1970s
Follies of the Mad Men #50
At one time, during either the seventies or the eighties, I believe, this campaign was ubiquitous. I would run across OJ and his boots in every issue of Playboy I intended to cut up for collages, whereupon I would promptly rip out the page intact and mail it to a friend. That's why I had to find a scan on eBay, for this post, and can't tell you the exact provenance of the advertisement.
Of course, today we laugh because of OJ's appearance. "So that's how he was able to escape so fast after the murders! He deployed his third leg!"
But consider the campaign even without OJ.
First you get the off-color allusion to "third leg = penis." Then you get the Addams-Family-style associations of "Our boots are worn by mutants and freaks."
Brilliant!
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 10, 2008 -
Comments (7)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Celebrities, Death, Fashion, Shoes, Law, Lawsuits, Sports, Scary Criminals, Stupid Criminals, 1970s, 1980s
Father Abraham and the Smurfs
If you had to be locked in a small room for twenty-four hours with a musical novelty act, which would you prefer?1) Alvin and the Chipmunks
2) Barney the Purple Dinosaur
3) The Danish dogs who originally barked out "Jingle Bells" in 1955
4) Father Abraham and the Smurfs
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 03, 2008 -
Comments (6)
Category: Music, 1970s, Fictional Monsters
The Chattanooga Twist
I'll bet you never knew what song Chattanooga Hookers like to dance to, did you?What else but 1962's "The Chatanooga Twist," by Danyel Gerard!
Here's DG's other big hit.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 25, 2008 -
Comments (5)
Category: Music, Regionalism, Foreign Customs, 1960s, 1970s, Dance
American Monsters
I enjoyed visiting the American Monsters site, a resource for cryptozoologists.But I regret that when I visited Crater Lake in Oregon, its scaly inhabitant was not showing himself.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 16, 2008 -
Comments (2)
Category: Cryptozoology, Fictional Monsters, Movies, 1970s
High Cost of Electronics
In a recent post featuring a typewriter advertisement, the discussion turned to the high cost of electronics in past eras.Check out the price for this early calculator. The ad dates from "the early 1970's," according to the site where I found it. The Online Inflation Calculator says:
"What cost $345 in 1974 would cost $1435.60 in 2007."
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 04, 2008 -
Comments (14)
Category: Business, Products, Technology, 1970s
Follies of the Mad Men #41
"Let's take a screeching unfunny harridan, dress her in Colonial drag, then simulate a hideous war wound using our product as a makeshift sling. Then, let's run the ad in a magazine filled with beautiful naked women for contrast."
Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 29, 2008 -
Comments (31)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Entertainment, Fashion, 1970s, Comedians
The Academy of Mystic Arts
[From Amazing Science Fiction magazine for August 1973.]
The "Academy for Mystic Arts" which sponsored this ad seems no longer to exist, although there are other, newer organizations with that name. The original Academy has left very few traces behind on the internet, although one lead seems to point to a connection with the famed astrologer named Zolar.
I love the testimony at the end about how relations with the boyfriend have improved. Well, of course they have--you put a zombie spell on him!
Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 27, 2008 -
Comments (9)
Category: New Age, Paranormal, Advertising, 1970s
Follies of the Mad Men #39
The other day, watching that commercial of Lucky Strike cigarettes square-dancing, I speculated on how one could distinguish female from male cigarettes. Twenty years after that commercial, Madison Avenue had the answer! Female cigarettes are "pretty" and have decorative floral emblems on the filters!
Wasn't it wonderful that "women's lib" allowed tobacco companies to sell more cigarettes to a previously under-served population?
Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 19, 2008 -
Comments (3)
Category: Addictions, Business, Advertising, Death, Fads, Gender, Women, 1970s
Follies of the Mad Men #32
Okay, here's today's lesson, ad guys, and I'll only tell you once:
YOU NEVER COMPARE YOUR PRODUCT TO A PLAGUE OR STD, EVEN IN JEST!!!
Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 01, 2008 -
Comments (7)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Celebrities, Food, Sports, 1970s
Lez Zepplin
Loyal and perceptive reader Rain Oubliette, commenting on the Space Age Fridge Ladies, mentions that they resemble an all-female Devo cover band, possibly named "Shevo." Well, no such weird group exists, to the best of my knowledge. But we do have the incomparable Lez Zepplin.Watch them perform in the clip below.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 01, 2008 -
Comments (3)
Category: Music, ShowBiz, Gender, LGBT, Women, Sex Symbols, 1960s, 1970s
| Who We Are |
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |