Advertising Books
All-American Ads of the 40s by Call Number: NC998.5.A1 A154 2002x (Shelved 1st Floor Reference)ISBN: 9783822814680Publication Date: 2001-12-01
All-American Ads of the 50s by Call Number: HF5813.U6 .A153 2001 (2nd Floor Main CollectionISBN: 9783822811580Publication Date: 2001-12-01
These are a sampling of the All-American ads series in the library. Most of the books are shelved in the Research Services section: search the library catalog for the title "All-american ads" to locate their call numbers or ask at the 1st floor Information Desk for the All-American Ads books in the reference collection.
Advertising Websites
- Advertising ArchivesContains over 1 million cataloged advertisements, viewable in-browser. Search using the quick search or the category list to view all available ads, and refine your search using the limiters on the left side of the screen. If you create a free account, you can download larger preview images. (Very very handy for reading the text.)
- Ad*AccessOver 7,000 U.S. and Canadian advertisements covering five product categories - Beauty and Hygiene, Radio, Television, Transportation, and World War II propaganda - dated between 1911 and 1955.
- AdClassixAdClassix sells vintage ads, which can be browsed via a list of links identifying the general product of the ad. The preview images are detailed enough to be of use in limited brand history research. Use the find command (ctrl+F) to search for your brand quickly on each list. Or the google search option at the bottom of the page.
- Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850 - 1920The Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850 - 1920 (EAA) presents over 9,000 images, with database information, relating to the early history of advertising in the United States. The materials, drawn from the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University, provide a significant and informative perspective on the early evolution of this most ubiquitous feature of modern American business and culture.
- The American Package MuseumThe American Package Museum is a website that displays packaging of American products from the early decades of the 1900s. For ease of searching, use the index button.
- Attic PaperAttic Paper sells vintage ads, which can be browsed and searched by the general product or brand of the ad. The preview images are detailed enough to be saved to your computer and used for this project.
Company Profiles
Company profiles provide background information on companies and an overview of that company: they often contain the history of the company and information on the company's products/lines of business and other information. You will find much more information on public companies than you will on private companies: see the "Note on Private Companies" box for some suggestions.
- Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Business Source Complete can be used to view Company Profiles or conduct limited competitive research: to begin, click on "Company Information" in the top left corner. - Mergent Online This link opens in a new windowProvides the company overviews, ratios, prospects, and more. This is an ideal resource for company or competitive research. (Note: This database is limited to 20 concurrent users.)
- Westlaw This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
To search for company information in Westlaw, click on the "Company Investigator" link (by default, on the right side of the screen) and enter the business name or an area you wish to investigate by entering an industry code and geographical location. - Business Insights: Global This link opens in a new windowProvides information about countries, company and industry profiles, SWOT reports, and financial data.
Searching Difficult to Browse Websites Using Google
Some of the advertising websites listed here are difficult to search: there may not be a built in-search tool, or one that non-members can access.
Fortunately, there is a solution. Google offers the ability to search individual websites. Simply insert site: followed by the domain you want to search.
Here is an example using AdFlip, normally difficult to search since only members can use the search tool provided on AdFlip.com.
site:www.adflip.com coke
This will return those results on www.adflip.com that specifically mention coke. Be warned you may need to vary your keywords, and some images may not have text to search for.