Ad Nauseum

I find old ads fascinating. Like all cultural artifacts, they’re a reflection of the values and preoccupations of the time. And in a culture where the material is the driving force, what better place to explore the zeitgeist than in the work of the sales force? When I first got into the ad biz I used to look at old ads just out of a curiosity about the history of the craft of it. Amazing how much it’s changed aesthetically and how little substantively. It’s shameless shilling, spinning and hyperbole for the most part, but it’s also an interesting window on the prevailing moral, scientific, and psychological mass assumptions.


1929 Radium Solar Pad

This device consisted of a radioactive pad worn on the back. Touted to relieve numerous ailments such as indigestion, asthma, neuritis, paralysis, rheumatism and more. Includes quotes from 5 medical experts including Madame Marie Curie...who I'm willing to bet was never consulted and was dead 5 years later due to exposure to radiation.





1943 Dr. West Toothbrush.
Reminding women on the homefront their American Duty is to keep healthy, keep well, keep working and keep brushing! Proper health is the nation's supreme national resource...and don't you forget it.







1924 Beeman's Chewing Gum. I read that the original product used a picture of a pig on the logo...but then they switched to photo of Dr. Beeman and sales improved. Marketed for relief of insomnia due to indigestion...but the gum went on to become the "lucky gum" of aviators who liked the antacid effects of the pepsin and of course, the air pressure on the ear stabilizing benefit of gum chewing.





1935 Parke Davis Pharmaceutical.

Wonder if these ad guys were fans of Henry James? Examines breakthroughs in research studying menopause and medications designed to alleviate physical distress and provide comfort and peace of mind during this natural glandular readjustment. Natural glandular readjustment has a nice ring to it, wish I had known about it back when my wife was constantly asking: " Why is it so fucking hot in here?"



1947 Decca Records. On Decca records you will hear the silver voice of Bing Crosby, the songs of Carl Sandberg, legends such as Rip Van Winkle, and great speeches in the American tradition. Decca Records. The fabric of America. I just can't get over the metaphor and all the possible variations. Spinning wheel, spinning records, fabric of America,the (vinyl?) threads and needles...the ad guys must have thought they had struck poetic gold...and I wouldn't be surprised if the art director either quit or started drinking after they ran it.




From 1945. So I'm guessing that all the good ad-guys were still overseas or in transit and they turned the work over to a couple of drunks from the corner bar. Just when you conclude that the premise must have come from someone on a distant planet, you get to the copy that says: To give you more and more light for less and still less cost...that's the way to make "a lamp with more friends".





N E W T

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A newt is an aquatic amphibian of the family Salamandridae, although not all aquatic salamanders are considered newts. Newts are classified in the subfamily Pleurodelinae of the family Salamandridae, and are found in North America, Europe and Asia

Many newts produce toxins in their skin secretions as a defense mechanism against predators. Taricha newts of western North America are particularly toxic. The Rough-skinned newt Taricha granulosa of the Pacific Northwest produces more than enough tetrodotoxin to kill an adult human, and some Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest used the toxin to poison their enemies


About two thirds of all species of the family Salamandridae are commonly called "newts", comprising the following genera:
◦ Calotriton, Spanish brook newts
◦ Cynops, firebelly newts
◦ Echinotriton, spiny newts
◦ Ichthyosaura, Alpine newts
◦ Lissotriton, small bodied newts
◦ Neurergus, spotted newts
◦ Notophthalmus, Eastern newts
◦ Ommatotriton, banded newts
◦ Pachytriton, paddle-tail newts
◦ Paramesotriton, warty newts
◦ Pleurodeles, ribbed newts
◦ Taricha, Pacific newts
◦ Triturus, crested newts
Tylototriton, crocodile newts

Newt may also refer to:
◦ Newt Hall (1873–?), American Marine Corps officer who served during the Boxer Rebellion
◦ Newt Hunter (1880–1963), American baseball player
◦ Newt Randall (1880–1955), American baseball player
◦ Newt V. Mills (1899–1996), American politician
◦ Newt Allen (1901–1988), American baseball player
◦ Newton A. Perry (1908–1987), founder of a swim school in the 1950s
◦ Newt Kimball (1915–2001), American baseball player
◦ Newt Loken (born 1919), American gymnast and coach
◦ Newt Heisley (1920–2009), American commercial artist who designed the POW/MIA flag
◦ Newt Gingrich (born 1943), American politician and former Speaker of the House
In computing:
• Newt (programming library), a programming library for text-mode user interfaces
• Apple Newton, a PDA-like product from Apple, referred to as Newt for short
In fiction:
• Ned's Newt, a 1990s animated television series
• Newt (Hollyoaks), a British soap opera character
• Rebecca "Newt" Jorden, a character in the 1986 science-fiction film Aliens
• Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test (N.E.W.T.), a test of magical aptitude in the Harry Potter series
Newt Livingston, a fictional character on the television series Cory in the House

War with the Newts, a novel by Karel Čapek

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M I T T