John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History
Adviews: A digital archive of thousands of vintage television commercials dating from the 1950s through the 1980s created or collected by the D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles advertising agency.
ROAD 2.0 (Resource of Outdoor Advertising Descriptions): A portal to more than 30,000 images of outdoor advertisements from five different source collections.
Ad*Access: An image database of over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955.
Browse our guide for collections related to radio and television advertising.
About
The Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History in the David M. Rubenstein Library acquires and preserves printed material and collections of textual and multimedia resources and makes them available to researchers around the world. Through these collections and related programming, the Center promotes understanding of the social, cultural, and historical impact of advertising, marketing, and sales.
Two Exhibits Highlight Consumer Reports Archives during 90th Anniversary
"This Sneeze is for Science" documents photography taken by Consumer Reports showcasing the organization’s inner workings, methodologies, and the results of their testing process.
"Test, Inform, Protect" documents the history of Consumer Reports through advocacy, product testing, publishing and international activities.
Both exhibits were on display in the Rubenstein and Perkins Libraries in winter and spring 2026. Online versions are available at the links above.
Consumer Reports Archives
The Consumer Reports Archives documents the history of the mission-driven nonprofit consumer organization from its founding in 1936 through its emergence as the nation’s preeminent consumer advocacy and education organization. The archives is comprised of 69 unique collections including papers, photographs, books, serials, and artifacts documenting departments, regional offices, and employees, as well as some records documenting related organizations. These collections not only tell the story of Consumer Reports but also the broader consumer movement in the United States and abroad. Learn more about the collection here.
