Advertising
Hitler Heater Ad
1999: A Taiwanese company came under fire for its "Hitler Heater Ad." The ad for the German-made heater featured a cartoon image of Hitler standing alongside the heater. A company representative explained, "We decided to use Hitler because as soon as you see him, you think of Germany. It leaves a deep impression."The German manufacturer insisted it hadn't been told about the ad before it ran. More info: Taipei Times - Nov 23, 1999.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jul 12, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Advertising, 1990s
Follies of the Madmen #320
Sexy Owl Lady is recruiting cigar smokers.
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 12, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Business, Advertising, Products, Tobacco and Smoking, 1960s
Edmonton Rebranded
In 2015, city officials in Edmonton, Alberta decided that their municipal slogan, "City of Champions," needed an update. Several years and $2 million later, they have a replacement. The new slogan is simply "Edmonton."It's a non-slogan slogan, apparently reflecting Mayor Don Iveson's belief that we live in a "post tag-line era." More info: Daily Hive, Edmonton Sun
I'm reminded of the time in 1973 when the Army Materiel Command (AMC) held a contest to name its new national headquarters in Washington DC. After reviewing 524 entries, the prize committee announced the winning suggestion. The new headquarters would be called "The AMC building."
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jul 08, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Advertising
Annie Oakley’s Dandruff Shampoo
Story of its invention here.
Source of second ad.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 06, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Body, Hair and Hairstyling, Head, Hygiene, Advertising, Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, Twentieth Century
Follies of the Madmen #319
We've all heard of talking with your hands...
From Radio Mirror magazine, December 1937.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 02, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Body, Business, Advertising, Products, Surrealism, 1930s
Warhol Schrafft’s Commercial
In November 1968, the Manhattan restaurant chain Schrafft’s hired Andy Warhol to create a television commercial, hoping to make itself look more hip and relevant. Warhol created a one minute long commercial, promoting Schrafft’s new “Underground Sundae,” which Schrafft’s described as, "Yummy Schrafft's vanilla ice cream in two groovy heaps, with three ounces of mind-blowing chocolate sauce undulating within a mountain of pure whipped cream topped with a pulsating maraschino cherry served in a bowl as big as a boat."
Time magazine described the commercial as follows: "Onto the screen flashes a shiny red dot, which turns out to be a maraschino cherry, which turns out to sit atop a chocolate sundae, which turns out to be the focal point for a swirling phantasmagoria of color. All of which, it also turns out, is a 60-second videotape commercial for a venerable Manhattan-based restaurant chain. "The chocolate sundae," proclaims a credit line that rolls diagonally across the TV tube, was "photographed for Schrafft's by Andy Warhol.”
According to Harold H. Brayman: "The screen fills with a magenta blob, which a viewer suddenly realizes is the cherry atop a chocolate sundae. Shimmering first in puce, then fluttering in chartreuse, the colors of the background and the sundae evolve through many colors of the rainbow. Studio noises can be heard. The sundae vibrates to coughs on the soundtrack. 'Andy Warhol for a SCHRAFFT’S?' asks the off-screen voice of a lady. Answers an announcer: 'A little change is good for everybody.'"
And according to Playboy: "His recent widely discussed commercial for Schrafft’s restaurant chain was a long, voluptuous panning shot of a chocolate sundae, with 'all the mistakes TV can make left in,' the artist explained. 'It’s blurry, shady, out of focus.'" Warhol was quite pleased with the results. “‘It's fun,’ he says, ‘and really pretty, really great.’” Apparently, so was Schrafft’s, which claimed, “[W]e haven't got just a commercial. We've acquired a work of art."
Unfortunately, Schrafft’s failed to preserve the commercial, and no known copies exist. Accordingly, on Thanksgiving day 2014, Katrina Dixon & Brian L. Frye recreated Warhol's commercial, to the best of their ability. For the record, the hot fudge is homemade & based on Schrafft's own recipe.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 29, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Food, Advertising, Avant Garde, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s
Mystery Illustration 48
What's the product being advertised?
The answer is here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 23, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Advertising, 1970s
Follies of the Madmen #318
I don't get it. Is "nimble as an ox" good or bad, the before or after status of fueling up with their gas?
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 20, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Business, Advertising, Products, 1950s, Cars
The Many Lives of the Borden’s Cows
Would today's media consumers accept bobbing paper cutouts in place of CGI?
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 04, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Business, Advertising, Products, Food, 1950s
Follies of the Madmen #317
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jun 03, 2017 -
Comments (0)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Hygiene, 1960s
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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 |