Bates Worldwide, Inc. Records, 1934-2003 and undated
Title:
Bates Worldwide, Inc. Records, 1934-2003 and undated
Bates Worldwide advertising agency ( ) was established in 1940 by former executives of the Benton & Bowles agency. It grew to become one of the largest agencies in the U.S. until its demise in 2003. Bates began as a simple proprietorship, but as the company grew its organizational structure took on different forms: a partnership, then a corporation before becoming a publicly traded transnational entity, and finally becoming a subsidiary in a global holding company. From the 1970s on, Bates' growth and international expansion was fueled by a long series of mergers, partnerships and acquisitions that continued until the company was itself acquired, first by the Saatchi & Saatchi and later by the WPP Group. Materials in the collection relate to Bates' permutations into a variety of corporate entities, including Ted Bates & Co., Ted Bates, Inc., Backer Spielvogel Bates, and Bates Worldwide, Inc., along with its subsidiaries (such as Campbell-Mithun and Kobs and Draft) and parent organizations (Cordiant Communications Group, Saatchi & Saatchi). Thus, the collection provides a window into the larger corporate culture of mergers, consolidations, acquisitions and takeovers that led to the formation of giant transnational advertising conglomerates and marked a profound shift in the landscape of the advertising industry during the late 20th century. Bates The Bates Worldwide, Inc. Records spans the years 1934-2003 and includes correspondence, corporate policy manuals, photographs, publications, graphic designs, print advertisements, electronic records and videocassettes that 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 (Carter's Pills, Anacin analgesics) and common household goods (Mars candies, Wonder bread, Palmolive soap, Colgate dental cream). Advertising policies developed around a philosophy Bates called the Unique Selling Proposition (USP), which informed an imperative to identify and promote a single, unique and compelling reason for consumers to use any given product or service. As the company grew into a global business, USP evolved into more complex forms, including the Bates Brand Wheel. Major clients included Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co., Carter-Wallace Corporation, Hyundai America, the Joint Recruiting Advertising Program of the combined U.S. Armed Services, M&M/Mars Inc., Miller Brewing Company, Pfizer, the U.S. Navy and Wendy's International. There is also some information on the company's founder, Ted Bates, as well as on Rosser Reeves, Bates' first copy writer and the chief architect of the USP concept.
ArchivalResource:
784 Linear Feet; 336,000 Items
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