Advertising - Overview
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.
"Advertising - Overview" showing 421 items.
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Knifemaker's Shop Sign
- Description
- Traditional American shop signs often incorporated objects made or sold by the shopkeepers, both to promote the wares and to help language-challenged customers understand what the shops offer. This 1920s free-standing, wood–framed oilcloth window sign from the knife shop of Russian–immigrants Joseph and David Miller in the Lower East Side of New York City uses four implements and a legend in Yiddish to advertise their commercial offerings.
- The sign reads "Here is Miller's / Miller's knives are the best and finest in the entire world. / They are guaranteed never to rust." The Miller shop at 25 Canal Street made ritual Jewish cutlery for the shochet (butcher) and for the mohel (circumcisionist), using extreme care in the hand fabrication of each instrument. The large rectangular knife (gasos halef) on the sign was used to slaughter cattle, the small rectangular knife (ofos halef) was for poultry; the curved implement is a circumcision clamp (mohel mashinke); and the double sided knife is a circumcision knife (mohel messer). In compliance with Jewish tradition, great emphasis is placed upon cleanliness, speed, efficiency, and the minimization of pain in the use of these instruments.
- This sign, together with knife catalogs and customer correspondence to the Millers from shochets, mohels, and rabbis from around the world, are 1992 gifts of Irene Galdston, daughter of Joseph Miller. The actual knifemaking tools used in the Miller shop are also in the Museum's collections.
- shop owner
- Miller, David
- Miller, Joseph
- ID Number
- 1992.0391.01
- accession number
- 1992.0391
- catalog number
- 1992.0391.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Panama Hat
- Description
- In 1975, on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California, Wally Amos opened his first chocolate chip cookie bakery. For years, this agent for performers such as Marvin Gaye, Bobby Goldsboro, and Dionne Warwick had loved making cookies, using his Aunt Della's recipe. The little cookies with pecans and lots of chocolate bits were favorites among Amos's Hollywood clients and friends in the entertainment industry. They convinced him to open his own cookie business, giving birth to Famous Amos Cookies.
- Within a few years over two dozen Famous Amos cookie outlets had opened across the country. Retail cookie tins featured Wally Amos wearing a trademark straw hat and cotton shirt, clothing that he donated to the Smithsonian in 1980. The hat and shirt had become symbols of grass roots entrepreneurship and a mainstream African American business.
- By the mid–1980s, Famous Amos Cookies had outgrown their founder. The business went through a series of new owners before its purchase by Keebler in 1998. Years earlier Wally Amos had turned to another interest, making personal appearances as a motivational speaker and writer, using the skills he had learned in the entertainment and baking industries to inspire audiences to follow their dreams, wherever they might lead.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1980
- user
- Amos, Wally
- ID Number
- 1980.0886.01
- accession number
- 1980.0886
- catalog number
- 1980.0886.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
"Famous Amos" Shirt
- Description
- In 1975, on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California, Wally Amos opened his first chocolate chip cookie bakery. For years, this agent for performers such as Marvin Gaye, Bobby Goldsboro, and Dionne Warwicke had loved making cookies, using his Aunt Della's recipe. The little cookies with pecans and lots of chocolate bits were favorites among Amos's Hollywood clients and friends in the entertainment industry. They convinced him to open his own cookie business, giving birth to Famous Amos Cookies.
- Within a few years over two dozen Famous Amos cookie outlets had opened across the country. Retail cookie tins featured Wally Amos wearing a trademark straw hat and cotton shirt, clothing that he donated to the Smithsonian in 1980. The hat and shirt had become symbols of grass roots entrepreneurship and a mainstream African-American business.
- By the mid–1980s, Famous Amos Cookies had outgrown their founder. The business went through a series of new owners before its purchase by Keebler in 1998. Years earlier Wally Amos had turned to another interest, making personal appearances as a motivational speaker and writer, using the skills he had learned in the entertainment and baking industries to inspire audiences to follow their dreams, wherever they might lead.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1980
- referenced
- Amos, Wally
- ID Number
- 1980.0886.02
- catalog number
- 1980.0886.02
- accession number
- 1980.0886
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Ronald McDonald Doll
- Description
- This object is a Ronald McDonald stuffed doll dressed as a clown figure. The doll is made of two pieces of fabric, sewn together in one long seam. Various colors have been screened onto the fabric to look like a yellow jumpsuit with red zipper, red boots and a red and white striped shirt and socks. The doll has red hair, with a red nose and lips and white face. On the back side McDonald’s® is written in black letter with the golden arches logo. Ronald McDonald made his national debut for McDonald’s in 1966 during a nationwide television commercial. He was later provided several friends and nemeses who lived in McDonaldland, which was all part of an advertising campaign created to appeal to children.
- The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
- In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- trademark holder
- McDonald's Corporation
- ID Number
- 1983.0366.01
- accession number
- 1983.0366
- catalog number
- 1983.0366.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Mayor McCheese Doll
- Description
- This object is a Mayor McCheese stuffed doll dressed in purple pants, pink jacket and a yellow shirt sporting a purple sash that says “Mayor” but the “M” is a golden arches logo. The doll is made of two pieces of fabric, sewn together in a single seam. The “clothing” has been screened directly onto the fabric. He has a cheeseburger head and is wearing a purple and yellow hat with the double arches logo on it. On his back, “Mayor McCheese” is written in yellow lettering. Mayor McCheese joined the McDonaldland crew in 1971 as part of McDonald’s® advertising campaign aimed at children.
- The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
- In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- trademark holder
- McDonald's Corporation
- ID Number
- 1983.0366.02
- accession number
- 1983.0366
- catalog number
- 1983.0366.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Officer Big Mac Doll
- Description
- This object is an Officer Big Mac stuffed doll dressed in the blue uniform of a police officer with a Big Mac for a head. The object is made of two pieces of fabric sewn together in a single seam. All clothing and accessories have been screened directly onto the fabric. He is wearing a belt with a double golden arches logo for a buckle and a whistle. He has a large gold star on his chest. On the back the words “Big Mac®” appear in gold lettering. Officer Big Mac joined the McDonaldland crew in 1971 as part of McDonald’s® advertising campaign aimed at children.
- The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
- In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- trademark holder
- McDonald's Corporation
- ID Number
- 1983.0366.03
- accession number
- 1983.0366
- catalog number
- 1983.0366.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Chinese-American Shop Sign
- Description
- This sign was purchased by a North Beach second-hand shop from a proprietor in the neighboring Chinatown district of San Francisco. It is said to date from between 1890 and 1910. If that is so, the sign’s survival is quite miraculous: The 1906 earthquake in April of that year caused much damage throughout the city due to spreading wildfires. Residents of Chinatown grabbed what they could easily carry and evacuated the neighborhood ahead of the fires, taking up temporary residence in relief camps in San Francisco and Oakland. Relocating Chinatown permanently to Hunter’s Point or North Beach was discussed, but, with realization of the continued need for the tax base provided by foreign trade between the business community and Asia, Chinatown was ultimately rebuilt at its original location and continued to be not only a major center for the Chinese American community but a popular destination for tourists to the present day.
- Translation of this shop sign would help to document a portion of the economic history of this neighborhood. It is likely that the language is Cantonese, the dialect used in Southern China, which was engaged in foreign trade long before military oppression and American labor recruitment in the mid-19th century brought immigrants to “Gun San” or the “Land of the Golden Mountain,” as the Cantonese referred to the West Coast of the United States. Not only did Chinese pan for gold in San Francisco. They labored excavating coal, mercury, and borax, building railway lines and tunnels, and working for fisheries and canneries throughout Far West. Economic depression following the Civil War brought fear, discrimination, and violence to established Chinese communities. Successively restrictive acts of Congress prohibited further Chinese immigration beginning in 1882, with continuing restrictions of civil rights until the Immigration Law of 1965 eliminated such restrictions, bringing a new wave of migration to the United States from Asia.
- With dwindling opportunities to earn enough money to return home, Chinese Americans turned to such service industries as laundries and restaurants and specialized increasingly in trade abroad. But this sign also may have advertised availability of herbal medicines, foodstuffs, cookwares, or furnishings desired by the local Chinese American community, which, while changing in population, has survived in San Francisco to the present day.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1985.0844.02
- accession number
- 1985.0844
- catalog number
- 1985.0844.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Pac-Man Gumball Bank
- Description
- In 1980, Namco released Pac-Man, an extremely popular video game designed by Toru Iwatani and distributed in North America by Bally/Midway. It was the first video game to spawn a marketing phenomenon, including licensed books, clocks, radios, a Saturday morning cartoon, and gadgets like this combination gumball machine and coin bank.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1983
- distributor of the pac-man video game
- Bally/Midway
- maker
- Superior Toy & Manufacturing Co., Inc.
- ID Number
- 1990.3099.26
- nonaccession number
- 1990.3099
- catalog number
- 1990.3099.26
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Tarter Sauce Ratchet Gun
- Description
- This hand held condiment dispenser is primarily of metal construction, with a tartar sauce canister inserted into the tray. The canister is constructed of white cardboard with green lettering, which says “McDonald’s® Tartar Sauce” with McDonald’s® double arches logo. This canister holds 25 fluid ounces of tartar sauce. The McDonald’s® Corporation was well known for developing their own kitchen tools to create higher rates of standardization between locations and produce food products at greater efficiency. This dispenser would distribute precisely the correct amount of tartar sauce for each Filet-O-Fish™ sandwich.
- The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
- In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
- maker
- Prince Castle
- ID Number
- 1991.0324.02A
- catalog number
- 1991.0324.02A
- accession number
- 1991.0324
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
French Fry Scoop
- Description
- This object is a right-handed, stainless steel French fry scoop with a black plastic handle. On the reverse, writing etched into the scoop says “Bagging Scoop.” This scoop, used by right-handed employees, was designed to dispense a precise amount of French fries to create uniformity between servings in the quickest, most efficient way possible.
- The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
- In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
- date made
- mid 1960s
- maker
- Prince Castle
- ID Number
- 1991.0324.03
- catalog number
- 1991.0324.03
- accession number
- 1991.0324
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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