Tag Archives: brands

Sorry to bug you.

Volkswagen Beetle magazine ad from around 1970
circa 1970

Q: Where do Volkswagens go when they get old?

A: The Old Volks home.

I’m so sorry.

Not-really-fun fact: The Volkswagen Beetle was originally named the Volkswagen Type 1 and marketed as the Volkswagen.

More VW Beetle trivia here via Mental Floss.

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“requires no exhausts, plumbing, dark rooms or messy inks”

Bruning Copyflex ad
Boy, I wish I wrote down the year of the magazine this was in. Might’ve been a Pathfinder. Remember, this didn’t cost you nuthin’.

Find out a bit more about Bruning via Forgotten Chicago.

I think the “ordinary translucent paper” mentioned in the ad copy might’ve been vellum or onionskin, but I could be wrong.

What the hell is Diazotype, you ask? MoMA has you covered.

“What time am it when little hand on da three anna big one there?”
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“What’s our vector, Victor?”

From the August 1985 issue of Antic — The ATARI Resource — magazine
From the August 1985 issue of Antic — The ATARI Resource — magazine

“…an awe-inspiring flight over realistic scenery…”
Lies! All lies! See for yourself below.

Thanks to this software, and trying to learn how to fly on an Atari 1200XL computer connected to a black and white TV set in the mid-1980s, I decided that I did not want to become a pilot when I grew up.

I thought the vector art used in the ad and packaging was pretty nifty tho.

Ooh! subLOGIC had a Telex number! Fancy.

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Fashionable Despair

1898 ad for Armour's Extract of Beef
I need to start writing date info down when I scan. Judging by the calendar offer at the bottom, I’m placing this at 1898.

Fin de Siècle (translation: end of the century) — Merriam-Webster has one heck of another definition for it:

“of, relating to, or characteristic of the close of the 19th century and especially its literary and artistic climate of sophistication, world-weariness, and fashionable despair”

Fashionable despair.

Fashionable despair and beef tea.

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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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’Tis a charmin’ cereal…

1964 ad for General Mills' New Lucky Charms cereal
Found in DC Action Comics #315 (August, 1964)

It’s a lucky day when you’re flipping through an old comic book and happen upon one of the first, if not THE first, ad for General Mills Lucky Charms!

Fun facts: “The cereal was created by product developer John Holahan. He developed the original prototype based on Cheerios cereal pieces and chopped up pieces of his favorite candy – Circus Peanuts.”

Circus peanuts!?!? Noooooooooo!

“The marshmallow pieces in Lucky Charms are called ‘marbits.’”

Marbits!?!? Nooooooooo!

More Lucky Charms history can be found here.

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Introducing Cascade’s most powerful dishwasher detergent ever!

I was at Cascade’s website trying to figure out the difference between Cascade Platinum and Cascade Complete and didn’t see the “Of Clorox” in the list under “Cascade With The Power” and I would totally buy Cascade With The Power instead of Cascade Platinum or Cascade Complete.

Cascade With The Power

Let’s make this happen, people!

Heinz shows us that not all labels are bad.

Heinzsight. I love it when somebody takes a brand and puts more into it than they have to. In this case, Heinz did some sweet seasonal ketchup bottle labels — They didn’t have to, but they did, and that made it better. Brand personality, yo.

Groovy work, Heinz. I hope you do something like this again soon.

NOTE: I was told there was also a summer beachball tomato label, but alas, I was not in time.

Puma, I thought I knew ya.

This is thinking outside the box in the truest sense! Big props to the creative and practical minds behind Puma’s Clever Little Bag, using 65% less paper than regular shoeboxes. Plus, a reusable bag. Clever indeed.

When Poets Sell Out — 7 Shameless Examples of Product Placement in Poetry

There are more than a few people who bemoan the proliferation of product placement in today’s entertainment world, but unbeknownst to them, this is not a recent phenomenon. For centuries now, highly respected poets have turned themselves into blemished bards by skillfully plopping a brand into their work in exchange for a bit of money (or a decent bottle of absinthe). After a bit of research, I have found seven blatant examples of this foul practice that you might not have noticed back in English Lit class. Continue reading