Advertising: Historical

Created by Duke University. Has over 7,000 advertisements from print Canadian and U.S. newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955. Possible to filter by company, product, subject, audience and more. Concentrates on the main subjects of Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and Hygiene, and World War II.

A searchable and browsable database from Duke University featuring thousands of television commercials. These advertisements were created for clients or acquired by the D'Arcy Masius Benont & Bowlese (DMB&B) advertising agency or its predecessor during the period 1950s-1980s.

A database of over one million catalogued advertising images (100,000 available as high resolution images) with a strong focus on British and American advertisements, though coverage of various European countries also offered. Spans from the mid nineteenth century to the present day. Mainly sourced from print materials.

Database can be searched and thumbnails of images found. Registration required (free) to view full-size images of advertisements.

Created by Duke University, this searchable and browsable archive, includes over 9,000 images relating to the history of advertising in the United States. Possible to filter by company, product, subject, audience and more. These images "illustrate the rise of consumer culture, especially after the American Civil War, and the birth of a professionalized advertising industry in the United States."

Includes ads from the 1940s through early 2000s. Some content available for free, but much available to members (fee-based) only.

A collection of over 100,000 vintage ads from a variety of sources including coming books, websites, books, magazines and more. Ads may be browsed by category or searched. Ads available as far back as the early 1800s for some subject categories.

Browsable and searchable collection of images of hundreds of full-page advertisements placed in popular consumer magazines between 1932 and 1969.Possible to browse by product, magazine, advertise, year, keyword and more.

Vintage advertisements in digital form made available by an individual collector with experience working in the advertising industry in the United States. Browsable by year or subject category.

Collection of every entry to the British Television Ad Awards since 1977. Offers over 25,000 commercials.

An online advertising archive from Duke University. The advertisements may be viewed and printed out by anyone for research, teaching, private study, or general interest. Contains over 22,000 items selected from four archival collections: the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) Archives, the OAAA Slide Library, and the papers of prominent outdoor advertising figures John Paver and John Brennan. A fifth collection, the R.C. Maxwell Company Records, was digitized as a complement to the NHPRC grant-funded collection, and was added to the ROAD installation later in summer 2011.

From Duke University this collection includes some 600 health-related advertisements printed in newspapers and magazines from the 1910s through 1950s. Possible to filter by company, product, subject, audience and more.

This site, maintained by the Library of Congress, includes television advertisements, never broadcast outtakes, and experimental fottage which reflects the development of television advertising for coca-cola over time.