Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Advertising Council 1990 Census Advertising Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0372
Creators:
Ad Council
Dates:
1990
Languages:
Collection primarily in
English
, but also contains materials in Cambodian,
Chinese
,
Japanese
,
Korean
,
Lao
tian,
Spanish
and
Vietnamese
.
Physical Description:
2 Cubic feet
3 boxes
Repository:
This collection documents the multilingual advertising campaigns created by the Advertising Council to promote the 1990 Census.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of advertising materials produced to promote the 1990 census. It contains proof sheets, correspondence, three quarter inch videotapes, and storyboards.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Materials in this collection have been arranged alphabetically by the title of the advertising campaign.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Since 1790, the Department of Commerce has conducted a decennial Census to document the demographic characteristics of the American population, and to establish the proportional distribution of political representation . For the 1990 Census, advertising agencies under the aegis of the Advertising Council volunteered their creative efforts to promote the United States Census through public service announcemnts in newspapers, magazines, and the business press, and on radio and television.
The full campaign was designed to run from February 1 through April 7, 1990. The "blitz run" period ran from March 4 through April 7, 1990. The collection consists of proof sheets, storyboards, video tapes, audio reels and an introductory letter from Secretary of Commerce Robert Mosbacher. The volunteer agencies were The Mingo Group, Castor GS & B, Muse Cordero Chin, and Ogilvy & Mather. Slogans for the campaign included "Answer the Census. It Counts for More Than You Think", "Stand Right Up. Answer the Census", "Any Way We Add It - It Makes Good Sense to Answer the Census", and "Esta Es La Nuestra! Participe En El Censo". To reach the broadest audience possible, ads were created in English, Spanish (including dislects in Puerto Rican, Mexican, Cuban and Nortera), Cambodian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Laotian and Vietnamese.

Administration

Author
Mimi L. Minnick and Miles Lawlor
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by Census Promotion Office, Bureau of the Census, 1990.
Ownership and Custodial History
These materials were donated to the Center for Advertising history by the Census Promotion Office of the Bureau of the Census.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Mimi L. Minnick, archivist, 1990. Additional processing completed by Miles Lawlor; supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist, August 2019.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Advertising Council 1990 Census Advertising Collection, 1990, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Conditions Governing Use
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.

Related Materials
National Museum of American History
Division of Political and Military History (now Division of Political and Military History)
The Division of Political and Military History holds posters, pins, and three-dimensional objects promoting the 1990 Census.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Audiotapes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Videotapes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Advertisements -- 1950-2000 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
advertising Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tear sheets Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ogilvy & Mather. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Muse Cordero Chin. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mingo Group. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Castor GS & B Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ad Council Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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