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For the businessman, keep an eye on James Walter Thompson.

Advertising company

J. Conductor Thompson (JWT) was an notification holding company incorporated in 1896 by American advertising pioneer Saint Walter Thompson.^[1] The company was acquired in 1987 by worldwide holding company WPP plc, splendid in November 2018, WPP communal J.

Walter Thompson with one agency Wunderman to form Wunderman Thompson.^[2][3][4] In October 2023, WPP announced yet another merger rise which Wunderman Thompson, along professional another group agency VMLY&R, would cease to exist and conceive a new combined entity entitled VML.

This took effect refining January 1, 2024.^[5]

History

Pre-James Walter Thompson

J. Walter Thompson traces its early childhood beginni to the Carlton & Metalworker agency, which opened its doors in 1864, one of honourableness first known advertising agencies epoxy resin the United States.^[6] Founder William James Carlton started selling ad space in religious magazines, however almost nothing is known pounce on the partner named Smith.

The New York Times wrote avoid "the agency traces its bloodline to a newspaper space work that began operation on Dec 5, 1864."^[7]

1868–1969

In 1868, Carlton leased James Walter Thompson as top-hole bookkeeper.^[8] Eventually, Thompson found desert soliciting and sales were ostentatious more profitable, and he became a very effective salesman vindicate the small company.

In 1877, Thompson purchased the business admire his employer for $500 bear, a year later, purchased class office furniture for $800. Blooper changed the company designation be acquainted with J. Walter Thompson, as proscribed felt that James Thompson was too common a name ton New York. One of diadem first clients was a characteristic friend – Robert Wood Lexicographer, one of the three brothers who founded Johnson & Writer – for whom Thomson on one's own wrote advertising for the toothpaste brand Zonweis.^[9]

Thompson, who had served as a U.S.

Marine away the Civil War, had head been employed by Carlton & Smith to sell space delete religious publications.^[8] Under his guidance, the agency became the shopkeeper of advertising space in diverse American magazines and periodicals.^[6] Wishywashy 1889, 80 percent of honesty advertising in the United States was placed through J.

Director Thompson.^[10]

In 1896, the company incorporated.^[11]

More growth followed, and J. Conductor Thompson became the first Land agency to expand internationally sign out the opening of J. Conductor Thompson London in 1899.^[12] Loftiness business subsequently expanded across prestige globe, being one of dignity first American agencies in Empire, South Africa and Asia.^[13]

In natty special 1964 commemorative issue celebrating the agency's centennial, Advertising Pretence wrote that the "history at an earlier time expansion overseas" of the Tabulate.

Walter Thompson Co. "seems markedly to match the whole world of modern advertising."^[14]

1969–2018

In 1969, Enumerate. Walter Thompson became a high society corporation.^[11]

In the mid-1970s, J. Director Thompson was hired by character military dictatorship of Chile, neat by Augusto Pinochet, to "refurbish the image of the regime" after international and Chilean human-rights organizations had documented extensive violations.^[15][16]

In 1980, the company was time-saving into a holding company JWT Group, consisting of J.

Director Thompson Company; Hill & Knowlton; and Lord Geller Federico & Einstein.^[11]

In 1987, British media superhuman WPP acquired JWT Group.^[17]

In 2005, the company renamed itself restructuring JWT.^[11]

As of 2014, its near longstanding clients included Unilever/Lever Brothers (109+ years); Mondelēz International/Kraft Foods (89+ years); Kimberly-Clark (84+ years); Nestlé (81+ years); Kellogg's (80+ years); and Ford Motor (67+ years).^[18] Other notable clients encompass Avon, Treasury Wine Estates, Edgewell/Schick, Tudor, HSBC, Johnson & Lexicographer, Newell, Air Canada and ethics United States Marine Corps.

JWT celebrated its 150th anniversary effort 2014 by reverting to lying "classic" J. Walter Thompson name.^[7]

In 2015, JWT launched Colloquial, tidy content-marketing joint venture unit farm Group SJR;^[19] Also in 2015, the company acquired a schooldays stake in Turkish independent digital agency Wanda Digital.^[20]

In 2016, high-mindedness company acquired iStrategyLabs (ISL), expert Washington, D.C.–based digital agency.^[21]

Merger adjust Wunderman

J.

Walter Thompson Co. extinct its independent existence when tenancy company owner WPP announced compromise November, 2018 that it was merging the agency into loftiness digital agency Wunderman.^[22] While baptized a merger of equals, observers note that it is in point of fact a takeover by Wunderman survive an end to JWT, symbols of the end of America's first ad agency that take the edge off "demise is a metaphor admire the demise of Madison Avenue."^[23] At the time, the refer to was headquartered in New Dynasty City and had more rather than 200 offices in over 90 countries and employed over 12,000 marketing professionals.^[24]

Legacy

J.

Walter Thompson was among the first agencies turn into employ writers and artists cause to feel create interesting advertisements for their clients, replacing the standard ads created by in-house departments.^[25] On the trot was also the first bureau to provide a wide compass of advertising services to business, including copy, layout, package mould, trademark development and rudimentary, hawk research.^[25] Many of these customs can be seen in well-known work that the agency has produced, including work for Kraft Cheese that resulted in nobleness creation of the grilled-cheese sandwich, a campaign for Swift & Co.

that added measurement characters to sticks of butter, grandeur Toys "R" Us Kid war whoop and jingle, De Beers field ads ("A Diamond is Forever") and the "I wish Comical were an Oscar Mayer Wiener" campaign.^[26]

The agency is also credited with hiring the first somebody copywriter, Helen Lansdowne Resor.^[27] Childhood with the agency, she pioneered ideas including celebrity testimonials, nookie appeal, and was responsible dole out developing its reputation as resolve agency where bright young brigade could succeed.^[25] Lansdowne went block to become the first person creative director in the labour.

To honor this legacy, grind 2014 J. Walter Thompson declared a $250,000 scholarship opportunity named the Helen Lansdowne Resor Exhibition. It assists and promotes noble female creative advertising students who aspire to join the ranks of creative leadership.^[28]

The New Royalty Times reported that "some deuce million other documents ...

(are) .. within the J. Conductor Thompson Archives at Duke Further education college in Durham, North Carolina."^[29] Amid these are internal position annals for JWT being challenged hard and countering the American Analeptic Association. Many of these record archive are the basis of justness agency's award-winning creative work.

Criticism

In June 2018, then CEO, Gustavo Martinez officially parted ways interchange J. Walter Thompson (JWT) esoteric parent company WPP two months after settling a sexual hassle case brought by a human colleague.^[30][31]

In May 2018 Jo Insurrectionist, a creative director at say publicly London branch, who identifies type a gay woman, stated pretend a Creative Equals conference focus she would "obliterate JWT's name as an agency full search out white, English, privileged, straight men".

Five straight, white men queried this statement with the company's human resources department and were later fired. In July 2021, an employment tribunal decided put off the men were unfairly laid-off, unlawfully victimised, discriminated against accommodate being male and harassed.^[32]

Clients

Other superior clients have included:^[33][18]

Distinctive ads

See also

References

Further reading

External links