Tag Archives: 1970s

Featured, From Our Collections, Hartman Center, Manuscripts, New at the Rubenstein Library, New Finding Aids

‘We Try Harder’ and Other Famous Ad Campaigns by Paula Green

November 15, 2017 mlp60@duke.edu

Post contributed by Cameron Byerly, a rising junior at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. He helped process the Paula Green papers through St. John’s Hodson Internship Program during Summer 2017.

Photograph of Paula Green from the Paula Green papers at the Rubenstein Library.

It’s not the size of the budget
It’s the ferocity of the idea
–Paula GRRRRReen

Paula Green’s papers amounted to nearly 100 boxes of print documents, photographs and audiovisual materials, which is intimidating for a first archival processing project.

My relief was immediate when I discovered these boxes contained dozens of awards, fascinating drafts and edits to ads, pleasant correspondence, articles explaining an honest and steadfast worldview, and above all, a character who I came to deeply respect the voice and intents of through a long and successful career.

Union Label song created by Paula Green and Malcolm Dodds in 1975 for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union.

The central theme I would use to describe Paula Green’s work is ‘cause-driven’. Paula’s speeches and correspondence make it clear she chose clients she personally believed in, including the local jobs offered by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), and the work she did to fight breast cancer with the U.S. government’s Public Health Service and the American Cancer Society. Perhaps her largest success was her part in creating the “Look for the Union Label” song for the ILGWU in the 70’s. The song’s importance became more tangible to me when reading President Jimmy Carter’s quote “Sometimes I have a hard time deciding which I like best, ‘Hail to the Chief’ or ‘Look for the Union Label,’” and the subsequent parodies from newspaper comics, South Park and Saturday Night Live. The song represented an enormous collective effort of the American fight for local jobs. As I pieced together Paula’s insistence on visiting local factories, employing real workers for TV spots, and saying “please buy from us” rather than “don’t buy from foreigners,” I realized that she applied her own moral standard to the work she believed in.

Paula Green created the now famous “We Try Harder” campaign for Avis in 1962.

The second notable theme in Paula Green’s work is intelligence. Her early success at Doyle Dane Bernbach with the ‘We’re No. 2’ advertising campaign for Avis car rental allowed her the economic power to create her own advertising agency in 1975, and demonstrated her intelligence in engaging with the audience. I consider how well her methods would work in today’s more image-driven and crowded advertising landscape. Records of her work include hundreds of edits of reasoned arguments and recipes used to include in her marketing of food products. She often argued against a more deceptive world of associating lifestyles with products, and instead cleanly focused on the merits of her products. Her copywriting involved well-written sentences to back up her buzz-words and intelligent methodology in expressing her ideas. Continue reading ‘We Try Harder’ and Other Famous Ad Campaigns by Paula Green →

Featured, From Our Collections, Hartman Center

Mad Men Monday – Season 7, Episode 11 “Time & Life”

April 27, 2015 Kate Collins

The characters at SC&P faced their worst fear last night as McCann Erickson planned to absorb and dissolve the agency. With 30 days to vacate their offices and 30 days for Don to find a new place to live, it truly is setting up to be the end of an era.

The episode opens on dinner as Ken enjoys toying with Pete and criticizing the work done by SC&P.

Roger receives a letter canceling the lease on the SC&P offices. After yelling at some of the secretaries, he calls McCann and discovers that it was not a mistake. McCann is planning to absorb the agency and move everyone into their own building. Roger, Don, Pete, Ted and Joan discuss the news with dread.

Stan and Peggy observe and audition children for a client. Stan comments that Peggy hates kids after she struggles working with them. Pete pulls her aside and tells her the bad news about the agency.

Lou calls Don and gleefully tells him that he is quitting and moving to Tokyo to work with Tatsunoko Productions on developing his comic into a cartoon.

The partners meet and come up with a strategy to move the agency to California where they could work on the clients that are a conflict for McCann. They rush off to see if they can get those clients to stick with them at “Sterling Cooper West.” Roger and Pete meet with Ken to get Dow to stay with them but he refuses and leaves.

Peggy meets with a headhunter who tells her that her best bet is to stay and work at McCann.

Pete and Trudy meet with the headmaster at Greenwich Country Day school, which rejected Tammy’s application. Pete says that it a family tradition for a Campbell to be at that school. The headmaster bears a grudge dating back to 1692 when his ancestors and Pete’s began a historic clan feud. He insults Trudi and Pete punches him before leaving. Later Trudi bemoans the fact that it is hard being a divorced woman because men try to take advantage of her.

Stan and Peggy have to babysit a girl who was left by her mother who had to pick up her son. The girl manages to staple her finger causing an argument between Peggy and the mother who returns. Later Peggy reveals to Stan that she gave a child up for adoption and says it is not fair that women have to make hard choices when men don’t.

The SC&P partners make their pitch to keep their conflicting clients and move to California, but Jim Hobart explains that they all will have great jobs at McCann working on top tier clients like Buick and Coca Cola. Only Ted seems happy to hear that he will get what he always wanted, to work on a pharmaceutical account. They all leave and commiserate over beer. The next day the partners announce the big news to the office and try to make it sound positive, but the staff quickly start taking over them and walk away.

Last night’s show featured references to toys, Dow, Buick, and first aid, among other things. Enjoy our selection of highlighted ads that reflect the brands and themes that Mad Men characters interacted with last night.

A gallery of our selected images may also be found on Flickr.

Featured, From Our Collections, Hartman Center

Mad Men Monday – Season 7, Episode 9 “New Business”

April 13, 2015 Kate Collins

Last night’s episode began and ended with scenes focusing on things that Don has lost in his life. At the Francis house, Don makes a milkshake for his sons. Betty and Henry come home and Don wistfully watches his family chatting together then leaves alone.

Megan calls to ask Don for $500 for the movers. She wants them to “just sign the papers and be done with this” and is tired of asking for an allowance.

Don tracks down Diana at a steakhouse. He wants to have dinner with her “even if it’s five minutes at a time.” Later she comes to his apartment in the middle of the night. They talk about their divorces and her past.

Peggy hires renowned photographer Pima Ryan for the Cinzano shoot. Stan scoffs at first, but then wants Pima to look at his work. Pima seduces him, and later makes a pass at Peggy. They both realize that Pima took advantage of them.

Megan’s mother, Marie, criticizes Megan for letting Don off so easy. Megan’s sister implies that Megan is a failure because of her divorce. Marie is left to supervise the movers at Don’s apartment and fills the whole moving truck with Don’s furniture. Marie calls Roger asking for cash to pay the mover. He arrives at Don’s apartment with the money and Marie rekindles their previous affair.

Harry and Megan meet for lunch to discuss her acting career. He flatters Megan, but then makes a pass at her. She leaves in disgust. She goes back to Don’s apartment, shocked to discover it empty except for Roger and Marie. Megan scolds them both and leaves.

Don and Megan meet in the attorney’s office. Megan accuses him of ruining her life. Don writes her a check for a million dollars. “I want you to have the life you deserve,” he says. She takes the check and gives Don her wedding ring.

Don arrives at Diana’s tiny apartment. He is ready for a new start and gives her a book about New York City. Diana insists that she can’t see him anymore because she forgot about the daughter she abandoned while with Don and she never wants to do that. Don goes home to find his apartment completely empty.

Last night’s episode featured references to blenders, Life Cereal, Cinzano vermouth, photography, Champagne, and Tab, among other things. Enjoy our selection of highlighted ads that reflect the brands and themes that Mad Men characters interacted with last night.

A gallery of our selected images may also be found on Flickr.

Featured, From Our Collections, Hartman Center, Just for Fun

Mad Men Mondays: Season 7, Episode 8 “Severence”

April 6, 2015 Kate Collins

Mad Men is back! This half-season premier felt like an extended dream sequence with Peggy Lee’s eerie hit “Is That All There Is?” bookending the episode.

The episode opens with Don holding a cup of vending machine coffee and a lit cigarette while posing a woman wearing nothing but a pricy fur coat—Don, the eternal misogynist. The scene widens to reveal that he is in fact working a casting call at the office.

Mathis attempts to set up Peggy on a blind date with his brother-in-law. After some initial resistance she eventually acquiesces. While something of a milquetoast—he won’t even return an incorrect food order—the date goes well and, after some wine and a bottle of Galliano, the date nearly culminates in a spontaneous trip to Paris. Instead, the couple settles for a phone call in two weeks.

Fearing the toll that the advertising industry is taking on his psyche, Ken Cosgrove’s wife tries to persuade him to get out of the advertising business and focus on his writing. The following day, at the behest of a McCann-Erickson executive, Ken is fired by Roger. While expressing some bitterness at Roger’s lack of loyalty, he chooses to interpret the moment as kismet, an opportunity. Rather than focus on his writing he listens to his competitive instincts and accepts a position as director of advertising for Dow Chemical. Rather than pulling Dow’s business from the SC&P he vows to be a difficult client to please in the future.

Peggy and Joan have an encounter of their own with the heavy-handed and none-to-subtle staff of McCann. On behalf of SC&P’s client Topaz pantyhose, together they pitch the possibility of McCann introducing them to some of their department store clients. After a few minutes of crude innuendo from the McCann reps, Peggy finally persuades them to take a look at the proposal. Rather than a bonding experience the meeting results in an elevator argument between Peggy and Joan over the meeting’s takeaway lessons.

After a vision (dream?) of Rachel Katz, his brief fling from season 1, in Chinchilla fur, Don attempts to set-up a meeting with her under the auspices of a potential partnership between her department store and Topaz pantyhose only to learn that she has recently passed from an illness. Perhaps it’s the memory of Rachel that informs his continued attraction to the mysterious waitress at the late-night diner. With Rachel’s family sitting shiva, Don attempts to pay his respects only to be cast out. Finding his way to the diner, he attempts to connect with the waitress only to be told that the tryst was merely just compensation for the large cash tip from a previous evening.

Last night’s episode featured references to toasters, L’eggs hosiery, wine stained carpet, veal, pop tarts, and Paris.

A gallery of our selected images may also be found on Flickr.

Students and Interns, Technical Stuff, University Archives

Recovering the 1970s

October 24, 2012 Meghan Lyon 1 Comment

This summer, I began processing a collection of the Office of Student Activities and Facilities’ (OSAF) records. While processing this collection, I stumbled upon a folder simply titled “IFC Functions.” In a haze of student group folders, ASDU folders, DSG folders, etc., I was not particularly struck by this folder. This was a mistake. Upon opening this folder, I found pure gold. This folder contained memories of the 1970s that I am sure our parents, at least mine, have willfully chosen to forget.

This folder contained information sent to the Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC) of cover bands who wanted to play at Duke. These band promotion packets contained blurbs and publicity about the bands, such as this quote from the promotion pack of a band that called “Hydra”: “Hydra is unquestionably the finest heavy hard rock band in the Southeast. They are also the most danceable group you will find anywhere.”

So I was intrigued and wanted to learn more. That is when I found the most amazing thing of all. Every band sent a picture of themselves with their packets; these photos chronicled the outstanding fashion trends of the 70s.

Each band had a different look, a different style, and everyone was fantastic. There were such bands as “Hydra,” who was 70s Goth; “Radar,” who was bohemian rock; “Brother Bait,” who was a 70s version of what I would call hippy chic; and “Choice,” who struck me as a 70s version of the Jonas Brothers.

Hydra, “the finest heavy hard metal rock band in the Southeast” and “the most danceable group you will find anywhere.”

Choice, aka The Jonas Brothers of the 1970s.

This folder was so interesting because it really allowed me to catch a glimpse of such an iconic era. I thoroughly enjoyed working on this collection as it enabled me to take a step back in time and learn about a fascinating part of Duke’s rich student history.

Post contributed by Julia Eads, Trinity College ’14 and student assistant in Technical Services.

Dispatches from the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Duke University