Business
Westphal’s Auxiliator
[Click text to enlarge]
Here's an old-timey hair tonic with a weird name. The strange noun just means "helper."
Composed of "55% grain alcohol," it went down many an alcoholic's gullet, I'm sure.
Believe it or not, the tonic was mentioned in a SIMPSONS comicbook. If you look at their ad below, you'll see why. The mutant female user resembles the famed Springfield three-eyed fish.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 22, 2013 -
Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Elderly and Seniors, Comics, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, Nineteenth Century, Hair and Hairstyling
Follies of the Madmen #196
This is a particularly egregious cut and paste job, even for the pre-Photoshop era. Never mind the far-fetched association of lady astronauts and booze.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 26, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1960s, Alcohol
Sir Linit
Knights, armor, fabric clothes? And the connection is...?
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 18, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Fashion, 1960s
Follies of the Madmen #195
This one comes courtesy of longtime WU-vie Expat47.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 15, 2012 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Junk Food, Reader Recommendation, 1950s
Mercedes Benz Commercials
Maybe it's just me, but I find these commercials remarkably creepy, inauthentic, unappealing, ineffective and misguided, given my perceptions anyhow of who buys a Mercedes.
What do you all think?
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 08, 2012 -
Comments (8)
Category: Business, Advertising, Humor, Stereotypes and Cliches, Europe, Cars
Follies of the Madmen #194
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 01, 2012 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Technology, 1970s, Hair and Hairstyling
Fake Facial Hair for Sale
[From Playboy for November 1968. Click to enlarge.]
I can imagine a man being follicle-challenged and able only to grow a patchy beard or mustache. But most of us can grow a perfectly fine crop of facial hair for free. Why would anyone spend money for a fake? And the price! The Inflation Calculator I always use says: "What cost $30 in 1968 would cost $185.89 in 2010."
But the weirdest thing is the appeal to scam your girlfriend or one-night-stand with fake hair. Huh?
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 27, 2012 -
Comments (5)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Magazines, Sexuality, 1960s, Facial Hair
Follies of the Mad Men #193
I just don't know... That lion looks pretty forbidding to me, for a suitable company mascot, as if he's saying, "Yeah, pal, just try to take my caffeine fix away from me!"
And won't the creatures of Narnia complain that we're using Aslan as a shill?
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 18, 2012 -
Comments (11)
Category: Animals, Business, Advertising, Products, Food, 1900s
Follies of the Mad Men #192
I wish Mr. Indigo Blue and Mr. Beamish Bright had become as popular as Goofus and Gallant. What adventures they could have had while conquering constipation!
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 24, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Bathrooms, Body, Business, Advertising, Products, Food, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1940s
Follies of the Mad Men #191
Alcohol and virtual reality: two great tastes that go great together?
Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 05, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Science Fiction, Alcohol
| 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 |