Jean Jacquelin is well known for having designed the dust jackets of numerous editions for Presses de la Cité, but 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 illustrator 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 for 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 advertising campaign: winter sports were booming, and in 1964 the IOC awarded the 1968 Winter Olympics to Grenoble. Twenty-five years before the famous “La Montagne, ça vous gagne!” campaign, SNCF sought to put the French on the tracks toward the “white gold” of the mountains, with a campaign linking the speed of skiers to that of its trains.