Shirley F. Woodell papers, 1943-1958.

ArchivalResource

Shirley F. Woodell papers, 1943-1958.

Consists of correspondence, memoranda, reports, maps, notes, itineraries, and a photograph album. The collection documents the operations of the J. Walter Thompson Company in Mexico, the Caribbean area, and Latin America, primarily through correspondence and reports written by Woodell during and immediately after his business trips. The bulk of the collection consists of Woodell's accounts of his field trips written, often daily, to J. Walter Thompson Company executives and staff. There is also correspondence to representatives of some of the company's clients. The collection documents the process of marketing a wide variety of American products, from cosmetics to automotive parts, in an international market. Local uses of products and the ways in which competitive products affected the markets for clients' products were also described because local economic and cultural factors affected decisions about advertising and distribution. The correspondence and reports convey information relevant to advertising, however the collection also includes more general observations of an American traveler in foreign countries. Social customs, traditional cultures, political situations, and Indian peoples of many countries are noted throughout the manuscripts. Clients of the J. Walter Thompson Company represented in the collection include Chesebrough-Pond's, Ford Motor Company, Eastman Kodak Company, J.B. Williams Company, Kraft Foods Company, Pan American World Airways, Parker Pen Company, Reader's Digest Association, and Standard Brands Incorporated. A business trip Woodell made during his earlier employment with McCann-Erickson Worldwide is also documented. A record of one business trip to England, France and Belgium is included. In letters, memoranda, and reports, Woodell describes meetings with product distributors, retailers, dealers, and other advertising executives, including information about their business operations as well as their personal characteristics. Print and radio advertisements, billboards, and signs are discussed with regard to both their market success and attendant production problems. Costs, production facilities, and translations from English to Spanish, Portuguese, or French were often problematic. Traveling on behalf of his company and its clients, Woodell was responsible for a myraid of details and conducting business at a distance from the company's New York office was often difficult.

1900 items (1.7 linear ft.)

Related Entities

There are 12 Entities related to this resource.

Eastman Kodak Company

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6c648zp (corporateBody)

Kodak, short for Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational technology company based in the United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1888. Kodak is widely known for and internationally renowned for its photographic film products. It was one of the foremost photographic film businesses of the 20th Century. In 2009 as part of a major global restructuring programme, Kodak generously donated its research department's library to DMU Archives and Special Collections. T...

McCann-Erickson Worldwide

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6576309 (corporateBody)

McCann-Erickson, founded in 1930 from the merger of Alfred Erickson's and Harry McCann's agencies, is one of the largest advertising agencies in the United States. It is part of the Interpublic Group. From the description of McCann-Erickson audiovisual collection, 1980s-1990s. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 698244168 ...

J.B. Williams Co.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6w13gf0 (corporateBody)

Family-owned manufacturer of men's toiletries and soap established ca. 1847 in Glastonbury, Conn., by James Baker Williams; ca. 1956 purchased by Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and moved to Cranford, N.J.; at same time group of former employees organized Glastonbury Toiletries which manufactured toiletries on a contract basis for the New Jersey company; closed in 1977. From the description of J.B. Williams Company records, 1853-1956. (University of Connecticut). WorldCat record id: 28413206 ...

Pan American World Airways, inc.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rc22nj (corporateBody)

Kraft Foods Company

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63r51mq (corporateBody)

Standard Brands Incorporated

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61p2106 (corporateBody)

Parker Pen Company

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6b905tv (corporateBody)

J. Walter Thompson company

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6w70fpn (corporateBody)

Advertising agency. From the description of Radio programs, 1953-1961 and n.d. [sound recording]. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 37954564 After graduating from Mount Holyoke College, Lois Gaeta worked at the J. Walter Thompson Company advertising agency as a script writer for television and radio commercials during the years 1955 through 1961. Later in her career, Gaeta worked in video and in continuing education programs in the medical profession. ...

Woodell, Shirley F., 1907-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gf1rm6 (person)

Reader's digest association

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6838ccv (corporateBody)

Chesebrough-Pond's

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68963pw (corporateBody)

Ford motor company

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6r53djn (corporateBody)

When Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903, Alexander Y. Malcolmson was elected the Company's first treasurer, but his assistant James Couzens actually managed financial functions. People holding the position of Ford Motor Company treasurer from 1903 to 1955 included Alexander Y. Malcolmson, 1903-1906; James J. Couzens, 1906-1915; Frank L. Klingensmith, 1915-1921; Edsel B Ford, 1921-1943; B. J. Craig, 1943-1946; and L. E. Briggs, 1946-1955. In 1903, the business office was in a small building o...