Primary Sources: The 1960s: Business

"Thousands of television commercials created or collected by the D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B) advertising agency, dated 1950s - 1980s."

"The Avon Digital History Archive provides a unique perspective on the history of the company, its sales representatives, employees, and consumers. The Avon Archive at the Hagley Library encompasses a range of materials such as advertisements, catalogs, representative's sales tools, and corporate documents."

"The Belo Records, 1842-2007 archive includes the business documents and artifacts preserved by the company’s leadership since its establishment in 1842."

"... traces the early history of business education for women at Harvard University from the founding of the one-year certificate program at Radcliffe College in 1937 to the integration of women into Harvard Business School (HBS) by 1970. Illustrating the evolution of this formative period are photographs, interviews, reports, and correspondence from Baker Library Historical Collections at Harvard Business School and from the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at the Radcliffe Institute. The telling documents reveal how program directors, faculty, and administrators shaped business education for women at the University, preparing students to take their places in the business world. The pioneering graduates of these programs would go on to help open doors to formerly unattainable opportunities for generations of women who followed."

"Original and preliminary drawings, sketches, storyboards, and trademark specifications for Dr Pepper's Frosty Dog and "Frosty man, frosty!" advertisement campaign, which was in effect from 1956 to the early 1960s. To learn more, see our finding aid."

"The Hagley Digital Archives provides online access to selected items from the Hagley Museum and Library's collection of images, documents, and publications related to the history of business, technology, and society."

"Advertisements created by the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency for Ford Motor Company’s lines of consumer and commercial vehicles, tractors, auto parts, and dealerships."

"More than 16,000 images of outdoor advertisements and other scenes from the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, the primary professional organization in the field. "

"This website contains images of content in the Philip Morris USA Inc. Advertising Archive. These images include print ads, outdoor ads, point-of-sale and direct marketing materials dating back to the early 1900s, including some materials which may not have been published or publicly displayed."

"Nearly 10,000 photographs of billboards and other outdoor advertising, mostly on the Atlantic City Boardwalk from the 1920s to 1950s."

This Sears website provides access to information from the company archive dating back to 1886.

"An archive of 14 million documents created by tobacco companies about their advertising, manufacturing, marketing, scientific research and political activities, hosted by the UCSF Library and Center for Knowledge Management. "

Promotional video about zip codes from the U.S. Post Office. Zip Codes began being used in 1963.

"In the 1960s, lottery-like contests designed to publicize products through sweepstakes competitions spread rapidly. In the 19th century, every state banned lotteries—defined as competitions in which chances to win prizes were sold—to protect citizens. In 1868, Congress prohibited the distribution of lottery materials through the mail. The mid-20th century sweepstakes, however, did not require contestants to purchase tickets or products to win prizes and were thus considered legal. In 1966, the number of national sweepstakes exceeded 600 and consumer groups accused them of deceptive practices. An FTC investigation in 1968 into sweepstakes from oil companies and supermarket chains found evidence of deception. In the following testimony to Congress in 1969, two executives representing firms that conducted large promotional sweepstakes defended them as fair and beneficial to consumers. Congress failed to pass a regulatory bill that year, and by 1998, the FTC estimated that more than 400 million sweepstakes flooded the mail annually and that consumers lost more than $40 billion each year through sweepstakes and telemarketing scams. In 1999, Congress passed the Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act. Among other consumer protections, this Act required sweepstakes materials to clearly state odds of winning, value of prizes, and rules."

"In the 1960s, lottery-like contests designed to publicize products through sweepstakes competitions spread rapidly. In the 19th century, every state banned lotteries—defined as competitions in which chances to win prizes were sold—to protect citizens. In 1868, Congress prohibited the distribution of lottery materials through the mail. The mid-20th century sweepstakes, however, did not require contestants to purchase tickets or products to win prizes and were thus considered legal. In 1966, the number of national sweepstakes exceeded 600 and consumer groups accused them of deceptive practices. An FTC investigation in 1968 into sweepstakes from oil companies and supermarket chains found evidence of deception. In the following excerpts from letters to a 1969 Congressional investigation, citizens urged Congress to take action to regulate sweepstakes. Their efforts failed to produce a bill that passed through Congress, however, and by 1998, the FTC estimated that more than 400 million sweepstakes flooded the mail annually and that consumers lost more than $40 billion each year through sweepstakes and telemarketing scams. In 1999, Congress passed the Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act. Among other consumer protections, this Act required sweepstakes materials to clearly state odds of winning, value of prizes, and rules. " GMU History Matters

"In the 1960s, lottery-like contests designed to publicize products through sweepstakes competitions spread rapidly. In the 19th century, every state banned lotteries—defined as competitions in which chances to win prizes were sold—to protect citizens. In 1868, Congress prohibited the distribution of lottery materials through the mail. The mid-20th century sweepstakes, however, did not require contestants to purchase tickets or products to win prizes and were thus considered legal. In 1966, the number of national sweepstakes exceeded 600 and an FTC investigation in 1968 found evidence of deception. In the following statements by Representatives John D. Dingell and Silvio O. Conte that opened a Congressional investigation in 1969, the congressmen charged that small businesses were threatened by the spread of big business-run sweepstakes and condemned deceptive practices in ‘preselected winners’ promotions. Their compiled data revealed that only a small fraction of advertised prizes had actually been awarded. Congress failed to pass a regulatory bill that year, and by 1998, the FTC estimated that more than 400 million sweepstakes flooded the mail annually and that consumers lost more than $40 billion each year through sweepstakes and telemarketing scams. In 1999, Congress passed the Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act. Among other consumer protections, this Act required sweepstakes materials to clearly state odds of winning, value of prizes, and rules." GMU History Matters