Advertising

Ivory Soap Ad

Advertising is meant to persuade, and the themes and techniques of that persuasion reveal a part of the nation's history. The Museum has preserved advertising campaigns for several familiar companies, such as Marlboro, Alka-Seltzer, Federal Express, Cover Girl, and Nike. It also holds the records of the NW Ayer Advertising Agency and business papers from Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Carvel Ice Cream, and other companies. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana comprises thousands of trade cards, catalogs, labels, and other business papers and images dating back to the late 1700s.

Beyond advertising campaigns, the collections encompass thousands of examples of packaging, catalogs, and other literature from many crafts and trades, from engineering to hat making. The collections also contain an eclectic array of advertising objects, such as wooden cigar-store Indians, neon signs, and political campaign ads.

Signboard, Pass the Acid Test

In the mid-1960s, novelist and counterculture guru Ken Kesey used this 38" x 68" plywood sign as an announcement board and invitation card to promote the activities of his "Merry Pranksters" (an itinerant band of free thinkers) during their memorable cross-country rides on an old
Description
In the mid-1960s, novelist and counterculture guru Ken Kesey used this 38" x 68" plywood sign as an announcement board and invitation card to promote the activities of his "Merry Pranksters" (an itinerant band of free thinkers) during their memorable cross-country rides on an old bus named "Further." Kesey and his band drove Further from northern California to Washington, D.C., and New York, ostensibly to attend Kesey book parties. In the process they used the bus rides to encourage people to discuss anything with them, to try anything, to perform civic pranks of various sorts, and to otherwise call attention to alternative ways of thinking about the issues of the day.
Like the bus, the sign is a colorful smorgasbord of offerings from the Pranksters and visitors to the bus. Splashes of day–glo paint are overlaid with newspaper clippings, political cartoons, doodles, yarn, and the names of influential West Coast figures from the counterculture movements of the 1950s and 1960s. During a 1992 visit to the Kesey farm in rural Oregon to examine the remains of Further, the Smithsonian found this signboard in the loft of a chicken coop, covered with dust and feathers. A family of foxes occupied the rear seat of Further, moldering in a field, so Kesey decided to donate this sign instead of the bus.
Date made
1960s
user
Kesey, Ken
ID Number
1992.0413.01
accession number
1992.0413
catalog number
1992.0413.01

Button, Memory Media Products, Spectrum, The Better Diskette

This square button, designed to look like a 3 ½” floppy diskette, has a red background with white text that reads: "Spectrum, The Better Diskette" / Memory Media Products / Tustin, California / U.S.
Description
This square button, designed to look like a 3 ½” floppy diskette, has a red background with white text that reads: "Spectrum, The Better Diskette" / Memory Media Products / Tustin, California / U.S. 1-800-228-0438 / CA 1-800-228-9699 / EUROPE +41 22 734 73 59 / Spectrum diskettes are / made in the U.S.A.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1989
ID Number
2009.3071.554
catalog number
2009.3071.554
nonaccession number
2009.3071

"Hamons Court" Neon Sign

The Hamons family business exemplifies the culture of roadside communities that sprang up as long-distance automobile travel increased. Carl and Lucille Hamons lived on Carl's mother's farm until the late 1930s, when they moved to the town of Hydro, Oklahoma.
Description
The Hamons family business exemplifies the culture of roadside communities that sprang up as long-distance automobile travel increased. Carl and Lucille Hamons lived on Carl's mother's farm until the late 1930s, when they moved to the town of Hydro, Oklahoma. In 1941 they used Carl's inheritance to purchase a gasoline station with seven tourist cabins at Provine, a sparsely settled crossroads on Route 66 one mile southwest of Hydro. Neighboring businesses included a Texaco station and the Hill Top Café. Carl drove a truck for a living, and Lucille operated the gas station and cabins. They lived in the second story of the gas station; Lucille prepared breakfast and sandwiches for travelers on a hotplate in the first story. Lucille lived in the gas station until her death in 2000.
Social interaction in communities like Provine differed greatly from traditional villages. Strangers on the move were brought together briefly in a remote, ephemeral setting. This was a culture of mobility; motor travel was the only reason for Provine's existence. In her autobiography, Lucille describes the isolation of her gas station home, her frequent interaction with travelers on Route 66, and her travel-oriented duties and services in addition to running the gas station and cabins. She helped travelers in financial straits by accepting objects for payment or by purchasing their cars and putting the travelers on a bus. During World War II, when rubber and metal were in short supply, she sold tires and parts stripped from the used cars that she had bought.
Lucille witnessed the second wave of migration on Route 66 in the early 1940s, when midwesterners sought defense jobs in California, as well as postwar vacation trips and household moves. In recent years, as interest in the historical and cultural aspects of Route 66 has grown, Mrs. Hamons has been celebrated as the "Mother of the Mother Road." Her gas station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Cheryl Hamons Nowka, who was born in the second story of the gas station, created a Lucille Hamons web site in the mid-1990s.
date made
1941
maker
Gillingham Sign Company, Weatherford, Oklahoma
ID Number
2001.0327.01
accession number
2001.0327

Mrs. Cinderella for General Electric Pamphelet

This brightly colored pamphlet titled "Mrs. Cinderella" is a program that accompanied a puppet show performed at the General Electric display building at the 1939 World's Fair In New York.
Description (Brief)
This brightly colored pamphlet titled "Mrs. Cinderella" is a program that accompanied a puppet show performed at the General Electric display building at the 1939 World's Fair In New York. (See 1979.1164.05)
The Tatterman Marionette Company, led by led by William Duncan and Ed Mable, entertained at the 1939 World's Fair and toured the country and performed this show hundreds of time to promote the wonders of electricity.
The book follows Cinderella and Prince Charming after they are happily married but living in a drafty, old castle inhabited by little elves who interfere with her daily chores and make her life miserable. Her fairy godmother appears and insists Cinderella call G-E 1939.
In a flash the castle is overrun with good little elves who get rid of the evil gnomes and install all new updated GE appliances that will make her life easier, including a new stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, mixer toaster, washing machine, hot water heater and a vacuum. The moral of the story being that GE products can make your life easier and give the housewife "added hours of freedom" to make a happy home. This is a wonderful example of early advertising using puppets as the media.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1939
depicted
CInderella
ID Number
2013.3001.039
nonaccession number
2013.3001
catalog number
2013.3001.039

T. Johnson Tavern Sign

date made
1804
ID Number
CL.65.0978
accession number
256396
catalog number
65.0978

Milk and Eggs

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.I
catalog number
6261I
accession number
238737

Button, Memory Media Products, Spectrum, The Better Diskette

This square button, designed to look like a 3 ½” floppy diskette, has a green background with white text that reads: "Spectrum, The Better Diskette" / Memory Media Products / Tustin, California / U.S.
Description
This square button, designed to look like a 3 ½” floppy diskette, has a green background with white text that reads: "Spectrum, The Better Diskette" / Memory Media Products / Tustin, California / U.S. 1-800-228-0438 / CA 1-800-228-9699 / EUROPE +41 22 734 73 59 / Spectrum diskettes are / made in the U.S.A.” A mark in black ink on the reverse reads: "Comdex 11/89."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1989
ID Number
2009.3071.551
catalog number
2009.3071.551
nonaccession number
2009.3071

MTV T-Shirt

This promotional short sleeve MTV® t shirt is from the early days of the music channel. The “M” is in yellow, while the “TV” is written in red on the front of the shirt, with “MUSIC TELEVISION™” written underneath.
Description
This promotional short sleeve MTV® t shirt is from the early days of the music channel. The “M” is in yellow, while the “TV” is written in red on the front of the shirt, with “MUSIC TELEVISION™” written underneath. This t shirt was made prior to MTV® dropping “music television” from its logo in February 2010.
MTV® officially launched on August 1, 1981 to a limited market. Through aggressive and innovative marketing techniques, staff were able to quickly popularize the fledgling cable music channel. Through the years, MTV® has gone from a channel focused primarily on music videos to include many different types of television programming targeted at contemporary youth culture.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2014.0064.01
catalog number
2014.0064.01
accession number
2014.0064

Man analysing grain

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.U
accession number
238737
catalog number
6261U

Country Store Shop Sign

This sign was a grocery store bulletin board collected from a country store in Plymouth, Vermont, the birthplace of President Calvin Coolidge. The president’s father, John Coolidge, owned a country store in the town from 1868 until 1917.
Description
This sign was a grocery store bulletin board collected from a country store in Plymouth, Vermont, the birthplace of President Calvin Coolidge. The president’s father, John Coolidge, owned a country store in the town from 1868 until 1917. Florence Cilley continued to operate the store from 1917 until 1945. It is not known if this sign came from the Coolidge store or another country store in Plymouth, but the Coolidge/Cilley country store history provides a model for the role a typical country store played in rural communities across the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century. As the Grange Movement took off after the Civil War, country stores became the nerve centers of rural communities, providing credit or barter in locally grown crops in defense against railroad monopolies. A fraternal and lobbying organization for farmers, the Grange Movement achieved rural mail delivery for rural areas and funding for agricultural colleges. The Coolidge store offered space in a second story large vaulted room for weekly Grange dances and family reunions. Store owner John Coolidge served as the town’s notary public and administered the presidential oath of office to his son following the death of President Warren Harding in 1923, and the store took on the role of Summer White House during Coolidge’s administration. But as the Grange Movement illustrates, the country store played a central role in politics of rural towns long before the Coolidge presidency. The bulletin board and bellied stove provided the center for political and business exchange, crop-growing and harvesting advice, local and national news, and storytelling. The Coolidge country store is now available for public viewing at the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site in Plymouth, Vermont, where “buying local” is not a new idea and political news goes beyond national televised coverage.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CL.388195
accession number
182022
catalog number
388195
collector/donor number
198

Advertising Button, Reference Software International, Grammatik III

This square button was designed to be worn as diamond-shaped. It has a yellow border and a white center with grey horizontal lines.
Description
This square button was designed to be worn as diamond-shaped. It has a yellow border and a white center with grey horizontal lines. It has a large gray "III" in the background with red text written with pronunciation markings running across it that reads: "Gram.mat'.ik." Below the text is a yellow oval banner with black text that reads: "Nitpicking Corps." A mark in black ink on the reverse reads: "BCS 6/28/89."
Aspen Software Co. of Tijeras, New Mexico was the original distributor of Grammatik in 1981. Aspen Software was acquired by Wang Electronic Publishing in 1983, then Reference Software International in 1985, and was eventually acquired by the WordPerfect Corporation who incorporated Grammatik into their word processing version 6.0.
References: [last accessed 2019-08-06]
"InfoWorld," August 23, 1982, p. 43. (company advertisement.)
"The ABCA Bulletin," September 1984, p. 22.
"PC Magazine," February 14, 1989, p.38. (product comparison - Grammatik III and RightWriter version 3.0.)
InfoWorld Oct. 28, 1991, p.64-76. (product comparison review of six grammar checking programs.)
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c 1989
ID Number
2009.3071.601
catalog number
2009.3071.601
nonaccession number
2009.3071

Aunt Jemima Syrup Bottle

In 1939, Walter Landor arrived in the United States to help install the British training pavilion at the New York World’s Fair.
Description
In 1939, Walter Landor arrived in the United States to help install the British training pavilion at the New York World’s Fair. At twenty-six years old, Landor had left his home in Germany to study art and design in Britain, where he became the youngest Fellow of the Royal Society of Industrial Artists. With whispers of war circulating around Europe, Landor decided to stay in the United States and travelled to the West Coast in search of design work. In 1941, Landor and his new wife Josephine Martinelli founded Walter Landor and Associates (today Landor) in their San Francisco apartment. The company specialized in packaging and label design for a number of iconic brands ranging from Marlboro cigarettes to Aunt Jemima to Sara Lee. As the company expanded, Landor’s base of operations moved from his home through several locations until it settled in 1962 on the Klamath, a docked ferryboat in the San Francisco Bay that would become an iconic part of Landor’s own brand.
In 1966, Aunt Jemima’s ready-made pancakes debuted their own brand of syrup. Aunt Jemima began in 1889 in St. Joseph, Missouri, when Chris Rutt and Charles Underwood created the first ready-mix pancake. Searching for a character to mark their brand, the company settled on the Aunt Jemima figure after viewing a minstrel show which included a southern mammy, a fictional African American female figure happily enslaved to a White family. The use of Black characters to sell home goods to White consumers draws upon stereotypes of African-Americans established during the period of slavery; in particular it references the stereotype of African-Americans in a servile position. In 1926, Quaker Oats purchased the Aunt Jemima brand and continued to expand it. As Aunt Jemima grew in popularity, the company employed a number of Black women to act as Aunt Jemima at events ranging from World’s Fairs to grocery stores to Disneyland. In 1989, Quaker Oats redesigned and updated Aunt Jemima, changing her from an outdated stereotype to the design that is still in use today: a modern Black woman.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-1989
maker
Quaker Oats Company
ID Number
1993.0393.041
accession number
1993.0393
catalog number
1993.0393.041

Suit Skirt, worn by Ella Fitzgerald

Made of red fabric. This skirt is from the ensemble worn by jazz vocalist, Ella Fitzgerald, in an American Express Card advertisement, photographed by Annie Liebovitz. Sewn on the inside waistbandFCurrently not on view
Description

Made of red fabric. This skirt is from the ensemble worn by jazz vocalist, Ella Fitzgerald, in an American Express Card advertisement, photographed by Annie Liebovitz. Sewn on the inside waistband

F

Location
Currently not on view
advertiser
American Express Company
wearer
Fitzgerald, Ella
designer
Loper, Don
ID Number
1996.0342.007
accession number
1996.0342
catalog number
1996.0342.007

General Electric Radios

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1946
depicted (sitter)
Sinatra, Frank
ID Number
2015.0215.0022
accession number
2015.0215
catalog number
.0022

Lithograph of pole vault champion Cornelius Warmerdam

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1986.0702.06
accession number
1986.0702
catalog number
1986.0702.06

Trading Card, Gum Inc. Superman No. 28

One of a set of 72 trading card featuring Superman, included in packages of Gum Inc.'s "Superman Bubble Gum" in 1940. Each "adventure story" card features an image of Superman on the front with a connected story on the back.
Description (Brief)
One of a set of 72 trading card featuring Superman, included in packages of Gum Inc.'s "Superman Bubble Gum" in 1940. Each "adventure story" card features an image of Superman on the front with a connected story on the back. The cards are one of the earliest examples of merchandise featuring the iconic superhero.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1940
maker
Gum, Inc.
copyright holder
Superman, Inc.
associated institution
Superman of America Club
maker
Gum, Inc.
Superman, Inc.
ID Number
1987.0213.073
accession number
1987.0213
catalog number
1987.0213.073

Trading Card, Gum Inc. Superman No.1

One of a set of 72 trading card featuring Superman, included in packages of Gum Inc.'s "Superman Bubble Gum" in 1940. Each "adventure story" card features an image of Superman on the front with a connected story on the back.
Description (Brief)
One of a set of 72 trading card featuring Superman, included in packages of Gum Inc.'s "Superman Bubble Gum" in 1940. Each "adventure story" card features an image of Superman on the front with a connected story on the back. The cards are one of the earliest examples of merchandise featuring the iconic superhero.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1940
associated institution
Superman of America Club
copyright holder
Superman, Inc.
maker
Gum, Inc.
Gum, Inc.
Superman, Inc.
ID Number
1987.0213.046
accession number
1987.0213
catalog number
1987.0213.046
1987.0213.046

Store Display Card Holder, Superman Bread

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1942 - 1945
ID Number
1987.0213.146
accession number
1987.0213
catalog number
1987.0213.146

Trading Card, Gum Inc. Superman No. 38

One of a set of 72 trading card featuring Superman, included in packages of Gum Inc.'s "Superman Bubble Gum" in 1940. Each "adventure story" card features an image of Superman on the front with a connected story on the back.
Description (Brief)
One of a set of 72 trading card featuring Superman, included in packages of Gum Inc.'s "Superman Bubble Gum" in 1940. Each "adventure story" card features an image of Superman on the front with a connected story on the back. The cards are one of the earliest examples of merchandise featuring the iconic superhero.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1940
copyright holder
Superman, Inc.
associated institution
Superman of America Club
maker
Gum, Inc.
Gum, Inc.
Superman, Inc.
ID Number
1987.0213.083
accession number
1987.0213
catalog number
1987.0213.083

Trading Card, Gum Inc. Superman No. 67

One of a set of 72 trading card featuring Superman, included in packages of Gum Inc.'s "Superman Bubble Gum" in 1940. Each "adventure story" card features an image of Superman on the front with a connected story on the back.
Description (Brief)
One of a set of 72 trading card featuring Superman, included in packages of Gum Inc.'s "Superman Bubble Gum" in 1940. Each "adventure story" card features an image of Superman on the front with a connected story on the back. The cards are one of the earliest examples of merchandise featuring the iconic superhero.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1940
maker
Gum, Inc.
copyright holder
Superman, Inc.
associated institution
Superman of America Club
maker
Gum, Inc.
Superman, Inc.
ID Number
1987.0213.112
accession number
1987.0213
catalog number
1987.0213.112

Trading Card, Gum Inc. Superman No. 4

One of a set of 72 trading card featuring Superman, included in packages of Gum Inc.'s "Superman Bubble Gum" in 1940. Each "adventure story" card features an image of Superman on the front with a connected story on the back.
Description (Brief)
One of a set of 72 trading card featuring Superman, included in packages of Gum Inc.'s "Superman Bubble Gum" in 1940. Each "adventure story" card features an image of Superman on the front with a connected story on the back. The cards are one of the earliest examples of merchandise featuring the iconic superhero.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1940
maker
Gum, Inc.
associated institution
Superman of America Club
copyright holder
Superman, Inc.
maker
Gum, Inc.
Superman, Inc.
ID Number
1987.0213.049
accession number
1987.0213
catalog number
1987.0213.049

Trading Card, Gum Inc. Superman No. 58

One of a set of 72 trading card featuring Superman, included in packages of Gum Inc.'s "Superman Bubble Gum" in 1940. Each "adventure story" card features an image of Superman on the front with a connected story on the back.
Description (Brief)
One of a set of 72 trading card featuring Superman, included in packages of Gum Inc.'s "Superman Bubble Gum" in 1940. Each "adventure story" card features an image of Superman on the front with a connected story on the back. The cards are one of the earliest examples of merchandise featuring the iconic superhero.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1940
maker
Gum, Inc.
copyright holder
Superman, Inc.
associated institution
Superman of America Club
maker
Gum, Inc.
Superman, Inc.
ID Number
1987.0213.103
accession number
1987.0213
catalog number
1987.0213.103

Gum Wrapper, Superman Super Bubble Gum and Trading Cards

This wrapper was for a package of Superman themed bubble gum and trading cards. Made in 1940 by Gum Inc., the 72 collectible "adventure story" cards were one of the earliest examples of merchandise featuring the iconic superhero.
Description (Brief)
This wrapper was for a package of Superman themed bubble gum and trading cards. Made in 1940 by Gum Inc., the 72 collectible "adventure story" cards were one of the earliest examples of merchandise featuring the iconic superhero. The wrapper contains instructions on how to join the "Supermen of America Club," a fan organization that promised a membership card, raffles and special premiums.
The character of Superman first flew into action in 1938. The costumed superhero was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two Jewish teenagers from Cleveland Ohio, who used, among other things, Classical mythology, philosopher Fredrich Nietzche's concept of the "uber mensch," and the era's popular science fiction and adventure writing, for inspiration.
With his debut in Action Comics #1, Superman became an instant sensation with audiences, inspired by the "Man of Tomorrow's" virtue and heroics at time when the Nation was slowly emerging from the economic catastrophe of the Great Depression and moving closer to World War.
Born on the doomed planet Krypton, Superman was sent to Earth as a child, where our world's yellow sun granted him extraordinary powers such as flight, super-strength, near-invulnerability, as well as other extraordinary abilities including heat and X-Ray vision. As an adult living in the city of Metropolis, the alien, born Kal-El, protects his identity by assuming the persona of Clark Kent, a "mild-mannered" journalist.
Fighting for "Truth and Justice," Superman birthed a cultural fascination with superheroes, and has become one of the most recognizable and influential fictional characters in history. In addition to comic books, the character has been explored in all forms of media, including radio, television, and film, and has been used to promote a variety of successful consumer products, educational initiatives and public service campaigns.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1940
associated institution
Superman of America Club
maker
Gum, Inc.
Gum, Inc.
ID Number
1987.0213.044
accession number
1987.0213
catalog number
1987.0213.044

Stall and Dean Company Fall and Winter Sporting Goods Catalog

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
printer
Stall & Dean Mfg. Co.
ID Number
1986.0368.06
accession number
1986.0368
catalog number
1986.0368.06

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