“Train Now for Tomorrow’s Jobs”: The Ad Council’s Corporate Response to Automation Fears in the 1960s

Author: Ethan Murphy

Field of Study: Economics

Program Affiliation: Source Project Research Program

Faculty Mentors: Will Glovinsky

Easel: 22

Timeslot: Midday

Abstract: In the 1960s, automation in industry sparked widespread fear among the American working class, prompting intellectuals and grassroots movements to call for a guaranteed income. While recent scholarship has examined these movements, less attention has focused on corporate messaging that countered them. In 1964, the Ad Council and National Association of Manufacturers launched campaigns emphasizing job retraining and individual adaptation to the automating workforce. Funded by $265 million annually from corporations and Madison Avenue expertise, campaigns such as Job Training, The American Economic System, and Job Corps sought to frame job loss as a personal challenge rather than a structural consequence of automation. This paper analyzes advertisements in leading newspapers and Public Service Announcements in video form, investigating the motives behind these campaigns and their influence on public perception. It situates these efforts within broader efforts to resist guaranteed income proposals, highlighting their role in what one scholar terms “the failed welfare revolution”.