In 1962, Carl Ally, a rising star in the advertising business, established his own firm, Carl Ally, Inc., with colleague Amil Gargano as art director. In 1976 they changed the business name to Ally and Gargano, Inc. Known for its aggressive advertising style, Ally and Gargano represented approximately ninety clients, fifty-two of which are represented here, including Hertz, Federal Express, and IBM.
Scope and Contents:
Advertising portfolios including copies of print advertisements published for fifty-two accounts over a twenty-five year period. Some clients include Hertz, Federal Express, International Business Machines Corporation.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into one series.
Biographical / Historical:
After seven years as a rising star in the advertising business, Carl Ally (1925-1999) created his own advertising agency in 1962, bringing with him former colleague and art director Amil Gargano. In 1976, Carl Ally, Inc., became Ally and Gargano, and three years later, Ally withdrew from active participation in the firm. In 1983, the agency, with a roster of nearly 300 employees, went public; in 1986 the Marketing Corporation of America (MCA) purchased Ally and Gargano for $26.6 million; in 1991 Amil Gargano left the firm which went out of business in 1995.
During its years as an independent advertising agency, (1962-1987), Ally and Gargano created highly successful and widely recognized advertising campaigns for over ninety clients. Carl Ally was especially known for an aggressive advertising style, most notably his work for Hertz in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in which he used in a competitor's name, Avis, in advertisements.
Ally and Gargano also made invaluable contributions to two new firms that quickly became leading American businesses --Federal Express and MCI. Founded in 1971, Federal Express had accrued $26 million in losses by 1974, after only eighteen months in operation; its nightly package delivery count was 210 items. Ally and Gargano advertising, beginning with a budget of only $150,000, was critical to the rapid Federal Express turnaround. MCI selected Ally and Gargano to introduce its residential long distance service in 1979. Within a year, new customer enrollment reached three times the expected level, and four years after the launch of the advertising campaign, MCI's total sales rose from $95 million to $2.7 billion.
Related Materials:
Advertising documentation may be found in the following collections in this repository: N.W. Ayer Advertising Agency Records and the Federal Express Advertising History Collection.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Emil Gargano, a partner in Ally and Gargano, Inc.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Stevenson, Adlai E. (Adlai Ewing), 1900-1965 Search this
Extent:
3.5 Cubic feet (7 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiocassettes
Advertisements
Photograph albums
Catalogs
Clippings
Magazines (periodicals)
Playbills
Sheet music
Photographs
Posters
Videocassettes
Reports
Packaging
Cartoons (humorous images)
Books
Drawings
Place:
New York (N.Y.) -- Food industry
Date:
1920s-1987
Summary:
This collection consists of ephemeral materials gathered by Sally L. Steinberg while she was researching her 1987 publication, The Donut Book: The origins, history, literature, lore, taste, etiquette, traditions, techniques, varieties, mathematics, mythology, commerce, philosophy, cuisine, and glory of the donut.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of ephemeral materials gathered by Sally L. Steinberg while she was researching her 1987 publication, The Donut Book: The origins, history, literature, lore, taste, etiquette, traditions, techniques, varieties, mathematics, mythology, commerce, philosophy, cuisine, and glory of the donut. Photographs comprise the bulk of the collection. These depict doughnut making machines, early doughnut packaging, doughnut shops and doughnut production, doughnut promotional activities (many of them sponsored by DCA), celebrities and entertainment figures with doughnuts, and the role of doughnuts in the military. Other ephemeral materials featuring doughnuts include advertisements, posters, newsclippings, music, examples of doughnut packaging, toys, and artwork. Also included are several publications that feature doughnuts, notably such children's classics as Curious George Learns the Alphabet, Who Needs Donuts?, and Homer Price, as well as a copy of Ms. Levitt's book.
Materials relating to the history of the Doughnut Corporation of America include a 1947 memo entitled "History of Mayflower Operations, 1933 1944"; pages and clippings from the company's in house magazines, The Doughnut Magazine, 1931 1936, and DCA News, 1945 1947 (most of which are not in their entirety, since Ms. Steinberg seperated them for the production of her book); a script of the "DCA Merchandising Story"; inter office correspondence from 1947; a 1961 DCA Study of the Donut Market; and a 1973 prospectus for DCA Food Industries, Inc. Also included is a store display figure of "Danny Donut," the symbol of Mayflower Doughnuts. In addition, the collection contains 1980 and 1981 Annual Reports from Dunkin' Donuts, Inc., a sample degree from their "Dunkin' Donuts University," and a large training poster for employees. Also included are in house publications relating to other donut companies, including Krispy Kreme and Winchell, the predecessor of Denny's.
Biographical / Historical:
Sally Levitt Steinberg describes herself as a "doughnut princess," since her grandfather, Adolph Levitt, was America's original "doughnut king." Levitt's family had emigrated to the United States from Russia when he was eight and settled in Milwaukee. In 1920, he moved to New York City, where he invested in a bakery in Harlem. He soon realized that there was a strong consumer demand for doughnuts, sparked by veterans of World War One who fondly remembered those cooked by Salvation Army girls in the trenches in France. Levitt, with a flair for showmanship, placed a kettle in the bakery's window and began to fry doughnuts in it. This attracted crowds of customers, who enjoyed watching the process, smelling the aroma, and eating the doughnuts. Soon, doughnut production could not keep up with the customers' demands.
In consultation with an engineer, Levitt soon developed and patented an automatic doughnut making machine, which he then placed in the bakery's window. The result was the creation of the modern doughnut industry in America. In 1920, Levitt founded the Doughnut Machine Company to make and sell the machine across the country and to sell doughnuts under the tradename of "Mayflower." Soon after, the company began preparing and selling standardized mixes for use in the machine, and began to acquire bakeries in which its products could be made. In 1931, the company opened the first Mayflower doughnut shop at 45th and Broadway in New York City; ultimately, 18 shops were opened across the country the first retail doughnut chain.
The company, which changed its name to the Doughnut Corporation of America, dominated the doughnut industry. Its operations were characterized by a large scale approach, incorporating a full range of product and equipment systems unique in the food industry. As consumers demanded a wider variety of doughnuts from glazed to jelly filled the company developed and manufactured the necessary machinery, prepared the ingredients, and marketed the products. The company diversified its product line in the 1940s to produce pancake mixes and waffle mixes and machinery, including Downyflake Food products. The company is still in operation as DCA Food Industries, Inc.
Materials in the Archives Center:
Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Doughnut Machine Company Scrapbooks (AC #662) contains two scrapbooks documenting the company=s advertising and marketing campaigns, ca. 1928.
The Industry on Parade Film Collection (AC #507) contains a 1956 film (reel #273) about the Doughnut Corporation of America.
The Earl S. Tupper Papers (AC #470) contain a number of World War One photographic postcards that show Salvation Army doughnut girls.
The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (AC #60) contains four boxes of material on "bakers and baking."
The N W Ayer Collection (AC #59) contains advertising proofsheets for several bakeries.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Sally L. Steinberg, December 12, 1991, 1993, and 2009.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Sally L. Steinberg Collection of Doughnut Ephemera, 1920s-1987, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Blank certificate from "Dunkin' Donuts University" for successful completion of a course in shop management and donut production. A faint photographic image of a doughnut, coffee cup, and spoon is visible behind the text.
Local Numbers:
AC0439-0000052.tif (AC Scan)
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Advertisement consists of cartoon panels indicating how doughnuts helped boost morale during World War II, both on the warfront and home front.
Arrangement:
In Box 4, Folder 1.
Local Numbers:
AC0439-0000053.tif (AC Scan)
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
