Elliott, Jock

Dates:
Active 1945
Active 2005
English, Spanish; Castilian,

Biographical notes:

Executive with Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) during 1960-1982, including tenure as Chairman of O&M U.S. and O&M International. In addition, Elliott was an author, collector and philanthropist.

From the description of Jock Elliott papers, 1945-2005 and undated, bulk 1961-1982. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 300017415

1921 Born John Elliott, New York, N.Y. 1928 1934 Attended the Browing School, New York, N.Y. 1938 Attended the St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H. 1942 Received A.B. from Harvard College 1942 Joined the U.S. Marine Corps 1945 Joined BBDO as copywriter 1946 Married Eleanor Thomas 1950 1953 Served as television advisor to Republican Party 1956 Became BBDO Vice President 1958 Became BBDO Management Supervisor 1960 Joined O&M as Senior Vice President-Director 1965 Chairman of O&M U.S. 1975 Chairman of O&M International 1974 1975 Chairman of American Association of Advertising Agencies 1982 Retired from O&M 1983 Inducted into Advertising Hall of Fame 1999 Published A Ha! Christmas 2001 Published Inventing Christmas, How Our Holiday Came to Be 2005 Died, Mt. Kisko, N.Y.

John "Jock" Elliott grew up in New York City, and attended the Browning School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and eventually Harvard College. In 1942, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, and spent most of World War II as a major on the battleship Pennsylvania. After being discharged in 1945, he began working for the Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BBDO) advertising agency as a copywriter. He soon switched to management and within a few years, he became the company's youngest director. During his 15 year tenure with BBDO, he also served as account man for the Republican Party's Eisenhower-Nixon team.

Elliott joined Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) in 1960 as Senior Vice President-Director and was soon placed in charge of acquiring the Shell Oil account, O&M's largest account at the time. In 1965, David Ogilvy appointed Elliott the chairman of O&M U.S., and in 1975 as chairman of O&M International. Under Elliott's leadership, O&M's domestic billings increased from $84 million to $252 million, and international billings from $659 million to $2.03 billion. He was responsible for acquiring such clients as IBM and American Express, and for attempting to acquire the J. Walter Thompson agency in 1979, a plan that did not materialize. In 1983 he was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame.

Elliott also served as Chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA); Chairman of the American Advertising Federation's Hall of Fame Committee; Director of the New York City Park Association; Vice President and Trustee of the Museum of the City of New York; Trustee of the Wildlife Conservation Society and of the Browning School; and Life Trustee of Channel Thirteen. He also served on President Reagan's Advisory Board on Private Sector Initiatives, and was a member of the Racquet and Tennis Club, the Piping Rock Club and New York's Harvard Club. Outside of advertising, Elliott was known for his sizeable collection of Christmas books, which included more than 3,000 first editions, and which resulted in publication of two volumes: A Ha! Christmas, An Exhibition of Jock Elliott's Christmas Books (1999) and Inventing Christmas, How Our Holiday Came to Be (2001). He died in 2005.

From the guide to the Jock Elliott Papers, 1945-2005 and undated, bulk 1961-1982, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)

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Subjects:

  • Advertising agencies
  • Advertising agencies
  • Advertising executives
  • Affirmative action programs
  • Corporation reports
  • Marketing research

Occupations:

not available for this record

Places:

  • United States (as recorded)