Although Jean Jacquelin is well known for having designed the jackets of numerous publications for Presses de la Cité, he was above all a celebrated poster artist. Artistic director of the Step agency from 1929, he produced several film posters from 1940 onward while continuing his work as a commercial artist across many sectors: automobiles (Peugeot, Delage, Simca, Buick, Fiat), energy (Antar, Esso, Shell), the press and publishing (Paris-Soir, L’Intransigeant, Éditions Froissart, Presses de la Cité), fashion (Scandale, Magasin Le Printemps), brands and events (Crédit Foncier, 24 Heures du Mans, Coop, Vittel, Casino d’Enghien, Brandt, Champagne Mercier, Semaine du cinéma, Les Châteaux de la Loire) and tourism and travel (Air France, Aéropostale, Compagnie Transatlantique).
A major exhibition was devoted to him in 1993 at the Bibliothèque Forney, accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue (Jean Jacquelin affichiste et dessinateur publicitaire; Exposition Bibliothèque Forney, April 29–May 28, 1993).
In this capacity, he produced in the 1960s several designs for a major SNCF campaign: winter sports were booming, and in 1964 the IOC awarded the 1968 Winter Olympics to Grenoble. Twenty-five years before the famous campaign “La Montagne, ça vous gagne!,” SNCF sought to put the French on the rails of “white gold,” with a campaign pairing the speed of skiers with that of its trains.