Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the history and contents of an archival resource that is of interest to scholars of historical marketing. The Pirate Group Inc. archive, held by McMaster University Library’s William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections consists of over 27,000 sound recordings and 84 metres of textual records, documenting the work of Pirate, an award-winning Toronto-based advertising company founded in 1990. The comprehensiveness of the archives, which includes tens of thousands of advertising “spots”, gives researchers unprecedented access to the creative forces behind some of the most memorable advertisements produced in Canada.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper aims to answer the following questions: what is the Pirate Group Inc. and what is their documentary legacy? How can scholars of marketing history benefit from the records contained within the Pirate Group Inc. archive? How can researchers access the material at McMaster University Library’s William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections?

Findings

The authors assert that the Pirate Group Inc. archive may be of particular interest to scholars engaged in research on the following topics: Canadian nationalism in marketing campaigns, the advertising history of companies whose histories are under-studied due to a lack of archival resources and the recent history of radio and television political ad campaigns.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to historical research in marketing by asserting that the Pirate Group Inc. archive has continuing value for further research. The Pirate archive, which allows for unprecedented access into the study of Canadian advertising due to its comprehensiveness and its uniqueness among archival collections from the contemporary era, makes it a strong primary source for marketing historians.

中文翻译：

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海盗档案馆，William Ready 档案和研究收藏部，麦克马斯特大学

目的

本文的目的是讨论历史营销学者感兴趣的档案资源的历史和内容。Pirate Group Inc. 档案由麦克马斯特大学图书馆的 William Ready 档案和研究馆藏部保存，包括 27,000 多份录音和 84 米长的文字记录，记录了 Pirate 的工作，这是一家屡获殊荣的多伦多广告公司，成立于1990. 档案的全面性，包括数以万计的广告“点”，使研究人员能够前所未有地接触到加拿大制作的一些最令人难忘的广告背后的创造力。

设计/方法/方法

本文旨在回答以下问题：海盗集团公司是什么，他们的纪录片遗产是什么？营销史学者如何从 Pirate Group Inc. 档案中包含的记录中受益？研究人员如何访问麦克马斯特大学图书馆威廉·雷迪档案和研究馆藏部的资料？

发现

作者断言，海盗集团公司的档案可能对从事以下主题研究的学者特别感兴趣：营销活动中的加拿大民族主义、由于缺乏档案资源而未充分研究其历史的公司的广告历史以及广播和电视政治广告活动的近期历史。

原创性/价值

该论文通过断言 Pirate Group Inc. 档案具有进一步研究的持续价值，为市场营销的历史研究做出了贡献。Pirate 档案馆因其全面性和在当代档案馆藏中的独特性而允许前所未有地进入对加拿大广告的研究，使其成为营销历史学家的重要主要来源。