Advertising - Overview
Advertising is meant to persuade, and the themes and techniques of that persuasion reveal a part of the nation's history. The Museum has preserved advertising campaigns for several familiar companies, such as Marlboro, Alka-Seltzer, Federal Express, Cover Girl, and Nike. It also holds the records of the NW Ayer Advertising Agency and business papers from Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Carvel Ice Cream, and other companies. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana comprises thousands of trade cards, catalogs, labels, and other business papers and images dating back to the late 1700s.
Beyond advertising campaigns, the collections encompass thousands of examples of packaging, catalogs, and other literature from many crafts and trades, from engineering to hat making. The collections also contain an eclectic array of advertising objects, such as wooden cigar-store Indians, neon signs, and political campaign ads.
"Advertising - Overview" showing 6 items.
- No Image Available
The "Pepsi Generation" Oral History and Documentation Collection, 1938-1986
- Notes
- In 1983, as part of the 20th anniversary of the "Pepsi Generation" umbrella advertising campaign, Pepsi-Cola donated to the Archives Center approximately 200 flat advertising and promotional items (see Collection #92). The Archives Center accepted these items and proposed an oral history project to document the story of the "Pepsi Generation."
- The Archives Center embarked upon this project in the Spring of 1983. A professional oral historian, Dr. Scott Ellsworth, conducted 29 interviews over one and a half years with 26 people involved in Pepsi advertising, including bottlers, advertising executives, producers, directors, a songwriter, a performer, a publisher, the president of Pepsi, the chairman of the board, and two former Pepsi presidents
- The interviews focus primarily on the "Come Alive, You're In The Pepsi Generation" advertising campaign, Pepsi's adoption of youth-oriented advertising; campaign execution; television commercial production; background of the idea for the "Think Young" campaign and the company's response to the "Pepsi Generation"campaign
- Summary
- Research files: Materials collected by the Archives Center to provide background for the project team and materials produced by Pepsi-Cola, including an almost complete run of Pepsi-Cola World, the company publication,and various trade literature, both advertising and soft drink industry
- Interviewee files: Abstracts for each interview, indexes to each interview, master index to the collection, brief biographical statements on each interviewee, and additional information, such as resumes, articles, etc
- Oral history interviews: form the bulk of the collection. They contain rich material on the relationship between Pepsi and its ad agency, how television commercials are produced, the early days of television and the bottlers' role in advertising. Approximately 100 television advertisements, 1946-1984, which illustrate many subjects that the interviewees mention in the interviews. These commercials also show developments in television such as changes in editing techniques, greater spontaneity in acting, and the increased use of action scenes. A list of the commercial titles and running times is available
- The series also includes a video program produced as part of a small exhibit composed of 12 ads with voice-overs of seven interviewees; jingles used in a "pitch" for an ad campaign; international Pepsi jingles; and several versions of music for the "Girlwatchers" Diet Pepsi campaign
- Cite as
- The "Pepsi Generation" Oral History and Documentation Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1938
- 1938-1986
- 1930-1990
- 1980-2000
- collector
- Archives Center, NMAH, SI
- interviewer
- Ellsworth, Scott Dr
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Archives Center Cookbook Collection
- Summary
- Miscellaneous assortment of product booklets, product cookbooks, recipe books and similar forms of literature relating to food customs and product information. Mostly softbound books and booklets, except for "The Victory Binding of the American Woman's Cookbook, Wartime Edition," 1943. Publishers include Hershey, Kraft Foods, etc
- Cite as
- Archives Center Cookbook Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1930
- 1999
- collector
- Archives Center, NMAH, SI
- collection specialist
- Broussard-Simmons, Vanessa
- publisher
- Kraft General Foods, Inc
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Archives Center Shopping Bag Collection, ca. 1980-2004
- Summary
- Shopping bags from a variety of businesses, including department stores, museums, book stores, libraries, hotels, banks, and specialty shops. Additional material will be added to this collection periodically
- Cite as
- Archives Center Shopping Bag Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1980
- 20??
- ca 1980-2004
- collector
- Archives Center, NMAH, SI
- donor
- Zahor, Lynda
- Local number
- 2010.3036 (NMAH Acc.)
- Pending (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Alka-Seltzer Documentation and Oral History Project, 1953-1987
- Notes
- In the late 19th century, Dr. Franklin Miles created Miles Laboratories which introduced Alka-Seltzer in 1931. Miles competed with many large pharmaceutical companies producing proprietory medicines claiming to remedy a broad range of ailments. The company experimented with different ways (from a puppet to the "creative revolution") to promote Alka-Seltzer
- In 1986 and 1987, Dr. Barbara Griffith, oral historian for the Archives Center, conducted taped interviews of Miles Laboratories executives and advertising agency personnel regarding Alka-Seltzer advertising campaigns. These tapes form the nucleus of the collection
- Summary
- Collection includes background information about Miles, Inc. (19th century-present) and the advertising agencies the corporations employed, interviews with significant individuals, and advertisements in print, film, and electronic media,especially covering the campaigns of Alka-Seltzer (1931-1984)
- Series 3: Original master audio cassettes made in the field and two sets of researcher copies of each tape
- Cite as
- Alka-Seltzer Oral History and Documentation Project, 1953-1987, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1953
- 1953-1987
- 1950-1990
- 1950-2000
- 20th century
- collector
- Archives Center, NMAH, SI
- interviewee
- Beals, Richard
- Lawrence, Mary Wells
- Case, Eugene
- Chaplin, Charles
- interviewer
- Griffith, Barbara S. Dr
- Subject
- Miles, Franklin Dr
- Miles Laboratories, Inc
- Local number
- 1989.3099 (NMAH Acc.)
- 1989.3101 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
The Federal Express Advertising History Collection, 1972-1988
- Notes
- In 1971, Fred Smith of Memphis created the Federal Express Corporation, an overnight air freight delivery system. A fleet of airplanes would fly packages from across the nation each evening to a center in Memphis, where the packages would be unloaded, sorted, and re-loaded onto other planes for travel to the final destination. In 1981, the corporation achieved a revenue of one billion dollars
- The core of the collection is a series of interviews conducted 1987-1988 by Dr. Scott Ellsworth. 25 persons associated with Federal Express advertising were interviewed, producing approx. 32 hours of taped materials. Interviews conducted primarily in Memphis, New York, Chicago, and on location at the filming of a commercial in Hollywood
- Summary
- Includes interviews with persons involved in Federal Express advertising, related documents, advertisements for paper and electronic media (especially television commercials), storyboards, clippings, posters, etc. Topics addressed in taped interviews are the use of research data, the position of advertising in overall marketing strategy, and the nature of the creative process in producing effective advertising images in various media
- Interviews include Federal Express executives and marketing staff, graphic artists, advertising copywriters, and other personnel from the Ally & Gargano and Fallon McElligott advertising agencies; also filmmaker Joseph Sedelmaier and actor John Moschitta, Jr. ("the fast-talking man")
- Cite as
- The Federal Express Advertising History Collection, 1972-1988, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1972
- 1972-1988
- 1970-1990
- collector
- Archives Center, NMAH, SI
- interviewee
- Williams, Carl
- Smith, Fred
- Altenburg, Nancy
- Sedelmaier, Joe filmmaker
- Kelly, Patrick
- Ally, Carl
- Presley, Carol
- Gargano, Amil
- Moschitta, John actor
- Miller, William B
- Tesch, Mike
- Burnham, Patrick
- Frazier, Sharon
- Oliver, Tom
- interviewer
- Ellsworth, Scott Dr
- creator
- Federal Express Corporation
- advertising agency
- Ally & Gargano, Inc.
- creator
- Fallon McElligott Advertising Agency
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Campbell Soup Advertising Oral History and Documentation Project, Archives Center, National Museum of American History 1904-1989
- Notes
- This collection is the result of a year-long study of advertising of Campbell's "Red and White" Soups, supported in part by a grant from the Campbell Soup Company. Thirty-one oral history interviews were conducted by Dr. Barbara Griffith for the project, and a variety of related materials were gathered by the Center for Advertising History staff. The objective of the project was to create a collection that provides documentation, in print and electronic media, of the history and development of advertising for Campbell's Red and White Soups in the decades following World War II
- Summary
- Includes oral history interviews; print, radio and television commercials; promotional items, company publications, market research
- Cite as
- Campbell Soup Advertising Oral History and Documentation Project, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1904
- 1904-1989
- 20th century
- 1980-1990
- creator
- Archives Center, NMAH, SI
- interviewee
- Haber, Bernie
- Mercer, Richard
- Murphy, W.B
- Bair, Dean
- Bergin, John F
- Shaub, Harold
- Meyers, Peter H
- Coulson, Zoe
- Jones, Caroline Robinson (advertising executive) 1941-2001
- Gearon, Dan
- Adams, Anthony
- Weir, Chris
- Rombach, Scott
- McGovern, R. Gordon
- Prior, Joseph
- Goerke, Donald E
- White, Richard
- Baum, Herbert M
- Rindlaub, Jean
- Cronin, Betty
- Mulcahy, Paul
- Welsh, Dick
- McNutt, James
- Jordan, James
- Conill, Rafael
- Conlon, Robert
- Conill, Alicia
- Meehan, Vincenta
- Norris, E. E
- Holmes, Martha
- Norris, Alice
- interviewer
- Griffith, Barbara S. Dr
- creator
- Campbell Soup Company
- Subject
- Backer Spiel Vogel Bates?
- Connill Advertising
- advertising agency
- Batten, Barton, Durstine, and Osborn
- Local number
- 1990.3037 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH