Global advertising agency JWT will this year be celebrating a landmark anniversary. 150 years ago on the 5th of December 1864, William James Carlton opened 'Carlton & Smith' as a newspaper space brokerage. 14 years later, James Walter Thompson (the self proclaimed 'Father of Modern Advertising) bought the agency and re-named it after himself. The rest (as they say) is history, a history capped by hundreds of classic campaigns such as the “There's a Ford in your Future” ad for the Ford motor company and the “Have a break. Have a Kit Kat” slogan for the chocolate snack that's still used to this day! JWT's planned commemorations for its upcoming sesquicentennial will be discussed at length today, with the agency hoping to not only appeal to their present and former clients and employees, but to reflect the monumental influence that JWT has had on the world's of advertising, commerce and pop culture.
The main goal of the occasion is to get all 10,000 employees “Excited about JWT”
An example of the agency's plans can be sourced in its upcoming initiative to endow creative scholarships to women in third-world countries, who might not be able to achieve an education otherwise due to poverty levels and negative societal attitudes concerning educated women. The 'Helen Lansdowne Resor' initiative is named for the JWT executive who has been described as the advertising industry's first female copywriter. Ms. Resor was credited with bringing sex appeal to advertising with her “A skin you love to touch” campaign for Woodbury soap and is also remembered as one of the first advertisers to see the potential in celebrity endorsements. There is also an 'Innovation Laboratory' being developed at Duke University, where the JWT archives are housed. This 'Lab' will be run by a division of the agency known as 'JWT Intelligence' and could offer courses for client and agency executives. JWT Intelligence will also begin a program known as the '2025 Project', which aims to explore how our world might look in 25 years.
Worldwide chairman and chief executive of JWT, Bob Jeffrey, knows that the anniversary is “Important for JWT”, but says that while it's something they want to acknowledge, they also want to use the anniversary as an opportunity to “Reignite the passion for JWT,” an agency once named by Fortune magazine as the “University of Advertising.” Jeffrey outlined the agency's plans at the JWT headquarters in Manhattan recently with global president Gustavo Martinez and chairman emeritus Burt Manning. The main goal of the occasion Jeffrey said, is to get their 10,000 employees “Excited about JWT,” and will do so via initiatives such as the 'Commodore Challenge'; a cash prize contest offering rewards for innovative ideas. The contest is so named as it is a nickname which was favoured by none other than Mr JWT himself.
Parties are scheduled to take place at JWT offices around the world on the 5th of December this year
JWT has always been an agency of 'firsts'. As well as being the first agency to employ a female copywriter, it was also the first American agency to open an office overseas (London in 1899) and was also the first agency to be acquired by agency holding group WPP in the ad businesses first hostile takeover back in 1987.
James Walter Thompson
Parties are scheduled to take place at JWT offices around the world on the 5th of December this year, and on the 1st of January 2015, Mr Jeffrey will be relinquishing his duties and will hand the reins over to Mr Martinez. Martinez joined the agency only last month from the McCann World group and says he feels “Honoured and privileged” to accept the role and that the timing sweetens the pot even further. He recalls a dinner meeting with an Italian client who worked for a 120 year old company, the client told him; “We're old, because we are good,” a sentiment both Mr Manning and Mr Martinez agree could also quite accurately apply to JWT.
Benjamin Hiorns is a copywriter from Kidderminster who learnt everything he knows about the world of advertising through watching 'Mad Men'.
