Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian World/WETA "Selling the Dream" Collection

Online Media

Catalog Data

Producer:
Smithsonian World  Search this
Names:
Center for Advertising History (U.S.)  Search this
Grey Advertising.  Search this
Mitsubishi  Search this
WETA  Search this
Wieden & Kennedy  Search this
Gitlin, Todd  Search this
Marchand, Roland  Search this
Oda, Frances  Search this
Ogilvy, David  Search this
Pertshuk, Michael  Search this
Polykoff, Shirley  Search this
Extent:
23 Cubic feet (16 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiovisual materials
Oral history
Motion pictures (visual works)
Transcripts
Interviews
Press releases
Date:
1990-1991
Summary:
The collection documents "Selling the Dream" was an hour long television documentary that aired in early 1991 as part of the public television series, Smithsonian World.
Scope and Contents:
Series 1, boxes 1-15: 16 mm color film shot for the program, arranged in two subseries. Subseries A, boxes 1-10, consists of primary source materials including film footage of a meeting of scholars, historians, archivists, Weiden & Kennedy advertising agency personnel, and Nike executives at the Smithsonian's Center for Advertising History for the Nike Advertising Oral History and Documentation Project; interviews with scholars, historians, industry representatives (including transcripts for some interviews); and documentation of a Mitsubishi GT3000 ad from pitch to production, including meetings between Grey advertising agency personnel and Mitsubishi account representatives, a live commerical shoot and a production session with a commercial narrator. Subseries B, boxes 11-15, consists of secondary materials created during production, including pre-production sync pulls, trims, and lifts as compiled and edited by producer Steven York and Associates. Series 2, box 16, contains documentary materials relating to the show's production and broadcast, including correspondence, press releases, and publicity. Transcripts for the interviews are located here.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into two series. Series 1: Film Series 2: Documentary Material
Biographical / Historical:
"Selling the Dream" was an hour-long television documentary that aired in early 1991 as part of the public television series "Smithsonian World." The program traces the evolution of advertising from the late 19th century through the creative revolution of the 1960s to explore how advertising both influences and reflects American culture. In addition to historical imagery, the program follows a contemporary Mitsubishi GT3000 automobile advertising campaign from conception to production. The program features interviews with the men and women who created the advertising as well as with scholars, historians, industry advocates and government officials who comment on the role and history of advertising in a comsumer culture. "Selling the Dream" was underwritten by Southwestern Bell and co-produced by WETA and the Smithsonian Institution. The Center for Advertising History served as a resource and consultant to the producers.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Smithsonian World through executive producer Sandra Bradley, in August 1991.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
There are reproduction restrictions on material in this collection. See repository details.
Topic:
Stereotypes (Social psychology) in advertising  Search this
Symbolism in advertising  Search this
Wit and humor in advertising  Search this
Sex role in advertising  Search this
Television advertising  Search this
advertising  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiovisual materials
Oral history -- 1990-2000
Motion pictures (visual works) -- 1990-2000
Transcripts
Interviews -- 1950-2000
Press releases -- 1990-2000
Citation:
Smithsonian World/WETA "Selling the Dream" Collection, 1990-1991, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0418
See more items in:
Smithsonian World/WETA "Selling the Dream" Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8066f4d6d-e3ae-4a59-8135-2575b7d3b239
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0418