 & 405: Sales letters, subscription mailers, real estate mailers, mail order - examples of such materials and magazine articles about each category
• Box 11, Folders D407 & 408: Materials related to the USPS - regulations, postal rates, "junk mail"
• Box 11, Folders D 507, 507(A): Catalogs: examples and materials discussing catalog marketing

Lester Wunderman Papers, 1946- 2010 and undated
Lester Wunderman is an advertising executive primarily in the direct marketing industry, founder of an agency in his name now a subsidiary of Young & Rubicam, and a noted collector of Dogon (Mali) art works. The Lester Wunderman Papers span the years 1946-2010 and include writings, speeches, correspondence, reports, photographs, audiocassettes, videocassettes, 16mm films, and other materials relating to Wunderman's career in direct marketing and direct-mail advertising, his work on Boards of Directors and Trustees, and as a consultant. Included are drafts, proofs and correspondence relating to Wunderman's 1996 book Being Direct: Making Advertising Pay. Advertising agencies represented in the collection include Caspar Pinsker, Maxwell Sackheim, Wunderman Cato Johnson, Wunderman Ricotta & Kline and Young & Rubicam.

Advertisers

Anspach Travel Bureau Collection of Tourism Literature, 1942-2000
Real estate and travel company founded in 1932 by brothers Herman and Robert Anspach in Highland Park, Ill. Currently part of Valerie Wilson Travel, Inc. Collection spans 1942-2000 with the bulk of materials dating from the 1960s- 1980s. Primarily brochures, leaflets and other take-away direct marketing materials advertising resorts, hotels, airlines, cruise lines, and other services and destinations comprising the travel and tourism industry. Also includes newsletters, itineraries, and some correspondence. All continents and ocean regions are represented.

Abercrombie & Fitch Catalog Collection
The Abercrombie & Fitch Quarterly Catalog Collection consists of a run of lifestyle-oriented clothing catalogs issued between 1997 and 2007. The catalog featured articles on a wide range of youth popular culture and lifestyle topics, along with numerous photographs by Bruce Weber. Articles included advice, music and movie reviews, and profiles and interviews with celebrities and cultural critics such as philosopher Slavoj Žižek. [include link?] The Creative Director for the catalog series was Sam Shahid, who had previously worked in the in-house advertising agencies for Calvin Klein and Banana Republic. After 2003, the lifestyle content and controversial photography was scaled back to focus more narrowly on seasonal fashion.

Colored Mail Order Corporation of America Records, 1939
The Colored Mail Order Corporation of America was a mail order company targeting African American clients founded by African American journalist and businessman Chester Arthur Franklin. This collection contains catalogs, customer order forms and stationary materials (reply envelopes and post cards, etc.), and materials asking individuals to help distribute catalogs. It also contains advertisements for the company that include endorsements from customers and prominent African Americans. Finally, the collection includes correspondence regarding catalog production and distribution, and some correspondence on the process of seeking endorsements. Some materials target potential customers in Mississippi, specifically, and most promotional strategies link the success of the business and the quality of its products to notions of "racial progress" and pride. Clothing models drawn in the catalog are African-American. This is a small collection, and all original materials are found in Box 1.

Sears, Roebuck and Company Catalog
The Sears Roebuck and Company catalog began as a printed mailer for the R. W. Sears Watch Co. in 1888 and by 1894 had expanded into a full-fledged catalog for the Sears, Roebuck and Co. mail order supply house, selling a diverse inventory of products. The library has print and/or microform copies of the catalog for most years between 1894 and 1993. See library catalog for specific dates.

For additional catalog marketing related material in this pathfinder, see:

• McGraw-Hill Marketing Information Center Vertical File, 1948-1991 (Boxes 35 & 52)
• Benjamin Sussman Papers, 1940-1995

Additional Hartman Center Materials

Advertising Ephemera Collection, 1850s-1980s
The Advertising Ephemera Collection is composed of single advertisements, product and trade catalogs, advertising pamphlets, and broadsides. The advertisements are primarily American and from the late-19th and early- to mid-20th century. Addition (2004-0145) contains (one box only) a wide variety of promotional items, most dating from the early- to mid-20th century, including cookbooks, pamphlets, brochures, direct mailings, order forms, and other items. Also includes a can opener, a contact lens case, and an LP record. This addition has not been processed.

McGraw-Hill Marketing Information Center Vertical File, 1948-1991
The McGraw-Hill Marketing Information Center was established in 1948 as a sales service for customers of the McGraw- Hill Publications Company. This large vertical file, developed by the McGraw-Hill Marketing Information Center, spans the years 1948 through 1991 and contains published articles, books, research studies, speech transcripts, and other materials on the subjects of marketing, sales, advertising, and corporate operations. The collection includes extensive materials on the implementation and evaluation of direct mail marketing strategies.

• Box 29, Folder 35:1-2.3 - Business Papers vis-a-vis Direct Mail (promoting direct marketing as method)
• Box 30, Folder 35:1-7.1 - Direct Response Cards, how they work
• Box 30, Folder 35:2-1 - Catalog marketing (development, distribution, evaluation)
• Boxes 30-31, all subfolders of 35:3 - pertains to Direct Mail/Direct Marketing/Direct Response (includes agencies; industrial direct marketing; cooperative direct marketing; direct marketing testing and research)
• Box 36-37, all 45 folders - evaluates the inquires businesses receive as result of advertising, mostly direct mail, as determined by use of response cards; how to stimulate inquiries; usage of coupons; blending traditional advertisements and direct marketing tools
• Box 52, folder 10:2-7.4 - Direct Mail/Mail Marketing/Direct Response Advertising
• Box 52, folder 10:2-7.3 - Catalogs

Radio TV Reports Infomercial Collection, 1990-1996
Radio TV Reports, Inc. is a broadcast service company that records, transcribes and monitors radio and television programming. Collection spans the years 1990-1996 and consists of over 800 as-broadcast televised infomercials and public service programs recorded on VHS. Topics include direct marketing for health and beauty aids, kitchen appliances, exercise equipment, wealth management and collectible items. Celebrities featured as spokespersons include Cher, Joe Theisman, Richard Simmons and Victoria Jackson. Services represented include health and insurance providers and nonprofit organizations such as the New Jersey Education Association. Please note that original audiovisual materials are closed to patron use. Research Services staff needs to produce use copies before contents can be accessed. Fees apply.

Books and Serials related to direct marketing in the library catalog
Significant book holdings include:

• Wunderman, Lester, Being Direct: Making Advertising Pay (1996) HF5810.W86 AC 1996
• Direct Marketing Association, DMA Lists Practices Handbook (1988) LSC 4886

Related Rubenstein Library Materials

Merle Hoffman Papers, circa 1944-2012 and undated, bulk 1961-2000
Hoffman was an abortion rights activist and the publisher of the feminist magazine On The Issues. Extensive direct mail materials related to the marketing of the magazine in boxes OTI12 and OTI15 - OTI18. Materials include publisher contacts and mailing lists; subscription drive materials; direct mail strategies, costs, and evaluation; mailing lists sales and exchanges; third-party direct mail marketing firms; responses to direct mail campaigns; analysis of direct mail effectiveness.

David Price Papers, 1960- 2002
David Price is a political science professor at Duke University, and Democratic congressman from North Carolina's Fourth District. The David Price Papers (1960-1998) document the scholarly and political career of David Eugene Price, including his days as a graduate student in the 1960s, his tenure as a political science professor and Democratic Party staff member, and, finally, his years as a Democratic congressman from North Carolina's Fourth District. This collection contains examples of campaign mailings. There is also some information about the campaign's plans for direct mail and information related to direct mail vendors. There are also numerous examples of direct mailings by Price's political opponents, as well as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. See boxes:

• ACA-3 [1986]
• ACA-4 [1986]
• ACA-12 [1986]
• ACA-13 [1986]
• ACA-30 [1986]
• ACA-37 [1996]
• ACA-38 [1996]
• ACA-44 [various, 1986-1998]
• Acc. 10/219, Box 2 [1998]
• Acc. 10/219, Box 4 [1998]
• Acc. 10/219, Box 6 [2000]
• Acc. 10/219, Box 7 [2000]
• Acc. 10/219, Box 8 [2002]
• Acc. 10/219, Box 10 [2002]

Additional Searching Information

Duke Libraries Catalog
Various libraries at Duke such as the Ford Library and Lilly Library have additional secondary sources for this and other advertising topics. The on-line catalog provides the most comprehensive way of finding items across all of the Duke libraries. Advanced searching is also available, allowing you to limit the returns based upon multiple words or phrases, or even physical location (such as Rubenstein). Suggested terms for searching:

• Direct mail
• Direct marketing
• Direct selling
• Door-to-door selling
• Telemarketing
• Individual brands of interest

Collection Descriptions (Finding Aids)
Collection descriptions, listed as Finding Aids, contain collections of personal or corporate records which more fully described than in the catalog, and are key-word searchable. You may search multiple terms simultaneously, such as the ones listed above.

Further questions
For additional information, please contact the Hartman Center Reference Archivist.

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