USVI Public Records

Document text

PIU STAT : arin an 408K ; : 0001-7 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/12/20 : CIA-RDP73-00475R00040277 H SEaavUsar oP COT e On OT RCTS ONT ODED USO aRnDSOOSTON TSE SPCRRS OTTO OVW STAY aE NT ORDERED TOTES Oe d 4 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/12/20 : CIA-RDP73-00475R000402770001-7 O HEN John Monsarrat, vice presi- dent and director of J. Walter Thompson Co., was made manager of the agency's Chicago office last May, his knowledge of television’s great social and economic impact was put ‘into still sharper focus by a casual observation that many might overlook. Upon moving from New York:to his ‘new post, Mr. Monsarrat and his family took an apartment on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive high in the glass and black steel complex designed in the crisp cubic mode by the modern Dutch ar-’ chitect, Mies van der Rohe. Coming home from the office each evening he “quickly became impressed with the phosphorescent glow that danced over nearly all of the 29 floors of the glazed expanse before the drapes were drawn, “cube by cube. “We now have the ability to com- municate beyond belief,” Mr. Monsar- rat says of television and its older broadcast brother, radio, while explain. ing just how impressive a sight it. is to ’ see a@ microcosm of the TV audience in action. But this display only con- firmed an appreciation and understand- ing’ of the audience-pulling power of the broadcast media which he learned through work at the agency level for three decades. TV-Radio Heavy = Now as the day- to-day operating head of JWT’s Chicago office, Mr. Monsarrat will: continue to be involved in the key marketing deci- . sions of a number of top national adver- tisers. The Chicago office presently has billings totaling about $60 million and of these some two-thirds go into televi- . sion and radio. The list of the heavy television users ‘includes Quaker Oats Co., the Kraft Foods Division of National Dairy Prod- ucts Corp., Alberto-Culver Co., Libby, McNeill & Libby, Seven-Up Co., Oscar _ Mayer & Co., Chun King Corp.; Murine Co. and American Bakeries Co, Strong regional and local TV users include Pfeiffer, Schmidt and Sterling beers, First Federal Savings & Loan Associa- tion and the Ford Dealer Advertising Association for the Chicago marketing area. Virtually all are radio advertisers, Mr. Monsarrat developed a keen en- thusiasm for creative writing early during his school years. It was an interest that became profitable when ‘the depression forced him to leave “school late in his college program. He worked first in the mail order advertis- ing department of a small textbook publishing firm in Columbus, Ohio. “The financial investment aspect of advertising sinks in immediately in mail order work,” Mr. Monsarrat recalls. ‘One quickly learns efficient and effec- ‘tive communication there, he notes, because each ad quickly proves itself as the money orders come in—or don’t. New York’s Lure = Doing what he liked to do and getting paid something Professionalism in spending clients’ money for it too during those lean years proved to be the taste of honey that titillated his agency ambitions sufficiently to shoot for the big time. After a consist- ent letter-writing effort, Mr. Monsarrat convinced a small New York agency, ‘Platt-Forbes Co., that he should be given a crack at a copywriting job. The association was to run 14 years. Be- cause of client requests he eventually gave up writing for what since has been his long career in account supervision WEEK’S PROFILE NC nee ey a 2s terete John Monsarrat—VP-director, J. Walter Thompson Co., and manager of Chicago office; b. Nov. 29, 1912, Columbus, Ohio; Columbus Academy, 1919-29; Hotchkiss . School, 1929-30;‘Haverford (Pa.) College, 1930-33; merchandising courses, Colum- bia U., New York; copywriter, account representative, account supervisor, VP, director and head of plans board, Platt- Forbes Inc., New York, 1935-49; VP, Geyer, Newell & Ganger, New York, 1949- 52; senior VP and general manager, Len- nen & Newell, New York, 1952-55; joined - New York office of J. Walter Thompson Co. and elected VP in 1955, elected director 1963 and appointed Chicago office manager and member of executive committee May 1965; m. Margaret Jane Cashatt of Columbus, Sept. 2, 1939; children—Nicholas 23 and Grant 17; World War Il service—1942-45, chiefly aboard aircraft carrier USS Langley and ending as commander; member—Sauga- tuck Harbor Yacht Club, Royal Swedish Yacht Club, Virgin Islands Yacht Club, Off Soundings Yacht Club (Long Island}. and Weston (Conn.) Gun Club. U y S and agency management operations. It was at Platt-Forbes in the latter 1930’s that Mr. Monsarrat witnessed. one of the “great growth stories of radio”—the medium’s transformation of Peter Paul Inc.'s Mounds candy bar into a national favorite. The technique was heavy use of spot market by mar-. ket as distribution grew. ; Radio is a powerful selling tool today, Mr. Monsarrat feels, and its future should continue “very. strong” since so many advertisers recognize radio’s abil- ity to reach people at low cost. He doesen’t consider radio a “secondary medium,” either, since it offers many modest budget advertisers a good means - to get their marketing growth pattern well established. TV’s Big Punch «© After World War II service in the Navy Mr. Monsarrat returned to the agency scene to watch and help various advertisers experiment ' with TV. This continued after his move to Geyer, Newell & Ganger in 1949 where accounts like Nash and Kelvina- tor scored well with the new medium. Then after his shift to Lennen & Newell in 1952 he could see television work its magic for Bromo Seltzer and P. Lorillard Co. among others. Following his move to JWT in 1955 Mr. Monsarrat worked in various su- pervisory capacities on accounts such as Pan American, Douglas Aircraft,’ Brillo, Aluminium Ltd. and Chese- brough-Ponds. For the last five years he headed the Liggett & Myers account team. ; “An agency’s creative operation is the heart of the business,” Mr. Monsar- rat believes, and the role of a -good manager is to keep a fine idea from getting smothered to death by layers of committees. He is willing to risk dan- ger of dilution, however, if the idea can be improved threugh Study by people whose experience could be: ben- eficial. The critical element, then, he indicates, is with those who do the reviewing and not necessarily with the process. JWT’s review board process, he ex- plains, assures the client he is getting the benefit of the agency's best thinking as a whole, not one account group. It also assures agency management that plans never go to a client with holes in them that could have been caught, he adds, while the account team has. the advantage of knowing that the. agency is behind them when they pre- sent their plans to the client. Increased professionalism is the way Mr. Monsarrat feels that agencies will be able to keep up with accelerating competition in all areas of advertising. : “Professionalism is exceptional com-’ petence based on knowledge and ex- perience,” he says, “plus a state of mind.” And that last part, he explains, “is an: awareness of the. serious business of. spending someone else’s money wisely.” .