Neil H. Borden papers

The collection documents Professor Neil H. Borden's research and teaching at Harvard Business School as well as his research, writings, speeches, and consulting work. His research emphasized the role of advertising as a driving force in business and illustrates the expansion of the role of advertising in the teaching of business. Materials include correspondence, notes, consulting reports, speeches, publications, advertising clippings and surveys, as well as a small amount of teaching notes for classes he taught abroad and a film focused on marketing.

The collection covers his time at Harvard Business School, beginning in 1925 through shortly after his retirement in 1962. The bulk of the materials falls during the time of his full professorship (1938-1962).

Of particular interest is a collection of advertisements dating from the 1930s. The advertisements were collected by Professor Borden and his MBA students during the research stage of writing The Economic Effects of Advertising and cover a wide variety of products which were prominent during this time period. Also of note are the records related to Borden’s consulting work which cover the entire period from the 1920s until the 1960s in a variety of industries including agriculture, automobile, oil, and government agencies. Professor Borden was a sought after consultant on matters of advertising, and worked with private firms and on legal cases.

The collection is arranged into six series: I. Correspondence and Subject Files, II. Teaching Material and Advertising Research, III. Speeches, IV. Consulting Work, V. Publications, VI. Biographical Material.