Camels for Digestion's Sake
This 1936 ad for Camel cigarettes encourages you to stop and smoke between each course of your Thanksgiving feast. Link to Flickr page (full size). -via Metafilter
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All the Ads in Times Square, New York City
Think that websites and blogs are so laden with ads? Well, the virtual page is nothing compared to the physical space when it comes to ads – take Times Square, for instance. Back in 2007, David Friedman of Ironic Sans blog decided to take a photo of every single ad in Times Square. It took him 20 minutes, and he came up with 183 ads total.
Link [Flickr] | David’s post: Every ad in Times Square
Lest you think that this ad business is a recent invention, check out this photo of Times Square back at the turn of the century:
Photo via The Dust Congress
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15 Vintage Household Ads
Kitch and nostalgia abound. Definitely got a kick looking at these! Favorite? "Weighting only 8 lbs" to describe the portable TV of the future.
Household chores may never feel effortless, but appliances that make our day-to-day lives easier have definitely come a long way over the decades. Take a fun look back at vintage ads that tout then-innovative inventions, such as the gas range, electric broom, portable television and more!
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Six Controversial Moments in Beer Advertising
Old Milwaukee “Swedish Bikini Team”
In the early 90s, Old Milwaukee decided to compete with the imports by inventing the Old Milwaukee Swedish Bikini Team. The ad features a bunch of guys out fishing and being manly men and they think that it just can’t get any better. And then, of course, the Swedish Bikini Team shows up wearing spandex, cans and six-packs of Old Milwaukee parachute in, and the camera pans in on lots of jiggling boobs.
The ad triggered a sexual harassment suit by five members of the Stroh Brewery who said that the ads perpetuated an environment of verbal and physical abuse that had been going on since the mid 80s anyway. You can tell it really scared the company – shortly thereafter, the “bikini team” was featured in Playboy For your viewing pleasure…
Miller “Beachin’ Times”
In 1989, Miller ruffled more than a few feathers with a 16-page pamphlet distributed in 55 college newspapers across the country. Called “Beachin’ Times,” it instructed college students on how to get drunk and pick up babes. One such gem includes a piece on “Lite Beer Pro Beach Volleyball” which asked readers to “Name something you can dink, bump, and poke. Hint – it’s not a babe.” You can tell it was 1989 because the pamphlet is liberally peppered with “babe” references – another section was called “Four Sure-Fire Ways to Scam Babes.” I don’t know about you guys, but I’m totally hearing Jeff Spicoli in my head. Even college students were offended – groups of students at two universities organized protests and threatened to boycott Miller, which was enough to scare the company into an apology. They sent letters with the headline “We Blew It” to all 55 student newspapers the pamphlet had appeared in. It didn’t impress some people, though – the University of Iowa’s Daily Iowan ran an opinion column that compared the apology to after-the-fact birth control – “It might make you feel better, but it doesn’t do a damn bit of good.”
Grain Belt “Girl in the Barley”
Looks pretty tame, right? But when this ad was first published, complaints rolled in by the barrel-ful. The look on the girl in the barley’s face was apparently much too suggestive for the liking of the general public, because the Minneapolis Brewing Company received so many letters that they recalled the posters as so not to offend any more potential customers. Photo from Land of Amber Waters by Doug Hoverson.
Rolling Rock “Beer Ape”
This is actually not a controversial ad, but Rolling Rock wanted you to think it was. I watched the You Tube video and wondered what people found so offensive about it – girls in bikinis? Because there’s much more scantily-clad women on Rock of Love every week (trust me, as an avid viewer, I know). But that was all just part of the scam. A little more digging revealed that Rolling Rock actually released “Beer Ape” as a viral Internet campaign. They put up billboards and other ads, apologizing to anyone who was “offended” by the campaign… the campaign that never actually aired anywhere except YouTube. Of course, this resulted in people flocking to YouTube to see what this offensive commercial was all about. Kind of genius… kind of underhanded and sneaky. Check it out for yourself:
Budweiser Fish Controversy
Yes, there are controversies that don’t involve Swedish Bikini Teams and seductive women – this one involves fish. Animal rights activists were outraged at the treatment of the fish in this ad and called for its removal.
Photo from World News’ 25 Most Controversial Ads
Miller Lite “Catfight”
If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember Miller Lite’s “Catfight” ad. It ran in 2002 and showed two women getting in an out-and-out down-and-dirty catfight over whether Miller Lite tasted great or was less filling… you know the schtick. They end up tearing off each other’s clothes, wrestling into a public fountain and eventually tear it up in a pool of cement. At the end of the ad, we see that the whole thing was really just the fantasy of two guys sitting at a bar.
Miller contends that they were mocking the stereotypical male mentality, but that didn’t really hold water with the hundreds of people who called or wrote to complain. Miller made it a point of pointing out that the majority of people who complained were women over the age of 40 who had children… I find the fact that they pointed this out more offensive than the actual commercial, personally. Here it is in all its racy glory:
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Ghosts of Super Bowl Commercials Past
Before the newest Super Bowl ads roll out today, refresh yourself with some of the biggest ads from Super Bowls past. I totally remember the Michael Jordan/Larry Bird commercial, and I’m amused by the Michael J. Fox ad for Diet Pepsi. It’s so ’80s! Warning: there are current ads sprinkled here and there as well.
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First Political Campaign Television Ad Ever
[YouTube - Link]
1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) v. Adlai E. Stevenson (D)
This campaign was very unique. The two candidates used radio and television ads effectively and fought a long hard campaign . Ike or Eisenhower (R) was a war hero (Supreme Commander of Allied Forces WWII), so Stevenson was reluctant to attack him directly, and the Republicans had a difficult time attacking Stevenson because he had not been part of the previous Democratic administrations. Eisenhower went out and traveled over 33,000 miles during this campaign.
The campaign's television ads were most effectively used by Eisenhower, who used short ads to promote his popularity. In contrast, his opponent Stevenson used 30 minute speeches as a way to capitalize on the television market.
Eisenhower's short ads:
- were substantially easier to remember
- more likely to be watched by viewers
- played more often.
- Political ads were defined by these first ads on television.
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This Test Brought To You By...
A teacher who could no longer afford to print out the tests for his classes has taken to selling ads on his students’ tests. The current pricing is $10 per quiz, $20 per test and $30 per final. Most of the ads are from parents and local businesses. What kind of a message would you put on your kid’s test?
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