Over the course of 19 months, June 1942 through December 1943, James Webb Young recorded his daily observations on life and the advertising industry. At the time, few people would be able to understand just how revealing this task would be for the industry, the world, and the personal life of Jim Young. The entries originally ran in Advertising Age as an anonymous weekly installment and were later published in 1944 as "The Diary of an Ad Man."
Although this site cannot begin to show the real power of the diary, below are a few entries which I hope will whet your appetite enough to read the complete work.Talk with them, not at them:
Wednesday, August 5, 1942
The boys who are helping the Advertising Council prepare campaigns for government purposes are making a mistake. They are using too many of the conventional tricks of the trade in their copy. The public is in no mood for this when it comes to war aims. All they want and need is to be told simply, clearly, and authoritatively what they should do -- and Lord! how they want that. The less like advertising the message is, the better the results will be.
Jim Young knew the situation, and he knew that good advertising shouldn't sound like it was trying to sell something; it should just sell it.
Always inquisitive:
Monday, August 31, 1942
Musing on my leaky roof experience, and how it changed my interest in roofing advertising, I wondered if we consider this receptivity factor enough. We give plenty of thought to the seed we sow; perhaps not enough to the ground it falls on. ... We recognize the seasonal factor in receptivity, but how many other, less obvious ones do we overlook?
This doesn't sound like the attitude of the staunch "hard-sell" copywriters prevalent in the 1940's and 50's.
Back to the future:
Sunday, October 11, 1942
Dipped into one of the Unity of Sciences series being issued by the University of Chicago ... which convinced me again that science needs englishing by ad men. But one section on the part which controlled experiments have played in the development of the physical sciences proved extremely interesting. We will never bring a real science of advertising into being until we find better ways to use this experimental technique.
Didn't Young once believe that Psychology experiments and research had no business being in advertising? (Fox, 1984). I guess even he can continue to learn.
On military talk:
Thursday, November 26, 1942, Thanksgiving
Sighted turkey. Sank same.
Friday, December 25, 1942, Christmas
On an airport bus yesterday I met up with four young lieutenants ... they were sadly contemplating their first Christmas away from home ... to make matters worse, their pay had not caught up with them in two months, and they were practically strapped. So they accepted an invitation to dinner today with alacrity. ... And God help the enemy if they dive bomb him as they did our proud turkey from the farm.
It is in statements such as these that one really begins to see who Jim Young really is: a brilliant advertising man, but also a genuinely caring individual.
The following entry gives a little insight into the purpose of a site such as this. There are many "Advertising Giants" and all of them will eventually vanish until only traces remain, but each of them has had something of great importance to contribute to this industry. The changes they brought about and their influences have become ingrained in the essence of what advertising is and it is important that they be remembered for all they have given us.
Thursday, May 6, 1943
When I first came into the advertising business one of the giants of those days was John Lee Mahin. His name was known from coast to coast, wherever advertising men gathered. Then the day came when, standing by the doorway into an advertising convention, I saw Mr. Mahin ask for admission without a soul there but me recognizing his name. As the Bible story says: "A new king arose in the land who knew not Joseph." That new king, in the form of a new generation, is always coming on; and all Big Shots are hereby respectfully reminded of their fate.
Click on the top center photo of JWY to see the introduction to this site.
The AAF Hall of Fame announcement shows how JWY influenced the industry and what his peers thought of him.
Neckties are just a few things sold by JWY; click to see some of the other work he produced.
Take a peek at the Diary that JWY kept and experience a bit of his wit and insight.
Visit JWY at his desk to find out how you too could become an Advertising Man.
Grab the latest issue of the Editor and Publisher to find out a bit about me, the editor and publisher, as well as the many places you can find more information on JWY.