Current Ads

• CLIO Awards
  International competition winners in all areas of advertising (billboards, design, direct mail, posters, print, etc). See also their shortlist and archives.


• Communication Arts Print Ad Exhibit
  Annotated examples of print ads from noted magazine Communication Arts (available in print in the Park Library).


• D&AD Yellow Pencil Awards
  Current and past winners. Categories include digital, graphic design, illustration, outdoor advertising, and more.


• Effie Awards
  Awards recognizing the most effective advertising efforts in the United States each year. Browsable by categories, such as fashion & style, Hispanic audience, restaurants, and more. Archives available in most categories.


• One Show Award Winners
  Examples of award-winning full page ads in newspapers, magazines, trade publications, and more. 1991-present.


• One Show Design
  Examples of annual reports, award-winning booklets, logos, campaigns, and more. 1991-present.


• AdCouncil
  PSA Central offers public service announcments in several categories, including newspaper, magazine, and outdoor. Free registration required.


• Ad Flip
  Browse advertisements by category (jewelry, motorcycles) or decade. 1940’s to present. Guest access only; searching isn't permitted.

Historic Ads

• Ad*Access
  Duke University’s extensive collection of over 7,000 magazine advertisements. 1911-1955.


• Adclassix.com
  Vintage ads covering cars to military propaganda to wrist-watches. 1900s-1970s.


• ARTstor
  Miscellaneous ads ranging from soap to liquor to the New York subway. Search for "advertising and YOURTOPIC" or browse thousands of advertisements by searching for "advertising" alone. Check out this collection of 50 ads collected randomly. Tech Note: enable pop-ups in your browser. Contact Stephanie for assistance.


• Emergence of Advertising in America
  Duke University’s collection of the early days of American advertisements. 1850-1920.


• Gallery of Graphic Design
  Advertisements from a variety of magazines.  View all advertisements at once or choose by year, product, magazine, advertiser, illustrator, or keyword. 1930-1969.


• Retro Lounge
  Links to print advertisement collections around the world. Browse by topic. 1800’s to present; most from the the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. 


• Vintage Ad Browser
  Ads from a variety of sources. Browse by topic (alcohol or race) or search. Sources include book and magazine scans, CD-Roms, web sites, reader submissions, and more.

thanks to Park Fellow Amanda Komar for historic ad links & annotations.

Other Resources

• Television Advertisements
  Collection of television advertisements compiled by the Park Library.


• New Yorker and Vogue online
  Full-text and images, including advertisements! New Yorker from 1925 to present; Vogue from 1892 to present.


• Advertising Collections from the Library of Congress
  Digitized print and television advertisements in several categories, including Multiformat Advertising from 1850-1920, Television Advertisements from Coca-Cola Advertising from 1951-1999, and WPA Posters from 1936-1943. Searchable or browsable.

Advertising Resources in the Park Library

• Communication Arts -- check their Advertising Annual!
• Books about advertising (ask for permission to browse these)
• We have several consumer magazines with advertisements; all are current and some include back issues:
  • Atlantic
  • Newsweek
  • New Yorker
  • Our State
  • Time
  • Wired