Tag Archives: vintage

Don’t Bring Me Down

Electric Light Orchestra ad found in a 1976 issue of Crawdaddy magazine.
Found in a 1976 issue of Crawdaddy magazine.

Don’t you hate it when you buy a full-page ad with minimal copy and lots of glorious white space and you forget to proofread the headline?

Fun fact: This record was originally pressed in gold vinyl.

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In hindsight, perhaps a teeter-totter wasn’t the best visual metaphor.

Packard "Balance" ad from the June 4, 1927 issue of The Literary Digest
Packard “Balance” ad from the June 4, 1927 issue of The Literary Digest

Something for the auto buffs: Why Packard Died

Want a Packard of your very own? Looks like a 1929 Packard 645 Deluxe Eight goes for an average of $212,926 these days. What a bargain!

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When a girl you’ve never met before suddenly gives you a sandwich, that’s Impuls… err… Wonder Bread.

1969 ad for Wonder Bread
1969 ad for Wonder Bread

A little Cheez Whiz in that sammich, and she’d be marryin’ material.

Fun facts: Wonder Bread’s name was inspired by hot air balloons.

No money was exchanged for Wonder Bread’s prominent brand use in Sony Picture’s Talladega Nights.

Horseradish is neither a radish nor a horse.

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Unga bunga. Alunda zug-zug.

1959 ad from the Cigar Institute of America, Inc.
1959 ad from the Cigar Institute of America, Inc.

Fun fact: The earliest known cigar is from an image on a 10th century Mayan pot. So if cavemen smoked cigars, they probably used their caves as humidors, but this is purely speculation on my part.

Another fun fact: It’s also highly unlikely cavemen ever used clubs.

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He just remembered he was supposed to be playing poker with the boys.

1956 ad from the Cigar Institute of America, Inc.
1956 ad from the Cigar Institute of America, Inc.

Trivia: A skilled male cigar roller is called a torcedor.

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“Don’t cough, Junior. My cigar’s smoke makes your stupid toy train more authentic.”

1956 ad from the Cigar Institute of America, Inc.
1956 ad from the Cigar Institute of America, Inc.

Trivia: “Close, but no cigar.” Its origin comes from being screwed over by a carnie. As for “Give that man a cigar,” same place but with a happy ending.

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What? No.

Section from a larger print ad for Crisco, circa 1927
Section from a larger print ad for Crisco, circa 1927.

Wife: “Honey? Do we have any blindfolds?”

Hubs: “I don’t think so, except for the special one. Will that work?”

Wife: “Yes. Would you be a dear and fetch it for me?”

Hubs: [from bedroom] “What about the handcuffs?”

Wife: “Maybe later.”

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You don’t meet many girls named Lucretia these days.

Bottom portion from a larger ad for Lucretia Vanderbilt, circa 1929.
Bottom portion from a larger ad for Lucretia Vanderbilt, circa 1929.

Strange story, this Lucretia Vanderbilt.

It’s got everything!

Astrology!
Italian cheeses!
Alter egos!
Guitars!
Human hair fraud!
Bootleg liquor!
Pre-arrest suicide!
Belgian war heroes!
And butterflies!

Stefon would be jealous.

Check out the history of Lucretia Vanderbilt here, along with its rather wonderful first paragraph that sets the tone beautifully.

In Alan Jenkins’ very readable ‘The Twenties’, his second chapter is titled ‘Let’s Do It!’. “Do what?” he asked, well… “Practically anything you can get away with. Dance. Make love. Sing. Laugh. Make money. Lose money. Drink. Fly. Smash something.”, he wrote.

Are green grapes atop a chocolate cheesecake still a thing? Was it ever a thing?

From a small "The Dessert Collector" binder of recipe cards from Hershey Foods Corporation, 1976
From a small “The Dessert Collector” binder of recipe cards from Hershey Foods Corporation, 1976

WHAT IS GOING ON!?

Is it a forgotten taste sensation?

Is it a practical joke?

I do not know.

I got a fever!

Pacman (Pac-Man) for the Atari 2600 ad from DC’s Detective Comics #518 (September 1982)
Pacman (Pac-Man) for the Atari 2600 ad from DC’s Detective Comics #518 (September 1982)

Fun facts: Even though it totally sucked compared to the arcade version, over seven million Atari 2600 cartridges of Pac-Man were sold.

It was a 4KB ROM cartridge.

The highest possible score for the arcade version of Pac-Man is 3,333,360 points.

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