Radio Advertising Bureau collection
Collection
0161-MMC
The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) is a national radio advertising trade organization whose history dates back to 1950. To showcase radio's potential during the rise of the television era, the RAB began collecting examples of ads from all over the country beginning in 1954. Many of these ads were used in workshops and presentations, and by the mid-1960s the RAB had teamed with the Clio Awards in order to recognize the best of radio advertising each year. When the RAB moved from Dallas to New York, they donated the ads to the Broadcast Pioneers Library, which was accessioned by the University of Maryland Libraries in 1994.
This collection is open to the public and must be used in the Special Collections reading room. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.
This collection contains audiovisual materials. Items that cannot be used in the Special Collections reading room or are too fragile for researchers require that a digital copy be made prior to use. If you would like to access these materials, please contact us prior to your visit, so we may determine the proper steps to be taken.
Photocopies or digital surrogates may be provided in accordance with Special Collections and University Archives duplication policy.
Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs unless otherwise specified. It is the researcher's responsibility to secure permission to publish materials from the appropriate copyright holder.
Archival materials may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal and/or state right to privacy laws or other regulations. While we make a good faith effort to identify and remove such materials, some may be missed during our processing. If a researcher finds sensitive personal information in a collection, please bring it to the attention of the reading room staff.
3300 Sound Discs
Radio commercials in the collection are predominantly from the years 1954-1968, with the bulk of the material falling between 1958-1964.
The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) is a national radio advertising trade organization whose history dates back to 1950. Originally known as the Broadcast Advertisers Bureau, the name was changed in 1955 to emphasize the organization's focus on radio (as opposed to television). The RAB's main function is to promote the medium of radio as an effective tool for national and local advertisers. To showcase radio's potential, the RAB began collecting examples of ads from all over the country. Many of these ads were used in workshops and presentations, and by the mid-1960s, the RAB had teamed with the Clio Awards in order to recognize the best of radio advertising each year. Ads collected for these purposes form what is now the Radio Advertising Bureau Collection in Mass Media and Culture at the University of Maryland Libraries.
Organized as twelve series with some subseries
The Radio Advertising Bureau Collection was part of the Broadcast Pioneers Library (BPL), which was transferred to the University of Maryland Libraries in 1994.
About 850 of these discs (70 hours) have been migrated to DATs.
All discs were removed from their original sleeves and rehoused in acid-free archival record sleeves.
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives