The Advertising Department was part of the Public Relations Division. Holcombe Parkes (1896-1977) became director of NAM’s Public Relations Division in 1945, after the reorganization of the public relations program. The Advertising Department materials document NAM’s advertising themes after World War II with its focus on decreasing the power of government over the economy. NAM’s targets were the Office of Price Administration (OPA), the federal deficit, and organized labor. Its positions were advertised nationally in newspapers, magazines, and on the radio. NAM’s 1946 advertising campaign attacked the OPA and pushed for the elimination of price control. NAM opposed Congress amending the Price Control Act to extend its duration from June 1946 to March 1947. The attack centered on inflation and the OPA price ceilings, and the advertisements urged consumers to express their opposition to Congress. Additional NAM advertisements in 1946 opposed the federal government’s deficit financing and spending and strikes by labor. The ads also invited readers to contact NAM for booklets with additional information on the subject. The tagline of the ads reads “National Association of Manufacturers — for a better tomorrow for everybody.”

The 1947 advertising campaign continued with attacks on organized labor and inflation, and like the 1946 advertising campaign, advertisements appeared in magazines and newspapers. The advertisements regarding labor publicized NAM’s nine-point labor program and supported the Taft-Hartley bill, an act which prohibited unions from engaging in unfair labor practices. The campaign opposed the closed shop and industry-wide bargaining with the urging readers to write to Congress with their opinion. In 1947 and 1948, NAM ran advertisements in magazines targeting specific audiences such as farmers, youth, women, and general interest. The advertisements promoted the positive aspects of the free enterprise system and attempted to dispel the belief that business made excessive profits.

This material includes correspondence between NAM and its advertising agency Benton & Bowles, members, and staff; memorandums between Holcombe Parkes and department staff; advertising copies, drafts, and proofs; and comments on the ad campaign schedules (including names of publications, dates, and costs of insertion). The records, which appear to be complete dating from 1946 to 1948, provide detailed information about the work of the Advertising Department.