Women and Advertising Pathfinder

As one of the largest advertising history collections in the world, the Hartman Center has built a reputation for its resources documenting advertising, sales and marketing. The Center maintains the records of several advertising agencies and trade organizations, the professional papers of various marketing executives, collections of advertising ephemera created by private collectors, and a growing library of related books and periodicals. Information about advertising and gender is contained throughout many of our cfollections and identified in the following guide. Included are many ads that target and depict women and girls. For more information, many of the Hartman Center finding aids are searchable on the web at http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/rbmscl/inv/.

• Agency Records
• Career Papers
• Advertiser Records
• Trade Organizations
• Print Advertising Collections
• Digital Collections

Advertising Agency Records

J. Walter Thompson Advertising Company Archives
The J. Walter Thompson Company Archives documents the history, operations, policies, and accomplishments of one of the world's oldest, largest and most innovative advertising firms. Research materials pertaining to women as consumers, as ad copywriters, and as advertising executives, as well as strategies for producing images of and for women in advertising campaigns, are scattered throughout the collections. Many collections contain ad campaign graphics or audiovisual materials.

Especially rich resources include:

J. Walter Thompson Company. Account Files Collection, 1885-1987 and undated, bulk 1920-1979
Extensive materials on client accounts include case histories documenting deliberations over marketing strategies for individual product campaigns, rationales for marketing strategies, and sales figures for evaluating success. Corporate clients whose products were marketed primarily to women include Chesebrough-Pond’s, the Andrew Jergens Company, Oneida Limited, Standard Brands, American Home Products, Christian Dior, Elizabeth Arden, Procter & Gamble, and more. (For an extensive list of clients, refer to the JWT Domestic Advertisements Collection finding aid or the Clients Lists in JWT Publications.)

J. Walter Thompson Company. Advertising Vertical Files, 1950-1994
These subject files collected for internal company reference include materials on advertising to women by specific ad agencies, biographies of women in advertising, women as an advertising target group, and one folder labeled "Advertising—Types—Women" in Box 34.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Rena Bartos Papers, 1960-1998 and undated, bulk 1975-1991
A pioneer in the field of marketing to women, Rena Bartos directed research at the McCann Erickson advertising agency before becoming a Senior Vice President at JWT. In 1987—the year she was inducted into the Market Research Hall of Fame—Bartos left JWT to start her own consulting firm. The collection includes the texts of and research materials for speeches and publications on the role of women in advertising, marketing to women, the value and methods of qualitative marketing research, and the psychological aspects of advertising. The bulk of this work dates to the 1970s and 1980s. Of particular note are her books The Moving Target: What Every Marketer Should Know About Women and Marketing to Women around the World, as well as additional materials on marketing to women in India and South America. The Audiovisual Materials Series consists of audio and video tapes of speeches, interviews, presentations, and promotional materials for The Moving Target. At the end of the finding aid are alphabetical lists of her publications and speech titles.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Sidney Ralph Bernstein Company History Files, 1873-1964
These files consist of research materials gathered for a (never-published) commemorative history of the company on the occasion of its centennial. Main themes here are the lives of advertising executives, women in the advertising industry, client profiles, and the life of J. Walter Thompson, the company’s founder.  Of special interest are the biographical files Bernstein compiled on key JWT executives, including Ruth Jones and Helen Resor, and the transcripts of interviews with JWT staff conducted by Bernstein and his assistant in 1963-1964.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Biographical Information, 1918-1998, bulk 1960s-1980s
This collection of articles, clippings, press releases, internal memoranda and other materials contains information on the lives and careers of over 3,000 managers, executives and staff members of JWT, with extensive files for some notable JWT executives, including Helen Lansdowne Resor. The "Thumbnail Sketches" series consists of profiles from the JWT corporate newsletter of more than 700 employees (mostly middle-management staff). Further biographical information on JWT staff and officers may be found in other collections within the J. Walter Thompson Company Archives, notably Writings and Speeches, Personnel Records, Publications, Newsletters, and the Sidney Ralph Bernstein Company History Files, as well as in the personal papers of individual executives, including the Colin Dawkins Papers, the Howard Henderson Papers, the Norman Strouse Papers, and the James Webb Young Papers.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Colin Dawkins Papers, 1776-1986
In the late 1970s, former JWT Vice President Colin Dawkins began work on a book-length company history. The project was never published.  The research materials he gathered for this effort consist of employee biographies, client account histories, and taped interviews with key company figures, including several women.  Use the finding aid to find individual biography files in the Officers and Staff Series, 1873-1976. 

The Client Series, 1895-1979 contains account histories and descriptions of ad campaigns for Chesebrough- Pond’s, the Fleischmann Company, Kraft, Lever Brothers, the Ford Motor Company, and other major clients. Some folders contain materials addressing the use of women and children in ads, the use of women copywriters, and other strategies for targeting women as consumers.  Box 14 in this series contains a clippings file labeled "Women in Advertising."

The Oral Interviews Series 1979-1980 includes transcripts of interviews with several women executives. Some transcripts are annotated by the interviewees. Refer to the finding aid for an alphabetical list of these. Access to the audio recordings requires written permission from the interviewee or their descendants.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Diamond Information Center Vertical Files, 1930s-1980s
In this collection are materials on how to market diamonds to brides, teenagers, and women in general, for engagements, fashion accessorizing, anniversaries, and Valentine’s Day. Some ad campaign materials from women’s magazines and memos from women copywriters are also included. Additional materials on the marketing of diamonds can be found in the Jeffery Collection of Diamond Promotional Materials, 1939-1998 (bulk 1974-1998).

J. Walter Thompson Company. Nan Findlow Papers, 1930-1995 and undated, bulk 1959-1967
Findlow apprenticed at JWT in the late 1930s and went on to become head of advertising at L. Bamberger & Company and then Macy’s, winning numerous advertising industry awards before returning to JWT as Vice President-Copy Supervisor in 1955. Most of the material in this collection relates to her executive tenure at JWT, where her client assignments included American Home Products (Boyle-Midway), Chesebrough-Pond's, Lever Brothers Company, McCall's, Prince Matchabelli perfume, Revlon, and Scott Paper Company. She left JWT in 1967 to establish the marketing consulting firm Nancy Findlow Creative Services.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Lois Gaeta Papers, 1956-1961 and undated
Gaeta worked as a television and radio script writer at JWT from 1955-1961.  Her papers include television and radio scripts along with print advertisements and packaging samples that document her work as a writer. Companies represented include Beecham Products (Eno), Colgate-Palmolive (Stripe toothpaste), Eastman Kodak, Mentholatum, and Reader’s Digest among others. The Mentholatum campaign is of particular interest as women were used to market the product to both men and women.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Howard Henderson Papers, 1867-1978
Materials in the Copy Seminar Study Subseries of this collection’s Special Projects Series touch briefly on the Women’s Copy Study Group, formed specifically to promote copy writing talent among the company's female staff. The Personnel Department Subseries provides insight into the company’s recruiting and hiring philosophy, especially in regard to gender. The material highlights J. Walter Thompson's early recognition of the importance of women's contributions to advertising.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Iconographic Collections, 1848-1980s
(electronic finding aid available Summer 2008)
Created here at the Hartman Center, these collections bring together photographs of JWT facilities, operations, and personnel under the headings Corporate Events, Offices, and Officers and Staff. Use the print finding aid to locate photographs of women officers, awards ceremonies and other corporate events that included women, and team photos of women employee sports teams. The bulk of these photographs date from the 1950s-1980s.

Focusing on the New York Office in the years 1960-1996, the Thomas Veres Photographs Series in this collection is an extensive photographic record of formal and informal corporate events, trainee sessions, award ceremonies, parties, guest speakers, and JWT employees at all levels during a period in which the gender profile of the advertising business changed dramatically. Some photos are accompanied by memos or press releases about the event or person photographed. Scan the finding aid for names of women’s groups, women’s organizations, or specific individuals.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Marketing Vertical Files, 1946-1999
This collection, compiled and used as reference by JWT staff, consists of subject files on a wide range of marketing issues ranging from financial information, employment trends, particular individuals in the industry, etc. Box 22 in these topicfal files contains several folders with materials on women and brides as consumers.

J. Walter Thompson. Microfilm Collection, circa 1910s-1958  
In addition to advertising proofs (1914-1960) and broadcast scripts and commercials for radio and television (1928-1958), this collection contains over 100 reels of 35mm proofs dating from 1913 to 1938 and more than 500 reels of administrative records from JWT’s Legal, Publicity, Investigations, Artwork, Broadcast, and Consumer Panels departments. Research Department reports (1910s-1940s) include demographic information and consumer, media, and trade surveys. Ask for staff assistance with the indexes, located at the library in paper form.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Chicago Office. Non-proprietary Research Reports, 1980-1999
Marketing to women is a major subject of these market and consumer research reports, which were prepared as in-house reference tools either by JWT staff or by market research firms.  Many reports are sourced from research departments of such national-circulation magazines as Better Homes & Gardens, Good Housekeeping, and Prevention, among others. Also included are promotional pamphlets, informational bulletins, regional market analyses, and industry overviews (some in languages other than English).

J. Walter Thompson Company. Lucile Turnbach Platt Papers, 1926-1930
Platt worked in the Women’s Editorial Department of JWT’s New York office, primarily on the Simmons Beautyrest mattress account.  Most of the files in this collection relate to soliciting very prominent American and foreign women to endorse Simmons products, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Mrs. Frederick Church, Mrs. Charles Crocker, and an A-list of wealthy socialites. Endorsers were paid for permission to use their names, photographs, and testimonials, and the ad campaigns were photographed on location in the women's homes.  Included in the materials are lists of women approached for endorsements, blank contracts, scripts of testimonials, a description of how endorsers were matched to ad scenarios based on their appearance, photos of several home interiors, and instructions on how to photograph the women. Files on individuals who declined Platt’s persistent recruitment efforts reveal much about advertising tactics of the period and popular attitudes toward them.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Publications Collection, 1887-2005
Among these print resources produced by the various domestic offices, partners, subsidiaries, and related firms of the J. Walter Thompson Companies are such titles as The American Housewife and Her Drugstore, Report on the Role of the Radio in the Lives of U.S. Housewives, Women in the 90s--A New Age in Marketing to Women, Advertising: A Career for Women, and New Housewife. (Materials less than 15 years old are closed to non-JWT users.)

J. Walter Thompson Company. Staff Meeting Minutes, 1927-1952
This collection contains minutes of meetings held primarily in the New York offices and includes Representatives meetings (1927-1932), Creative Organization meetings (1936-1938), JWT Forum (1936-1938), Monday Evening meetings (1930), and Men’s and Women’s Apprentice Group (1936-1938). There are also minutes from the Chicago Office JWT Junior Forum (1951-1952). 

 These minutes include discussions involving JWT women executives (e.g. Ruth Waldo), women involved in aspects of advertising such as Margaret Bourke-White, or topics about advertising to women.  The paper finding aid at the Hartman Center provides more detailed information about the meetings and thus allows more directed searching within this collection. Ask for staff assistance with the indexes.

Wells, Rich Greene, Inc. Records, 1966-1997 (paper finding aid available on-site)
The Wells, Rich, Greene Inc. Records came to the Hartman Center after the company closed in 1998.  The group was the first advertising company to have a woman, Mary Wells Lawrence, as the founder, CEO, Chairman and President.  In addition to biography files with materials on Lawrence, her work, and her public image (Box 94), the collection contains files of company newsletters, inter-office memos, news clippings, and materials related to the agency’s public ad campaigns on such topics as domestic violence, drunk driving, and family health.

Career Papers

Rena Bartos Papers, 1960-1998 and undated, bulk 1975-1991 [JWT]f
A pioneer in the field of marketing to women, Rena Bartos directed research at the McCann Erickson advertising agency before becoming a Senior Vice President at JWT, and then staring her own consulting firm in 1987. The collection includes the texts of and research materials for speeches and publications on the role of women in advertising, marketing to women, the value and methods of qualitative marketing research, and the psychological aspects of advertising. The bulk of this work dates to the 1970s and 1980s. Of particular note are her books The Moving Target: What Every Marketer Should Know About Women and Marketing to Women around the World, as well as additional materials on marketing to women in India and South America.

Margaret Fishback Papers, 1863-1978 and undated, bulk 1920-1973
Margaret Fishback was an advertising copywriter for Macy's, Cecil & Presbrey, Warwick & Legler, Young & Rubicam, Doyle Dane Bernbach, and a number of freelance clients. Described by one New York newspaper in 1932 as "the highest-paid advertising woman in the world," she was also a poet, columnist, and author of prose work, contributing light verse and articles to national publications including Collier's, Cosmopolitan, the New York Times, Reader's Digest, and the Saturday Evening Post, among many others. In much of her writings she expressed a wry, cynical attitude toward domesticity. Fishback also authored an etiquette book and two children's books.

The collection documents her dual careers in advertising and writing as well as her personal life, with correspondence, layouts, drafts, galley proofs, radio scripts, working copy of advertising text, poetry, prose, published material, appointment books, scrapbooks, photographs, and other materials. There are also materials related to her membership in the professional society Advertising Women of New York (AWNY).

Lois Gaeta Papers, 1956-1961 and undated [JWT]
Gaeta worked as a television and radio script writer at JWT from 1955-1961.  Her papers include television and radio scripts along with print advertisements and packaging samples that document her work as a writer. Companies represented include Beecham Products (Eno), Colgate-Palmolive (Stripe toothpaste), Eastman Kodak, Mentholatum, and Reader’s Digest among others. The Mentholatum campaign is of particular interest as women were used to market the product to both men and women.

Lore Parker Papers, 1950-1979 and undated
The collection consists of proofs, tear sheets and radio and television broadcast scripts for advertising campaigns Parker worked on for Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB); Dowd, Redfield & Johnstone; and other advertising agencies. At Bernbach she was part of the creative team credited with leading the advertising industry's "Creative Revolution" of the early 1960s. Included are ads for alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, house wares, snack foods, swimwear and bathing suits, textiles, tourism, and women's clothing and undergarments. Among the companies represented are Alitalia Airlines, Barton's Bonbonniere, the British Tourist Authority, Celanese Fibers, Cole of California, General Telephone/GTE, Lees Carpets, and Standard Brands.

Lucile Turnbach Platt Papers, 1926-1930 [JWT]
Platt worked in the Women’s Editorial Department of JWT’s New York office, primarily on the Simmons Beautyrest mattress account.  Most of the files in this collection relate to soliciting very prominent American and foreign women to endorse Simmons products. Endorsers were paid for permission to use their names, photographs, and testimonials, and the ad campaigns were photographed on location in the women's homes.  Included in the materials are lists of women approached for endorsements, blank contracts, scripts of testimonials, a description of how endorsers were matched to ad scenarios based on their appearance, photos of several home interiors, and instructions on how to photograph the women. Files on individuals who declined Platt’s persistent recruitment efforts reveal much about advertising tactics of the period and popular attitudes toward them.

Advertiser Records

Wayne P. Ellis Collection of Kodakiana, 1886-1989 and undated
This collection of primarily advertising and marketing material is especially rich in print advertisements for Eastman Kodak product. A large percentage of the advertisements include images of women taking photographs or working with the various apparatus used in photography. A substantial number of advertisements dated prior to 1923 may be viewed on-line in the Ad*Access Digital Collection.

Liggett and Myers Tobacco Company Records, 1908-1980s
In 1971, Liggett and Myers introduced Eve Cigarettes as competition for rival Philip Morris Corporation’s Virginia Slims brand, which targeted the women’s market. In addition to advertisements for Eve, Eve Light (1980s), and other L & M cigarette brands, the collection contains advertisements from the 1970s for many competing brands, including Virginia Slims.

McGraw-Hill Marketing Information Center Vertical Files, 1948-1991
This is a collection of highly focused subject files consisting of clippings on marketing-related topics under the broad categories Administration, Advertising, Marketing, and Sales. Women are represented throughout the collection under such headings as "Ethnics and Women Board Members," "Women in Management," "Women/Children/Models/Elderly in Copy/Commercials," "Women in Marketing," "Women in Communications," "Women's Market," and "Women in Selling."

Trade Organizations

American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As) Records, 1918-1998
The 4As were founded in 1917, and serves as the primary advertising industry trade organization.  The records include meeting minutes, speeches, subject files and biographical index cards. This card file documents the professional careers of AAAA members over a 50 year period, including many women. 

Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) Archives, 1885-1990s
Two women-related themes run throughout this collection: the OAAA’s ongoing interaction with national and state women’s clubs over the morals and aesthetics of outdoor advertisements, and the emergence over time of professional auxiliaries for advertising women within the structure of the OAAA. Images of women in advertisements or products aimed at women are found in two related OAAA collections: the OAAA Slide Library and the OAAA Poster Designs collection.

Print Advertising Collections

Search or browse the following general and subject-specific ad collections to find advertisements that use depictions of women to sell products, or that target women as consumers.

Gary P. and Sandra G. Baden Collection of Print Advertisements.
Primarily automobile ads. Ask for staff assistance with the index, located at the library in paper form.

D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles Archives, 1929-1989
The extensive Advertisements Series in this collection is arranged alphabetically by corporate client name. 

Roy Lightner Collection of Antique Advertisements, [1870s]-[2000s] (bulk 1910-1969)
Consists of a wide range of products from US magazines. A second addition to the collection contains primarily automobile advertisements for US brands.

Outdoor Advertising Association of America Slide Library, 1891-1994 
Image descriptions for this vast collection are accessible through the ROAD database.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Domestic Advertisements Collection, 1875-2001 and undated, bulk 1920s-1990s
This collection contains advertisements includes advertisements created by JWT for their clients.

J. Walter Thompson Company. International Advertisements Collection, 1920s-1990s and undated
Collection spans late 1920s to 2001, with richest holdings from the 1980s but almost none from roughly 1933 to the mid 1950s. Organized into five series (Canada, Latin America, Europe, Asia/Pacific, and Africa) then by name of the product’s parent company at the time of the marketing campaign.

J. Walter Thompson Company. World War II Advertising Collection, 1940-1948 and undated 
Includes JWT and corporate-sponsored ads promoting women’s employment in war-related jobs and their recruitment to military service.

War Effort Mobilization Campaigns Poster Collection, 1942-1945
Consists of miniature reproductions of billboards designed by the War Advertising Council and approved by U. S. government agencies charged with promoting a range of patriotic efforts, including war bonds sales, civilian employment, food rationing, civil defense, women’s military service, and fire prevention.

Digital Collections

Ad*Access
Database of U.S. and Canadian print ad images (1911-1957) from the J. Walter Thompson Company’s Competitive Advertisements Collection, organized into five subject areas. The Beauty and Hygiene category is particularly rich in ads targeting and/or featuring women.

Emergence of Advertising in America
Among the searchable categories in this compilation of ad images from the early 1800s to the mid 1920s are advertising cookbooks, Lever Brothers’ Lux laundry soap ads, Pond’s beauty and medicinal products ads, scrapbooks, and tobacco advertising.

Medicine & Madison Avenue
Categories in this browse-able collection of ads and supporting materials include household products, personal hygiene products, vitamins and tonics, cigarettes, and diet aids.

Resource of Outdoor Advertising Descriptions (ROAD)
This database includes descriptions only (no images) of over 50,000 outdoor advertising images dating between the 1910s – 1990s. The bulk of these images are of billboard advertisements. The search interface allows for general keyword searching, and advanced search functions which may aid in narrowing the search results.