Advertising
The Armhole Odor Test
You may not have heard of Odo-Ro-No, but you've heard of the word it coined -- "B.O." It began using the term in 1919 in its ads for women's deodorant. Women were warned that if they had "B.O." they might never get a man.Later Odo-Ro-No introduced the wonderfully off-putting concept of the "Armhole Odor Test" in its ads. This was the test:
I've never seen Odo-Ro-No in a store, but apparently Walgreens still sells it.
Links: Who invented body odor?
Posted By: Alex - Sun Sep 14, 2008 -
Comments (2)
Category: Hygiene, Advertising
Follies of the Mad Men #26
You just know that the contents of those plates are the raw remnants of their fellow castaways.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 12, 2008 -
Comments (4)
Category: Boats, Business, Advertising, Products, Food, 1950s
Hair Club Infomercial
Continuing the baldness theme, there's something disturbing about this recent Hair Club for men infomercial. Don't Mike and his stepdaughter seem to be a bit too flirtatious with each other?(via Presurfer)
Posted By: Alex - Wed Sep 10, 2008 -
Comments (2)
Category: Body Modifications, Sexuality, Advertising
Civilizing Pears Soap
During the nineteenth century Pears Soap managed to brand itself as the quintessentially British product. Part of what this meant, of course, was bringing "civilization" to all non-white people. Thus, these rather bizarre ads that appeared in British papers.
This ad refers to an actual event. The British soldiers who invaded Sudan wrote the phrase "PEARS SOAP IS THE BEST" on a rock to mark the point of their furthest advance into the country. The ad fantasizes about how the "Dervishes of the Desert" must have reacted when they stumbled upon this piece of imperial graffiti.
This ad is captioned, "The Birth of Civilization -- A message from the sea." The message presumably is: the British are about to invade your country!
Posted By: Alex - Tue Sep 09, 2008 -
Comments (1)
Category: Hygiene, Advertising
Follies of the Mad Men #25
Let's watch A TOUCH OF MAGIC.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 08, 2008 -
Comments (8)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Domestic, Marriage, Family, Husbands, Wives, Food, Futurism, History, Inventions, Movies, Pop Culture, Technology, Sex Symbols, 1960s, Dance, Cars, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
Follies of the Mad Men #24
And now, something different for this series: a video titled DESIGN FOR DREAMING.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 07, 2008 -
Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Domestic, Fashion, Futurism, Inventions, Technology, Sex Symbols, 1950s, Cars
Follies of the Mad Men #23
Surely nothing better evokes the confusing and guilty sensations associated with a "what's my name, and where did I leave my panties?" lost weekend better than a forgotten drink high atop a pole you shimmied up while looking for the bluebird of happiness.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 04, 2008 -
Comments (3)
Category: Animals, Business, Advertising, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Corrections, 1940s, Weather
Follies of the Mad Men #22
Pure jittery brainbuzz in a handy grenade-shaped shaker.
Beware of putting anything in your mouth that comes from a company named "International Minerals & Chemical Corporation."
Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 03, 2008 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Food, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Science, Technology, 1950s
Follies of the Mad Men #21
The weirdest thing about this ad is the notion that an airline would give a customer something for free!
Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 02, 2008 -
Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Drugs, Smoking and Tobacco, Flight, Travel, 1950s
Follies of the Mad Men #20
Judging by the reaction of the people in the background, these are either a) real transgenic tiger men walking down the street; or b) very convincing masks. In either case, the viewer is forced to ask, "Are tigers particularly famous for their sartorial choices?"
BONUS: this ad may serve as Furry porn, if you're so inclined.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 01, 2008 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Business, Advertising, Fashion, Sexuality, 1950s
| 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 |