Tag Archives: print ads

1906? We can probably blame the opium.

Found on the back cover of the June 1906 issue of The American Thresherman

Found on the back cover of the June 1906 issue of The American Thresherman.

Product Not To Scale

The ad copy:
It Fills the Bill
J.L. Case Threshing Machine Co.
Racine, Wis.
USA

It’s Saponified!

1898 ad for Pear's Soap
1898 ad for Pear’s Soap

Pear’s Soap has several claims to fame.
It was the world’s first transparent soap.
It is the world’s oldest continuous brand.
And as chairman of the company, Thomas J. Barratt is known to some as the father of modern advertising.

Would you like to learn more about saponification? Of course you would! (You don’t.)

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Who’s Your Daddy?

Old Spice After Shave and Cologne ad from 1969.
from the May 16, 1969 issue of Life magazine

Is this official Spice Girls canon?

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It’s not just a job, it’s an (cough cough) adventure.

1943 magazine ad for Chesterfield cigarettes

What’s going on here with the Commodore lurking behind the Lieutenant? Is he her friend? Her mentor? her dad? Her lover? Her fashion consultant? A creep? A ghost? A German spy? CURIOUS MINDS WANT TO KNOW! Continue reading

Do you even backgammon, brio… err… I mean, bro?

1974 magazine ad for Roman Brio

Think about it — This ad’s style is ripe for parody.

I’m a narcissist…
so make it all about me.
Everybody’s doing smack…
And I’m willing to shoot some up,
but cocaine’s my bag.
I don’t eat bananas because potassium is cool.
I buy them because they look like bright yellow penises.

Trivia: “Brio” appears to be Italian for “vivacity”, which isn’t exactly the manliest of words. Continue reading

“I’m a maverick?” — John McCain

1974 magazine ad for Maverick Jeans & Sportswear

I have many questions about these three, but I’d rather not get them answered. Continue reading

The Meat For Every Occasion… except for perhaps Bar Mitzvahs.

Uncle George likes his meat solid.

Hormel’s SPAM is infamously “spiced ham”.
Armour’s Treet is a “spiced luncheon loaf”.
Wilson & Co.’s MOR was described as “no bone”, “no gristle” and “solid”. Can’t imagine why they’re not still around. Continue reading

Behold, the Big O!

1943 magazine ad for General Mills Cheerioats (later Cheerios)

General Mills’ Cheerioats was invented in 1941. It didn’t long for Quaker Oats to gripe about the name and threaten legal action, so Cheerioats became Cheerios in 1945. Good thing, because autocorrect hates hates hates “Cheerioats”. Continue reading

You’ve got style! You’ve got flair! Something phallic for your hair!

1974 magazine ad for Vitalis Dry 3

Vitalis Dry 3 is sold in a can that looks like a robot’s penis, but leaves you softer and not as stiff. I’m getting mixed messages here. Continue reading

Mmmm… Meat analogues…

1946 magazine ad for Worthington Foods

Long before Tofurkeys roamed the earth, meatlessness was already a thing. Back in the 40s, Worthington Foods was there leading the way with vegetarian comestibles, ironic quotation marks and horrible product names indicative of the era. Let’s examine several of them! Continue reading