Advertising
Follies of the Mad Men #42
Yet another "disease" that Madison Avenue tried to foist upon the public.
[From Fortune magazine for December 1936.]
Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 10, 2008 -
Comments (5)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Furniture, 1930s, Disease
Baby Laugh-a-Lot
Could this commercial have been the inspiration for The Exorcist?
Posted By: Alex - Fri Nov 07, 2008 -
Comments (11)
Category: Babies, Video, Advertising
Cheerios and V-8
I love Cheerios, and can tolerate V-8. But there's no way I could imagine eating a spoonful of Cheerios and then swallowing a gulp of V-8 immediately after the sweet milky mouthful.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 30, 2008 -
Comments (16)
Category: Business, Advertising, Food, Toys, Children, Space Travel, 1960s
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 #40
There's nothing oddball about this ad--except its incredible lameness! Look at those stupid birds that dominate three-quarters of the page. What do they tell the reader about the product? Absolutely nothing! This full-page ad could have run as a tiny spot with the same text at the back of the magazine for a fraction of the cost. And it would have achieved the same results.
Imagine the malicious glee at the ad agency that created this: "We just grossed a hundred K for two blotches of paint!"
Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 27, 2008 -
Comments (12)
Category: Animals, Business, Advertising, 1960s
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 #38
Exactly how does one distinguish a male from a female dancing cigarette? I suspect this of being subliminal homosexual propaganda, since all the dancers look identical to me!
Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 14, 2008 -
Comments (7)
Category: Business, Advertising, Tobacco and Smoking, 1940s, LGBT, Dance
Follies of the Mad Men #37
We saw how the advertising industry created the concept of "B.O." for "body odor." Here, less successfully, they tried to triple the problem. Note how coyly the term "other personal odors" is used to refer to farting.
Is there any scientific proof that chlorophyll tablets do anything in the human body?
And don't you just love the look of disgust on that gal's face?
Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 13, 2008 -
Comments (12)
Category: Body, Business, Advertising, Products, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Hygiene, Medicine, Obsessions, 1950s
Follies of the Mad Men #36
Because satyriasis and nymphomania are such funny hooks with which to pitch a lubricant.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 12, 2008 -
Comments (5)
Category: Addictions, Sex, Business, Advertising, Products, Technology, 1980s
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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 |