World War II & Advertising: Ad Agency Records

The Company History Files were created by Sidney Ralph Bernstein and Marianne Keating, his research assistant, for a commemorative, unpublished history of JWT at the time of its centennial anniversary in 1964. In the Chapter File Series, Chapter 7, "War and its Aftermath," provides statistics on the number of JWT employees serving in World War II and Chapter 9, "The Foreign Story" provides information about the company and its work in World War II.

Carroll Carroll was involved in developing radio shows for JWT clients. Carroll became a consultant to the Office of War Information on Oct. 28, 1942; was on the Writers' War Board; and in 1946 became a member of its successor organization, the Writers' Board. His work promoting various war efforts within the radio show Kraft Music Hall was recognized. Box 1 contains information relating to his work with Office of War Information related to radio shows.

The Domestic Advertisements Collection consists of print advertisements created by the U.S. offices of JWT for Kraft, Ford, Lever Brothers, Chesebrough Ponds, and others. Advertisements created during the war years are easily located, as the advertisements are arranged alphabetically by client and include dates.

Advertising executive Howard Henderson worked for the company from 1921 to 1961. The Clients Series, boxes 3 and 4, contain the Chesebrough-Ponds files, which include material on life in London during the Blitz and the influence of World War II on the workings of the advertising business during that time.

Although this collection contains almost no international advertisements from roughly 1933 to the middle of the 1950s, a few World War II posters and an introductory essay, both by S.D. Khadlikar, an artist with JWT Bombay during the war years, are located in box AP4.

This collection contains the "Office Questionnaire on Attitudes Toward the British" 1942-1948, a report on misunderstandings between Americans and the British. Many of the questions are related to World War II and post-war relations.

The Newsletter Collection comprises the agency's internally produced newsletters dating from 1916 through 2005. JWT employees serving in the war wrote articles for these newsletters, located in boxes DO10 and OV2.

This collection spans the years 1887 to 2005 and includes printed materials produced by the various domestic offices, partners, subsidiaries, and related firms of JWT. The Domestic Publications Series features publications regarding JWT's involvement in advertising during World War II and its aftermath. Of particular interest are the general publications dated during the war.

In the Antwerp Office Subseries, 1930-1947, employees Rene-P. Jeanneret and L.R. Coleman reported to Sam Meek on conditions in occupied France. The Bombay Office Subseries, 1929-1949, describes JWT's operations in India during World War II. The Bombay Office was profitable throughout the war, but not without many hardships, including Japanese air raids, the threat of conscription of key personnel, and low morale due to the postponement of home leave. The political instability surrounding India's post-war partitioning also created unfavorable working conditions for JWT's employees in India. Several letters from employee Fielding to New York deal at length with the impact of domestic and international politics upon both advertising interests, and the staff's health and safety. The Bucharest Office Subseries, 1932-1940 shows the difficulties of international travel during the war in Europe. Also included is information concerning one of the local office manager's employees, Andre B. Kalman, being forced to leave Romania because of growing anti-Jewish sentiment, and that JWT helped to arrange his safe passage (L.R. Coleman's letter to Foote 1-4-38, and the file titled "International Travel," 1940-1941).

In April 1941 Stanley B. Resor, then president of the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT), outlined the advertising industry's role in the coming conflict. In an article published in New York City Sunday newspapers, he spoke of advertising agencies' goals to keep consumers purchasing goods in order to help offset war expenses and to relate the "truths" behind the government's policies and programs. This collection shows JWT's involvement in war-related advertising from the beginning of World War II. The company contributed to the war effort by creating ads supporting government policies and by granting its employees time off for their own war work.

The Bates Worldwide, Inc. Records includes interesting articles about advertising during World War II in the Vertical Files Series in boxes VF17, VF24, VF76 and VF93. During the war, advertising executives were discussing and showcasing war advertising and even creating guides on the topic. Other articles explore the government's attitudes and requirements for wartime advertisements and measures companies took to conserve during that period.

The D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles Archives includes trade and consumer magazine advertisements created during the World War II era. Similar to the JWT Domestic Advertisements, the DMB&B Advertisements Series is arranged alphabetically by company/brand name and then chronologically within those groupings. Also included is a small amount of documentation on the company's involvement in the war effort (box B&B26).

The Winthrop Hoyt World War II Series, 1942-1946 and undated, in particular, documents Hoyt's service during the war as an intelligence officer with the 7th Anti-Submarine Squadron, the 78th Bomb Squadron, the 45th Bomb Group, the 490th Bomb Group, and the 452nd Bomb Group. The collection contains correspondence, photographs, Nazi medals, song lyrics, writings, clippings, and printed material accumulated by Winthrop Hoyt while serving with the United States Army Air Force.