Advertising History & Criticism
- Ad*AccessAd*Access, also based at Duke University, reproduces 7,000 ads from U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines, from 1911 through 1955. "Ad*Access concentrates on 5 main subject areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty & Hygiene, and World War II."
- AdbustersA highly critical, very insightful, and often hilarious examination of commercials and ad campaigns.
- AdFlipBilling itself as "the world's largest archive of classic print ads," this website is also a good source of advertising reproductions, and is more up-to-date than the previous two sites. It is a pay subscription site, but extensive selections are available for free to non-subscribers.
- Advertising CouncilInterested in "PSAs" (public service advertisements)? The Advertising Council is the industry group that conducts ad campaigns for the public good. This website provides information on current and historical campaigns.
- Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850 - 1920If you are interested in the history of U.S. advertising, this collection from Duke University of over 9,000 images can be very useful.
Encyclopedia of Major Marketing CampaignsCall Number: REF HF 5837 .E53 2000ISBN: 078763042XPresents an overview of 500 of the major advertising campaigns of the 20th century. Each campaign includes a discussion of the historical context, target market, competition, marketing strategy, the campaign's outcome, and a bibliography.
Advertising Resources: Rates & Directories (Print & Online Reference Sources)
- Advertising Ratios and BudgetsCall Number: REF HF5801 .A2446Provides analysis of company advertising budgets and rankings such as the top 1000 companies by size of budget and by budget growth rate.
- Advertising Red Books: Advertiser, Business ClassificationsCall Number: REF. HF5805 .S7 2018This two volume set is divided into three sections: advertisers, agencies, and supplemental entries. The advertiser volumes identify over 14,000 companies in the U.S. with an annual advertising budget greater than $200,000 for regional or national advertising campaigns. The agencies volume provides an overview of advertising agencies and their national and international branch offices. Taken together these volumes paint a picture of ad agencies and their clients.
- Advertising Red Books: AgenciesCall Number: REF. HF5805 .S72 2018
- SRDS Consumer Media Advertising SourceCall Number: REF DESK HF 5905 .S725This publication lists magazines by classification category (e.g. "gardening") and provides contact information, advertising rates, and circulation totals. Follow link in catalog for online version at SRDS.
- SRDS Out-of-Home Advertising SourceCall Number: REF DESK HF5813.U6 O88This title lists out of home media by media type/location, and provides contact information, advertising rates, and circulation totals. Follow link in catalog for online version at SRDS.
Advertising Resources: Website Directories of Marketing Research Services
- AdForum.comAdForum says that it is "the Internet’s leading portal to the advertising, marketing and communications industry, with direct links to 17800 agencies in 138 countries." You can search to find details (like agency) on a particular brand ad campaign, but if you want a reproduction of the ad, they will charge you money.
- American Association of Advertising Agencies: Agency SearchThis section off of the main AAAA website allows the user to search for advertising agencies by name or by geographic location.
- Blue Book Research Services DirectoryThe Marketing Research Association provides this directory, which includes descriptions of services and facilities owned and operated by data collection companies, research companies and suppliers of related services throughout the United States, Canada and other countries. Users may search for particular services like "focus group facilities" by criteria like location and technology used (e.g., "Web Broadcasting"). To use this site you must register for a free account.
- Direct Marketing AssociationThis is the major industry group for direct marketers. Some recent news and "Better Marketing" advice is available without logging in, but for much of the "free" content like white papers on topics like e-business strategies and multi-channel marketing, you must sign up for an account. If you are interested in government or ethical issues (like tax collection or spamming), this site can also be useful.
- GreenBook Worldwide DirectoryLinks to searchable editions of the GreenBook, which provides worldwide listings for marketing research companies and services, and the Focus Group Directory, which offers a comprehensive listing of facilities and services for conducting focus groups.
