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    Drawing Power - A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising PDF

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    PANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS. "7563 Lake City Way NE. Seattle, Washington 95115, Bete by Rick Marschall mat ‘Warren Bernard Designed by Tony Ong Associate Publisher Erie Reynolds Pablished by Gary Groth and Kim Thompson "This edition of Drawing Power is copyright (© 2011 Fantographies Books and Mareshall Books. All tex is copyright © 2011 Rick Marschall except the “Johnstone and Cushing” ezay © Tom Hintjos. ins © Rick Marschall and Warten Bernard, ‘All vghts reserved. Permiscion to reproduce material must be obtained from ‘the editors or publisher ‘To recive a free fillolor catalog of emis raphic novela, prose novels, and othor fine works of artistry, ell 1-800-657-1100, or visit worfantagraphics.com. You may order books at our web ste or by phone Distributed in the US. by WW Norton and Company; In, (500-238-4890) Distributed in Canada by (Canadian Manda Group (ix 888-563-8927) Distributed in the UK. by ‘Tarmaround Distribution (44 (0)29 8528-9002) Distributed to comicstoresy Diamond Comics Distributors (800-452.6542 x215) ISHN; 976-1.60609-099.6 Fit Fantagraphics printing: duly 2011 Printed in China A Word from Our Sponsors: This volume will be followed, appropriately, by Volume II. This book eov- ers the approximate period between 1870 and 1940 - the advent of cartoon advertising until the beginning of World War II. The next collection will also span approximately 70 years, through the war and readjustment; the "50s and '60s, with their distinctive aspects; superheroes, animation and TV characters; the undergrounds and alternative cartoonists; to the prod- ucts and media of today. Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising is just that: a concise, comprehensive collection, but a survey. Readers may note the ab- sence of some favorite product (or, rather, ad campaign for that product); nostalgia ean be a motivating factor, not that there's anything wrong with that. But the editors aimed for inclusion of significant as well as memora- ble images. In truth there were regrets, not just that this-or-that ad didn’t, make the cut; but that we could not fit in’more examples of certain ads and cartoonists. In a perfect world, a larger book would contain as many cartoon ads as Carter had liver pills. Many more. ‘The desire for more (which in itself would prove the contention that cartoon ads inerease the reader’s appetite for any and all things) can be mollified by ancillary products, and electronic collections of overflow images, offered at the end of the book. DRAWING PowER pick MARSCHATy WARREN BERNARD Fantagraphics Books, , SEATTLE Marschall Books CARTOONS and the SELLING of AMERICA by Rick Marschall ean Shopherd, the diarist of American popular culture — the Samuel Pepys of our time ~ chronicled the theme of this book in almost everything he wrote ‘or delivered in monologues. On radio and! in print he told the story of his childhood that he later definitively depicted in the classi film A Christmas Story: Ralphio, a fan of radio's Lite Orphan Annie, had sont away for the Ovaltine-sponsored secret decoder to deci- pher messages given during the radio program. Intermi- rable weeks passed until the shiny metal disk arrived in the family's mailbox. Nine-year-old Ralphie locked himself in the bathroom, seeking privacy as he decoded the jumble oflletters he had anxiously transcribed from the broadcast. Leiter by letter the message revealed itself ~ Us SURE TOs ie DRINK.» YOUR. “Ovaltine? A crummy commercial?” Ralphie lisped. “Son of bitch!” Shep captured the essence of mid-century America, a nexus of entertainment, commercialism, technol- ‘ogy; imagination, and - more than merely cartoons and radio ~ of art and com- merce, American style. Radio Orphan Annie was the first popular children’s radio program, built on the success of the popular comic strip by Harold Gray. The show ran between 1930 and 1942, first on Chicago's WGN, then NBC's Blue Network and the Mutual Brood- The strip fenal success, appealing: to children and adults alike With its mixture of humor and adventure, fantasy and poli- ties (its role as a New Deal dissenter was as notable, and effec tive, as any Republican politician’s). Annie's active licensing, and -merchan- ising included books, toys, games... and the radio show, sponsored by Ovaltine, which in turn spawned sales of coramic mugs, Bakolite shaker eups, pin- kie rings, and the aforementioned twin-dial decoder ring. Its theme song was a popular hit in itself, and millions of copies of the sheet music were released ‘Jean Shepherd built his vignette on one of many love ‘children spawned by cartoons and advertising, Among my ‘own formative experiences was the priviloge of growing up in the New York City suburbs, and listening to Shepherd ‘every weeknight for years, on WOR, 10:15 to 11 p.m.; and two hours live from the Limelight, a Greenwich Village club, every Saturday night. Among his cultural observa tions, tales of Indiana childhood (also the substance of later books and movies), and Army stories, was his fascination with “Trivia.” As a kid already hooked on old eomies and movies, Iwas. reeeptive audiones when he talked about old ‘comie characters’ names, obscure jingles, and memories of, ‘say, breakfast cereal and candy bars... ot just their flavors but their names and what the packaging looked like. ‘Today we know what Trivia is, from Trivial Pursuit and parlor games, But it was Shepherd who gave the name ~ indeed, the first formal recognition ~ to the nostalgic efflu- via of American popular culture. In later-yeare, when I got to know Shep, he told me what I already kmew by osmosis: none of this obsession was derisive or dismissive It was all fun, almost reverential — a part of his childhood, a part of ‘America's adulthood. A Leitmotif of A Christmas Story or, to dish up another pretentious but appropriate term, Ralphio's idée fixe ~ was the Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred Shot Rango Model Air Riflo, Ralphio was so onamored of the toy that he could rattle off its eumbersome name faster than firing two shots at Black Bart (except for the time he ‘momentarily was flustered in the presence of Santa Claus) Amidst the childhood fantasy was reality. Shepherd-as- Ralphie, and thousands of kids he represented, wanted to do more than pretend defending his parents from bad suys with any rifle It had to be the Red Ryder air rifle. ‘The sidearm of the comie-strip cowboy... whose cartoon ‘adventures were collected in comic books and Big Little Books... and his own radio show... which had a variety of sponsors... who issued toys and games and apparel fea- turing Red Ryder... until, ultimately, every boy in America wanted to be like the comic- strip cowboy to own the air rifle he ‘saw in thoso ads in magazines and the Sunday funnies. In fact, as the cartoon ad pledged, to “be ‘a cowboy.” Cartoons ads were the entry drugs to the hale lucinatory dream that boys who had never seen cows, much less horses, could “be cowboys.” Shepherd pioneered nostalgia quizzes, but he also anticipated America’s love affair with the minor preoccupations and random subtexts of its recent past. In music, the Statler Broth- fers built a catalog of songs lovingly devoted to movie serials, radio programs, and comic charac- ters (Do You Remember ‘These?; The Sirand; Whot Bver Happened! to Randolph Scott?; The Class of '57; ete). Indeed there are few ‘of us who cannot connect with old cartoons and com- ics, or advertisements and commereials from our youth. Despite, sometimes, ourhest efforts, they have become part ‘of our DNA. I see a bar of Dial Soap these days and I still hear the slogan in my skull, “Aren’t you glad you use Dial? Don’t you wish everybody did?” despite my frank agnosti- cism on the issue, When I walk down the coroal aisle at the supermarket and my eye sees a box of Maypo, my ears, ‘or at least ono of them, hears that cartoon brat yelling, “L want my Maypo!” from the TV cartoon commercials. ‘Thanks to the propaganda concocted by the Greenwich Goebbelses and the Larchmont Lenins, when I was a kid I could recite — before I was able to rattle off, say, the ‘Ten Commandments - the toothpaste pitchman’s solemn ‘ascurance: “Crest has been shown to be an effective decay-preventive dentifrice when used ina conscientiously applied program of oral hygiene and regular professional care.” Achtung! ‘Corporations do not spend billions of dollars on adver- ising unless it works, and works well ~ programming the patterns of eonsumer habits, creating appetites of theit prey ‘And, very often, cartoons and eomies have been the bait that, has lured the prey o.k.a. the rest of us suckers, every minute. f consumers are the vietims, wwe are, however, willing little sheep being led to the slaugh- ter. Never was there a happier sroup of pases in history: Know- ing thot advertising is effective, ad agencies have lavished the ‘sweat and blood of talented staffs, and the best possible writers and iMlustrators and cartoonists and designers and photographers, and the best produetiona values. ‘The ad men's incentives tra: ditionally were roughly equal parts boundless creativity, pride in jobs well done, and stark ter- ror that their clients will switch to rival agencies. It is, therefore, fa funny business ~ “funny” be. ing defined as the root word of terms like “funny farm.” The profession is only about 150 years ld in America (although some ‘would claim that it i the world's ldost profession), and the few history books written by sur- vivors offer portraits of storeo- typical ad men. The executives are depicted as nuts of bizarre temperaments who spat on con- ference tables and fired entire suitos of workers at will Different Deeds wore account exces and ero- ative directors, portrayed as nuts ‘who earcened’ between inspired creativity and dark mental blocks, and who also Cred ‘workers at will, or were themselves fired on whims. Their uleershad ulors, Finally, “talent” (cartoonists illustrators, designers, copywriters, photographers) were assumed to be nuts merely by virtue oftheir calling Oddly enough, it was our heroes, expecially the eartoon- iste and illustrators, who mizht have had the most job sceurity. Low folks on the toter pole, seldom eredived when their offhand suguestions saved an agency's collective Prep- aration H, their skills were the irreducible components to bring any ad to completion. So the red carpets were always cut for them, up and down Madison Avene. Madison Avenue in Manhattan, of course, i the trade tional home of tho advertising business. Some big-name sgoneios were, and are, located in Chicas, and for ob- vious reasons in Los Angeles, but MadAve became the real and symbolic home of the sd game. New York City has its gallery ghetto (upscale upper Madison Ave); the Garment Center; Chinatown; Little Italy; and the Lower Bast Side, where they slice actual baloney. MadAve eame to represent the neighborhood, the business, the people of the ad game. Mad Men, the hit TV series, refars to the street, avd ~ returning to an earlier point ~the mental and motional conditions ofits denizens. Jerry Della Femina, pechaps the quintessential ad man of the last couple of lifetimes, reportedly was the source of not one, but ewe eval, charactors in the show His 1970 memo, titled after 4 presumably facetious tagline he threw out in braine storm-session for the Panasonic account ~ “From those ‘wonderful foes who gave you Pearl Harbor” ~ is a book still print, And Della Fomins is till active in advertising, ‘hile also publishing his own newspaper and running his cen restaurant ‘The selportrait and other-portraits in his book solidi fied a character type in the public consciousness. ‘The ad san was already carving a niche in American literature Bruce Barton, influential ad exec, one of the Be in Bat ten, Barton, Durstine, and Osborse, wrote a book in 1925 called The Man Nobady Knows. Peripherally it was about advertising and business meth- ‘ods, biography of Jesus seen through the lenses of modern management theory. Or 80 its detractors dismissed it, Actu- ally it was a remarkable work of theology, an apologetie for what contemporary Americans could learn from Christ when depicted differently than the moony wimp of Sunday School tracts, Tt was fan enormous best-seller in its day and remains one of the major ceases of 20° century publish- ing. But it was also treated as an ‘ad man’s prism, the way these “types” supposedly looked at life. Fiction and the movies were cestabli stereotypes and clichés of the actual advertising executive, Tono-Bungay, by H.G. Wells, was a novel from the early part of the century about an e tropreneur some called visionary but was exposed as a shyster (the miracle cure he hyped was a pun based on “Ton o' bunk, ch?”). Contemporancous was Upton Sinclair's The Jungie, more about slaughter-houses and bs cilli than the advertiaing of sam: but the broad-brush implications were there. In fuet, as the con- tury sludged toward a lockstep anti-capitalist viewpoint in the arts, the businessman, the salesman, and the advertising executive routinely were depicted as Bad Men, not just ‘Mad Men. Such was the theme of the book and movie The Hucksters; the villain in Death of @ Salesman was of course the System; and the ad-game culture was the fer ra infirme of Ernie Kovacs’ brilliant and negleeted novel ‘Zoomar, about the early days of televisio Civilians who didn’t know their Battons from their Bar- tons were getting a picture of the ad man. And they were ‘usually correet. The ad man, asa character and as a symbol of American business, was not quite the Lone Cowboy or fearless Explorer, but he has gone into American lore What kept, and keops, these putative Nobel-Prize litte ratours and Great Artists on those treadmills? Surely itis not a devotion to certain toothpaste formulas, nor even the lure of bonuses or better offiees closer to the Chairman, ‘The answer can be found, most viseorally in the work: by the “other side of the coin,” the cartoonists. In every creative endeavor there is ajey in the process, pride in goals accomplished, Copywriters do not take particular satisfac- tion, if their accounts are, aay, cigarette brands, to read statistics about eancor deaths. And few ad men likely are callous to that particular dilemma, Yet, once challenged, the existential search is for the right campaign: theme, slogan, copy, artwork, persuasive magic. The achievement is measured deep-down by ad men and their artists more by “knowing it,” than by any resultant sales inerenses months later Capturing a will-o'-the-wisp phrase or a once-in-olife- time serendipity can make an ad man's career, in self-xatis- faction if not income (althouigh many @ man or woman was set for life by *seoring” with a produet or client) “Good ta the last drop!” Theodore Roosevelt supposedly exclaimed after a breakfast’s coffee at Nashville's Max well House Hotel. It was an ad man who transformed it into an institution, “Have you a little Fairy in your home?” was nation. al catch-phrase for Fairy Soap, in, needless to say, a bygone time, “They laughed when I sat down to play the piano... represents all the mail-order self-help, learn-at-home, and nascent 12-step nostrum advertisements. “I was a 97-pound weakling” waa the slogan of body-building kits humped by Charles Atlas (né Angelo Siciliano), an ad eampaign that single-handedly kept match- book companies and pulp magazines solvent for years Cartoon characters eventually cohabited with the clever slogans and eatchlines to attract and solidify the public’ attontion. This joy of ereation — and the unique symbiosis bbotwoen copywriters and cartoonists will be elear enough in the pages of this book. Benjamin Franklin, whose Poor Rickard’s Almanacs mixed advertising, sometimes subtly, with aphorisms, weather forecasts, useful business information, and bib- lical wisdom. It truly can be said that the first American political cartoons, by Franklin and by Paul Revere, were simply advertisements for the eause of independence. By the Civil War era, advertising in urban newspapers (ust ally restricted to dignified, ie., boring, type) and nation fl magazines (offering primitive woodeut imagery) was common. Barely two weeks after President LineoIn’s assas- sination, amid ads for metallie artificial legs and “pimple Danishers” in Harper's Weekly, three display ads selling medallions memorializing Abraham Lincoln, and two ads selling photographs of John Wilkes Booth, appeared. The Booth photos were offered for 25 eents each, approximately “Immediacy” in advertising was on the rice, rivaled only by “tackiness.” By the 1880s, ads ran on two main tracks, the high road and the low road. (To some critics, advertising’s two roads invariably are the low rond and the lower road.) America’s prosperity was in full swing; consumers had money to spend and therefore businesses had money to spend on advertis ing. The advanee in printing technologies, coupled with the proliferation of magazines and newspapers to camry ads, all gave rise to advertising’s first Golden Age. The schizo- phronie nature of advertising columns in periodicals of the 1880s and ‘906 is startling, and frankly hilarious. Dignified artwork accompanying ad eopy for expensive pianofortes ‘was juxtaposed with garish display ads for trusses, busts, cocaine-addiction cures, and wart remavers. “Electre cig rottes” are advertised not by a close-up of the cigarette, but of the dandy who would emoke them. Blectric cigarettes? In the 1880s, electricity was new phenomenon; Thomas Alva Edison was the boy wizard of Menlo Park. So a firm marketed “electric cigarettes.” The amazing product was more the work of sulfur than circuit: 1: The tip of a match was embedded in the end of the eign rette, and all the smoker had to do, besides avoiding bent and broken cigarettes, was strike the cigarette against the package. Eureka! A flaming-tipped cigarette. A Dr. Scott marketed these novelties, in the days before prosaie warn- {ng about cancer and flammable moustache. Dr. Scott electrified the nation with many such prod- ucts, Ilustrated ads in the old magazines show off his arsenal of galvanized wonders: cloctrie bolts and ladies and electric hairbrushes. ‘Turgid and pseudoscientific ad copy assured potential cus- tomers that if they doubted the products’ electric proper- ties whose benefits were well known, of course, to medi- cine and science ~ they eould conduct a test by passing magnets near the products. Magnetic underwear alone was insufficiently salubrious: Dr. Seott had to ballyhoo clectricity, which was still a step removed from supers tion, (Thank goodness we ive in a more enlightened time, when pitchmen no longer promote invigoration through ‘magnets or, say, copper bracelets.) Stewart Holbrook called it the Golden Age of Quack- ery. Vulgar nostrums and cures, promises and testimoni- als, were the stuff of magazine advertising, swamping in ‘number if not column-inches the more refined promotion Te inchoate joy of the process is as old in America as ‘of pianos, soaps, and vacation resorts. Surely the most out- landish fiction of the day was not written by novelists, but by copywriters in advertising agencies, ‘Testimonials and endorsements also reflected a duality Originally most testimonials were from celebrities, and fairly dignified celebrities at that. Pears’ Soap was in the forefront. The Rev, Henry Ward Beecher (prominent pastor of America’s largest church; a political leader; and brother of Harriet Boochor Stowe, who wrote Unele Tom's Cabin) allowed his whiskerloss and presumably scrubbed-clean face to be festooned on full-page ads, as he averred that “cleanliness is next to godliness.” Amen. Other Pears’ Soap fads featured the singing sensation Adolina Patti, whose endorsement assured readers that she cleaned her body and throat with no other soap, Pears’ Soap also pioneered the use of cartoons in their advertisements. In a furious cartoon ad, « filthy hobo, instead of u shiny celebrity, testified that he used Pears’ Soap thrve months ayo, “and since then has used no other.” Patent medieines and absurd advertising claims were doalt a body-blow (but not exterminated) when one of ‘Theodore Roosevelt's many reforms, the Pure Food and CONSISTS OF AMERICAN HUMORIST Awl NORTH AMERICAN 2 Drug Act of 1906, became law. Proviously, afew publishers had already bogun to ban the bogus. Vietor Lawson of the Chicago Record in tho lato 1880s rejoctod advertisoments of products making obviously fraudulent claims. Popa: lar magazines like The Saturday Evoning Post and The Ladies’ Home Journal had banned certain produets and claims from their pages as early as 1893. In 1904 Collier's Weekly published a series of exposé about patent medi- cines, “The Great American Fraud,” by Samuel Hopkins Adams, one of the Muckraking Bea's greats. The public, further outraged by depictions of the meat-packing inde try in the best-selling novel The Jungle, provided fel for legislative re. ‘AL the same time, some manufacturers and advertisers slveady had beggin looking past the muck of nostrams and ‘quackery, false claims and outrageous promises. In 1696, Ingersoll watches had annual sales of about 000 unite, ‘Their watches" retail price was $1.50. Any customer could afford one; the lack of diamonds inthe mechanism enabled the reasonable price tag. But there was no up-tick-toek in sales, because shopowners were reluctant to give equal space in their display eases with watches with more expen- sive timepieces that yielded higher profits. Ingersoll had ‘time on its hands... ots oft asthe watches were not being shoyrcased or promoted. Jolin Brisben Walker's Cosmopoi tan Magazine induced Ingersoll to take a $250 display ad in ite pagos, a beautiful drawing of a beautiful watch that could be purchasud by mail. The first ad resulted in 1800 orders. Within throe years ~ the result of illustrated peri odical advertising — Ingersoll was producing 8000 watches day to moot the demand. Illustrations, drawings, and mailorder coupons: remained timely assets of Ingersoll into the 1930s, when the watch for which they beeame most famous the Mickey ‘Mouse watch — was sold through Sunday funnies and kids’ ‘magazines. Artwork, meet advertising. ‘The wildly popular reprint 1897 Sears Roebuck Catalog (foreword by S.J. Perelman, 1968) shows how important illustrations were to the mailorder sales of The World's Greatest Store. But another reprint the following year, 1929 Johnson Smith Catalog, featured hundreds of adver- tising cartoons. OF course, there were different commercial demands between modular houses or wedding dresses in the Sears catalog, and rubber pools of fake vomit and seat cushions that farted in Johnson Smith. ‘Just prior to the Johnson Smith heyday, President Cal- vin Coolidge famously said, “After all, the chief businoss fof tho American poople is business.” Just so (although the thrust of his speceh, foryotten today, wns that some- thing higher than profits should motivate businessmen); ‘but more to the point ~ our point here ~ were the words of Thomas J. Barratt, of Poars’ Soap, whose exmpaigns we ‘mentioned above: He said, “Any fool ean make soap... it takes a clover man to sell it.” Phich brings us to u Hall of Fame of early advortis- ing luminaries, ‘The following: names are visited because they helped shape the industry we con sider in this book; this will not be an exhaustive Who's Who of ad men through the decades. But theso are poople ‘who shepherded the business to its inexorable rendezvous with cartooning. ‘The first agency that composed and placed print adver- ‘ising was established in Philadelphia by Volney B. Palmer in L841, Almost 25 years later, George P Rowell of Boston took the concept a step further and offered merchants a service to sell space-nds in multiple outlets, on commis- ssion. Responding to newspapers’ reluctance to share their cireulation figures, Rowell published the first American Newspaper Directory ~ a valuable resource thereafter, not incidentally to future historians ~in 1869, Impressed by the logic of opportunity and a burgeon- ing field of newspapers and magazines, advertising agen- ice wore established in rapid suceeesion. Carlton & Smith ‘opened in 1864, and, after morgors and promotions, became the goldstandard J. Waltor Thompson Agoney. N. W. Ayer (also destined to be a publishor of directorias) sot up shop in 1869 and pionoored the paradigm of ad men suggesting, ‘rather than responding to, innovations. The cracker baker Henry D. Perky, for instance, was having trouble maintain- ing his business, until Ayer suggested forsaking the musty and wormy cracker barrels and offering Uneeda Biscuits in wrappers and boxes. Shopowners were impreseed, shop- pers were delighted, and the National Biscuit Company = NaBisCo - was on its way. Unceda's early “mascot,” by the way, was a drawing of a little boy in « yellow rain slicker, intended to convince readers that the soda crackers ‘ould maintain their pleasing dry ancl erumbly consistency through all kinds of weather: Offstage, he and another car toon ad mascot, the umbrellactoting Morton Salt Girl, were probably having a fing. Breakfast foods deserve their special treatment. It was fan industry that grew from few precedents, managed by Junaties, and —every step of the way —was dependent upon cartoon advertising as much as pulverized grains and their laxative effects. The 1994 biopie The Road To Wellness searesly opens the box. John Harvey Kellogy, obsessed with bowel movements and other aspects of the human condi- tion, ran an eceentric sanitarium of eceentrie regimens for eccentric health-seekers in Battle Creek, Michigan. His abused brother Will Keith Kellogg slaved over menial jobs at the dietary gulag, and experimented with food preparae tions on the side. WK. discovered that the mush of grain-pastes, when rolled and baked, could be eut or shaped into “flakes.” Kellogy’s lakes were the rosult, and W.K.'s bold advertis- ing concepts frequently included cartoons or humorous, folksy illustrations. An carly premium in the boxes of corn flakes, The Jungle Land Moving Picture Book, was a pamphlet sith sectioned pages that allowed children to design hundreds of animals by flipping portions of pages ‘with cartoons on them. It was a premium that was used for more than two decades. (One aspect of eorn flakes that WK. did not promote was his flaky brother's conviction that they were anaphrodisiacs ~ that. they deadened the sex drive.) In 1928 another grain was mutilated and reborn in the form of Rice Krispies, and early cn, a cartoonist was delegnted to ereate its identification. Like Grace Drayton (the Campbell Soup Kids) before him, the cartoonist was not required to draw in a new style or invent radically different characters: their familiar characters already had Joyal followers. Meanwhile, back at the sanitarium, in its early days ‘9 patient named C, W. Post was so taken with the pre- iasticated vxperiments of breakfast fare that he attempted to join the Kelloggs, but was put off by thoir assorted oo- ‘centrcitiew. In the celfsame Battle Creck, Post cast about for other grains and other funetions (commercial, not bodily), and hit upon what he deemed to be a coffee substitute: Postum. Made from wheat bran, wheat, molasses, and corn derivatives, when mixed with water it was lions of early risers were sufficiently improssod by its qualities ~ or too sleepy to object ~ and Postum became a compo- nent of many houschold ‘and. military breakfasts for decades Postumn’s biggest years were when an inspired ad ‘campaign = perhaps the realest of all cartoon ad- vortising ~ made a star of its comiestrip villain, Mr. Coffoo Nerves. Stripe in Sunday funny seetions were drawn by Milton Caniff tand Noel Sickles, and several other top- flight cartoonists, (Caniff later confided to me that, since the gorgeous Coffee Nerves ads were drawn a8 late-night freelance work, he invariably had « mug of eof foo next to his ink bottle, ready as needed. Never Postum. He said he would rather have drunk the ink.) Pat later began producing what came to be called Post ‘Toasts. He bout the Kelloggs at their own game, outselling many of their products for years. He was just one of dozens of breakfast-cereal manufacturers whose headquarters, in- cexplicably, were in Bottle Greek, not exactly in the Wheat Belt of Ameriea. Yet the landscape was dotted with factories Detching forth slightly varied forms of eisped gruel ca ohn th debe you pil gh! ‘Another fancier of grain mush was the aforementioned Henry D. Perky, he of the Uneeda Biscuit empire. An eponymous entrepreneur, he discovered that wheat mush could be rolled and extruded (like angel-hair pasta), span into nests, baked, and marketed as Shredded Wheat. For no reasons other than eatching shoppers’ eyes, Nabisco had a cartoonist paint Niagara Falls on the box design, tan example of irrolovance giving birth to product loyalty. I always wondered whether the Falls were a sublimi- nal assurance of flushing toilets, but I have no market research as substantiation. ‘Acereal groupie named Edward Ellsworth, after the turn ‘of the contury, marketed hie vorsion of the flakes as “Force Corea.” The name was redolent of not mich ~ perhaps the strength that could be gained by controlling oneself during the day after ingesting such a breakfast. In any event, Ells ‘worth's cereal is yet another example of cartoons role in a prodiuets success. A pair of young ladies invented a grouchy cartoon character whose outlook and disposition completely changed after eating Foree. They submitted cartoons and poems about this gastronomically bipolar fel- low, whose post-Force name was ‘Sunny Jim. Force Cereal lasted for decades, on store shelves, (hat is, and still sellin Ege land, Sunny Jim and Force were as popular on the ‘American landseape as many commercial comie- strip characters. (It is possible that the ad cam- ign inspired a send-up, the long-running Sunday page Slim sim ond the Force, which commenced halla dozen years after the cereal serial, Slim Jim was 4 mischievous circus. clown, chased for a nover-stated reason by threo bungling cope, the Force.) Meanwhile, back at Kelloge’, struggling to lead the industry it ereated, WK. was a man already wie to the charms of ad copy and artwork. His bay of promotional tricks in- cluded hiring top cartoonists and illustrators for lavish magazine back-covers; huge urban billboards; and the pretentious sloyan that warned, “Beware of Imitations. None Genuine Without This Signature, WK. Kellogs.” But one day, on a train, he met a rumpled udvertising ex- cutive named Leo Burnett. The rest was history, both for Kellogg's (for whom Burnett would be Gz-reat!) and for cartoonists as ad men. Burnett was the first and maybe the greatest proponent of cartoons as sales magnets, and cartoon characters as pitehmen, Our hero ~ whose Leo Burnett Ageney is still in busi rnoss, a top Chieago institution ~ invented tho friends of ur childhoods and every housewife: Tony the Tiger; Snap, Crackle, and Pop; the Jolly Green Giant; Chaslie the ‘Tuna; the Pillsbury Dough Boy; and other eartoon huck- sters. A bonus of adopting cartoon spokesmen: what pen- fand-ink character had to he paid royalties, ike actors or base-ball stars? ith no offense intended to subsequent trailblazors, Burnett’s story brings us to a transformational point in advertising history, and co we turn more attention to the cartoonists whose work and whose charse- tors characterized larye swaths of the ad game for decados beginning in the late 1920s. Higher-class magazines in tho late "20s werw attractive showcases for lavish ads that featured celebrities ~ mov: je stars, sports figures, musicians, even opera singers. ‘To no less a degree, they featured famous eartoonists and illustrators, partly for the quality of their work, and partly because their very signatures carried celebrity status. The work of John Held, Jr, Ralph Barton, Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish, and J. C, Leyendecker were continually on display in glossy magazines like Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and the old Life. The stylish cartoonist Lawrence Follows (Judge maguzino) drew full-pago gag cartoons, always showing, and extolling, Kelly-Springfield Tires. Winsor MeCay, late of Little Nemo, transferred his skills (and presumed authority) from the sermon-like editorial cartoon allegories in the Hearst papers to ads for Lacky Strike cigarettes. At the other end of the dignity-speetrum, Dr, Seuss turned out scores of nonsense ads for the inseeti- cide Flit The point is that cartoonists were hired for their fame as well as their talent, and they ballyhooed everything from luxury automobiles to those expensive, newfangled radio sets; from oocan cruises to Steinway grand pianos. But that was the 1920s. With the Depression, changes ‘came to the genre of Cartoon Advertising. Just ax with other popular arts, advertising cartoon. ing fourishod, rather than suffered, in the Hard ‘Times. It was the Golden Age of Cartoon Ads, in the same ways that comie strips increased in numbers, Sunday fanny sections swelled in size, comic hooks were born, Big Little Books commenced, animated cartoons flourished, and so forth. Virtually every aspect of American life was affected by the Depression, of course, most things in a less positive manner, Contral to our study isthe nutury of what was being hyped in ads. Automobile manufacturors disappeared by the score. Oesan cruises seemed a eruel chimera to many Americans, Cheap radio receivers supplanted the carved- ‘wood elegance, livingeroom shrines, that recently bad bison advertised. Cartoonist continued to work: Agencies still wanted to sel product, just the same, no matter their Price tags or pretentions. And poptlar cartoonists were ap- preciated more than ever, as they made ads more accessible tothe public. ‘There was an interesting alteration in what was be- ing advortise. Tho products woro not just fewer, nor of tore plebeian appeal. There was a shift in the profile of products. Perhaps reflcting the angst of Hand Times, the Insecurity of people, even i thay had employment, became the subtext of many products and their pitches For ine stance, automobile as suffered an imperceptible decine, if any; but luxury ears are lexs evident ~ the dominant there tong the survivors was “affordability” ‘This is logical ‘But more surprising or revealing, we see among the car toon ads a growing preoccupation with bedily functions, particularly personal flaws. In ways that put the patent rmedicine barkers of an earlier era to shame, a variety of pastes, creams, lotions, pill, powders, and instruction booklets rose tothe fre. They promised fixes —zometimes in bold letters spelling words that previously had boon impolite ~ for conditions like constipation, pimples, mal cdorous breath, offensive body odor, smelly underclothes, yellow or green teeth, ugly fat, skinniness, alonies of who- lkncwewhat growing between sweaty toes, facial hair on ‘women and baldness in men, speech impediments, shyness, find bock to tho intestinal tract strange smells and noises ‘The sociclogien! implications of these sudden realiza- tions, as revealed — oF imputed — by the ado, are fascinat- ing. Yes, advertisers ministred to ar exploited (jour pik) a suddenly insecure society: But ad men were only serving the clients who hired them, just as American business be lieved it was responding to social trends. Was the new wa ofpreducts, and therefore the ads that sill for them, the other side ofthe coin we traditionally call Bscapisin? tis interesting to see the new wave of Sunday funnies in the 30s. New categories af comic strips appeared. Science- fiction stvips, adventure eontinuities, cowboy features, comics set i exotic jungles, and the breathless domains of detectives. Readers travelled to other planets with Flash Gordon, and other centuries with Buck Rogers. They en- countered gorillas with Tarzan and the sorcerer Mertin WRIGLEYVILLE ; sections. Which is not be confused with a higher level of ‘truth in advertising: just a subtler delivery. are all vietims of persuasion and propaganda, the unavoidable side-cffeet of sontionee. However, ‘most of us willingly consume cartoon ads before ‘we consume the products, no matter whether we wanted ‘or needed to, or ever heard of them. More than celebrity ‘endorsements, perhaps, and second to the sexual pitch, car- ‘toons put us in a mood to love the product. “Lie to us,” we ‘ay, suspending disbelief as we alter our decisions — some ‘them important decisions ~ based on recommendations of, sometimes, talking ducks. But what a way to go: the best cartoonists, doing t best work, usually do flummox us, We want them to, Some future anthropologist will discover why we are skeptical of philosophers and theologians, but trusting of eartoon char~ acters. Strange but true. “Believe It or Not.” In cartoon ads, artists had to do their best work, not ‘because the competition was stiff between froelance adver- tising cartoonists. Cartoonists knew they had to appeal to ‘our hearts, straight-on; and mug our skulls, from behind No mean trick, to execute such assignments. Persuade the reador that he or she had, say, B.O.; assure him that friends ‘were avoiding him or her and holding their noses at the ‘ther end of the office; and convince him or her that life could not continue, but would in fact be paradisineal, ifhe fr she scrubbed with one bar of soap and not another. All ‘through funny drawings But the Ameriean Dream consists in part of ereating @ need, filing that need, and servicing the neody: It, um, cro- ates jobs and keeps the wheels of the ceonomy rolling. Onee ‘upon a time ~ here I am inviting you to sweep your eyes ‘across the landscape of human history ~ technology and invention, and the arts, filled needs, not created the per- ception of needs, Art (representational art, writing, design, ‘and, yea, even cartoons) served to inform, elevate, amuse Sometimes artfor-art’saake; sometimes in the service of God or important causes, or, cynically, even in the service of frauds or scoundrels. But seldom in the archaeological records of any civilizations do we see the cultures’ greatest artists applying their talents to persuading the masses to need, want, purchase, and consume particular sorts of eos metics, antiemetics, undergarments, pimple removers, or ‘things that eatisfied a sweet tooth or made chariots shiny. ‘Ah, but that is capitalism, mestly a beautiful thing. Any- thing that has an upside, however, logically has a downside. If a culture of advertising, stoked by the presence and ef fectiveness of eartoons, might suggest cultural decay ~ art for anti-art’s sake ~ we at least ought to recognize it, the better to celebrate it clearly. In a democracy we cannot re- verse it, Unlike tooth decay, the culture has no effective decay-preventve dentifrice that can be used in a conscien- tiously applied program of oral hygiene and regular profes- sional care. Ameriea is a consumer-oriented society; that ‘axiomatic. But to “inform” the consumer consistenly has been far down the list of priorities. Cartoons and comics frequently have sugar-coated the ‘medicine of commercialism. Where truth is told, they have made it accessible, Where tenuous product elaims are made, eartoon ads have helped explain. Where a prod- luct’s nonsense is evident, eartoon ads make it, instead, appealing, Where lies are told, cartoon ads make the lies seem irrelevant. .. but at all times, they have made it fun. (On these pages you ace the warp and woof of America's off-brand of High Art: popular culture. Whether shilling innocent toys or solemnly convincing readers that cigae rettos are beneficial to the lungs, cartoonists and illustra- tors, like the ad men who directed them, were mad men too, We consumers also are mad, enjoying every minute of it - because, of course, we all secretly know what is true and what is not. Right? (It was funny, though, that the great cartoonists from the Johnstone and Cushing stable, when I got to know them in later years, uniformly expressed indifference or sometimes hostility to the prod~ ucts they hyped...) So let us see what Jean Shepherd wrote about, what the Statler Brothers sang about. And what saved generations of Americans from smelly armpits and dishpan hands. THE ORIGINS OF CARTOON ADVERTISING t could be said that cartoon ads existed from America’s earli- est days, in the form of political cartoons ~ but that would not be truth in advertising-cartoons. In the sense that car- toons are sketches or shorthand illustrations, and that fo- menting rebellion and forming a political union were causes to be advertised... then Ben Franklin and Paul Revere were the first American advertising cartoonists. But our story really begins at the time when cartooning be- ‘came a recognized profession in America, thanks to the suc- cess of illustrated journalism and humorous weeklies, in the 1870s. Thomas Nast and Joseph Keppler, of Harper's Weekly and Puch, molded national opinions with their political ear- toons. It was a small step and a great temptation for them to ‘moonlight. Nast was already a book illustrator and a political cartoonist for Harper’s Weekly; and Keppler drew posters and announcements for German-immigrant social events in New York during his early years on Puck. Ads were in the purview of these cartoonists, and their imprimatur was valuable to ad- vertisers. ‘The next generation of cartoon ad men were more suitable for general assignments, because their cartoons were wider ranging. Frederick Burr Oper, a Puck staff cartoonist; and Palmer Cox, who did animal cartoons for the humor version of Life and was father to the beloved children’s cartoons The Brownies, drew serious illustrations and humorous cartoons as ads After the Yellow Kid increased the popularity of the car- toon, and reinforced the perception of cartoonists’ influence on the public, the stars of the comic weeklies and the Sunday Funnies found a permanent second home for their work. vd if bain the sido Trevslers ine je carton dou Koper f Pek, ino wl porta ‘The originator ofthe Republican elephant and the cartoonist who standardized the Drcro donkey, nthe Sends Claw i ov today, Thomas Next eas the moe famous at of hi dey. Pride Linco alld Noo ihe North's bet recruiting sergeant for his arton ark a vy scolcul once hmastet Nia’ cartoons toppled the ‘ovr Tieeed Ring” of Nw York's Tenunany ell. Phin ad forthe Bastrr Tenner, Virginia and Georg (BT, VAC) Rola wos ae of the few eds he dr for ete ‘thor han Ne oon Almanac or Harper's Weekly Ada by Lop Keppler, fander and, nite earliest day, chief provider of avtons and edeerising a fo his Pack magesine . epeiclly detinod retrsbmnents when teed ten She wed ther meat Atlas ona eveing, ae play fr i on « Sober Papo, and — ‘COPYRIGHT, 11, BY SOMMER & CO. nex cog HOW SHE CAPTURED HIM. Frederick Burr Oper; as one of America's most popular cartoonists, would be expected io show up in any list of cartoon ads of the period. A full-color back page in Puck combined his comie sense and illustrator’s prowess, selling pianos. DR. SCOTT’S ELECTRIC CIGARETTES. Oo So REQUIRED, LIGHT ON THE BOX. ‘They never fil to light inthe strongest Wie Ocean, and for Home, Office and Street ise, ab, i ah cent on os hie te be ‘yee me wot get post pad. Address SCO! = ~ USE TALKING THE CA) ADURA IS THEBISS SEGAR KR, HAVES: | RECKON, YOURE RIGHT, OLD MAN. é a BUTLER: YOU BET. HE CAPADURA IS NOW, EVER HAS BEEN, AND SHALL CONTINUE TO BE THE BEST FIVE CENT SECAR INTHE WORLD eee fees pa = orroM Joseph Keppler, the founder and ehief eartoonist of Puck, shows President Rutherford B. Hayes and his predecessor Ulysses 8. Grant smoking cigars with retired Union Goneral Benjamin Butler. Grant was an inveterate smoker — and was to die of throat eancer in half a dozen years — but Hayes likely was not; he banned liquor from all White House functions during his presidency. 20 hier Bl ahd hi A ate roma fa pt, lg "Rishi pak eid eh et i Ta Spann ail strip ieensex: Buster Brown and Boxy Grand a mers done with all it's fun, lays are growing cool. and Tads are rather glad going back to school. Feome on 1 aE WATER'S Aah Phare, | Gustave Verbeek was a busy cartoonist in magazines and newspapers from the °906 ino the teens. His father, @ Moravian'Dutck cnigré to the United States, became @ Imiseianary to Japan and was much honored for sharing the faith and establishing ‘educational institutions. His som shared gov humor and established memorable ‘characters as an American cartoonist. His sirip Terrors ofthe Tiny Tods rar in the New York Herald and other neurpapers via syndication. The enterprising Verbook ‘established an agency of eartoon advertising, whereby local merchants cout send ‘their customers monthly calendars, cartoons, and sale pitches. Verbck personally hhand wrote messages, urging e potential customer to subscribe fo his service 23 24 ree may Tae Worst GIRL oy Cheer up~ the Worst ig yek to come! COPYRIGHTED BY CHAS. ROSE, 1908. One ofthe most prolif cartoonists in the firs decade ofthe comic strip was Clare Victor Dwiggins - “Duig.” He drew mony Sunday pages forthe New York World and the MeCture Syndicate; book illustrations; shee! music ar for early Ragtime piano, and many hundreds of popular posteards. The posteards ofen Featured his own version ofthe Gibson Gir! every cartoonist had one), and sometimes promated brands (bread) or products (sausages. Yes, these are sausages) 28 8 New YorK asco Ree 86 later Sho rR rourcasur i996 6 Aisi tothe Library of file records, rveats Outeault Adeortisina Agency. ayright Division, the bowels of their ancient ea) ee aris canta ad tre 7 Ouiasale cal the Por An example of how ye cartoons might in tu tcaull’s cartoons were pitched to advertisers, shiowing ‘used in pitches to eustomers, R Iv is appropriate that the nexus of eartoons and advertising is in the cartoonist who is credited as the Father of newspaper com ic. Richard Felton Outeault was “in at the creation” of many things, beginning down in Hogan's Alley. R. F. Outeault (1863-1928) did not ereate the comie strip. Phere were a few regularly ap- pearing characters in the Sunday newspapers before the Yellow Kid, but there was somme- thing about the urchin in a nightshirt that commanded readers’ attention as other exr- toons did not. Outeault’s Hogan's Alley was the inspiration that made every newspaper in America want its own comic section; and the Yellow Kid’s was the face that launched thousand strips. In the process, the jug-eared pioneer appeared in countless licensing and ‘merchandising permutations, and become an unlikely salesman in many eartoon ads, After the Yellow Kid, most American newspapers hhad to have colored supplements; comie strips with panels and speech balloons were codified; and « new form of storytelling established solf in the arts and the American culture, No leas important were the commercial influences, arid implications, that swirled around the activities of RF Outeault, In the colored newspaper cartoon an industry was born, commereial rivalries incited, and endless spinoffs resulted. The Yellow Kid did not so much presage but embodied the vari- ty of licensing sind morchandising uses that cartoons and cartoonists were to assume. Cartoons like Hogan's Alley advertised their newspapers... they would advertise prod- ucts... and ultimately promote themselves. Outeault perhaps was destined to be more of a commercial cartoonist than most of his peers, An early job was as a staff artist with ‘Thomas Alva Edison's exhibition at the 1889 Paris World's Fair. If Edison was anything D ie} rOvtcau le other than inventive he was entrepreneurial, and a worthwhile role model for Outeault Freelancing cartoons for Truth and other ‘small publications, Outcault cracked the mighty New York World and specialized in slum cartoons in the style of Michael Angelo Woolf and other magazine cartoonists. His drawings increased in size, in varieties of eol- ‘rs... and in cast. The crowded genre eartoons in 1895 and 1896 eventually centered on the barefoot gamin Mickey Dugan; and the public Javed him. Soon there were Yellow Kid songs, Yellow Kid cigarettes, Yellow Kid erackers, a Yellow Kid Broadway musical, Yellow Kid chewing gum, Yellow Kid buttons, Yellow Kid soap, and a Yellow Kid magazine. More, the Yellow ‘Kid “endorsed” all manner of products, from cigars to tea. ‘Just as remarkable as Outeault’s instant suceoss was his perspicacity. A relatively un- known cartoonist in a field where even eoleb- rity writers were time-clock workers, he was able to secure a degree of copyright protection and freedom to exploit his characters indo- pendently. Cartoonists garnered limited re- spect within their journalistic empires; editor Arthur Brisbane once was asked if'eartoonists ‘wore newspapermen, and he supposedly an- swered, “Is a barnacle a ship?” But, until the 1930s, cartoons and comic strips were largely viewed by newspapers not as revenue-genera~ tors but as wudienco-attractors. ‘Therefore part of Outcault’s genius was realizing that he could ran with his Kid Ifthe publie wanted more of him, he was hap- py to oblige. When William Randolph Hearst became the most covetous fan and lured Outeault to his New York American, a battle ensued with the World's publisher Joseph Pulitzer: Significantly, the competition was not for a share of the character's commercial activities nor Outcault’s advertising rey- ‘enues, but just for the exclusive right to the newspaper cartoons In a few years the public, or Outcault, ined of the Yellow Kid. But the cartoo did not tire of newspaper cartoons. In 1902 he ereated another character who starred in his own strip, and scaled higher commercial heights than even the Yellow Kid: Buster Brown, Buster, the mischief maker of a pros- perous family (Hogan's Alley’s slums were in Outeault’s distant past), caught America's faney as much for his inevitable pranks ‘as his inevitable “resolution” at the end of ‘each adventure Buster, too, was Iured to the Hearst pax pers in a few years, countless products and product endorsements following in his wake. Buster Brown shoes, Buster Brown hosiery, Buster Brown reprint books, a Buster Brown ‘musical. Buster, like his scruffy forcbear, “en- dorsed” many products, from toiletries to baked goods, Outcault had the commercial zeal to ‘establish his own advertising ageney, appro- printely The Outeault Advertising Agency. Headquartered in Chicago, Outcault churned ‘out thousands of cartoon ads between ‘approximately 1907 and his death in 1928. His vehicles were newspaper and magazine ads, postcards, booklets, flyers, buttons, and pinbacks. Buster was featured in many, and the Yollow Kid popped up now and again, but Outeault also created other characters spe- cific to ad campaigns, and, in his Gibson style, drew cartoon illustrations of people flogains: banks, watches, and department stores. Buster Brown Shoes is a brand that exists today, emblem of the Advertising Journey from which R. F Outcault never rested, and that generations of cartoonists have followed. bs NDAY Wore) ROTOR FB gH FUNNY Vian GREAT SUNDAY WORLD will be GREATER than ever - PAGES NEXT SUNDAY. - - - - The HATCHET goes into our prices then we first make prices on our goods. We want all of your business, not only this month but ALL MONTHS, and for years to come. We shall always gice you GOOD HARDWARE for your good money. Why not buy YOUR hardware from US? SCHIERBAUM'S, Wentzville, Mo. . mee Ginger? pa ee aS = SV OK-y HIGH ADMIRAL The little Yellow Kid, Mickey Dugan, was a prolifie selosman. These examples show him shilling for hardware stores, ginger snaps, and High Admiral cigarettes, on more than 100 of whose pinback premiums Outeaull's Kid appeared. AND NOW THIS LITTLE 8K 15 THROUGH, WE HOPE WE'VE MADE IT PLAIN TO YOU THAT IF YOURE ANXIOUS TO SUCCEED, THERES ONE THING THAT vou SURELY NEED. ™ Pages from three of the booklets published to promote Buster Brown shows, The lichogrophed art was nat by Outoaullt (a departure for the hands-on cartoonist) bul the projits were; Buster Brown continues tobe a brand of children’s shoes, RDROWN BLUE RIBBOXSHOE ELATOR Boys LFOR GIRLS S Ez. : A iz THE NEW YORK HERALD. s RESOLVED Z THAT IT 15 WEL To GIVE VALENTINES TO OTHERS. BUT WE SHOULD SOMETIMES GIVE OURSELVES SOMETHING | WHY NOT LET IT BE SOME- THING To WEAR? BUSTER BROWN Merchanis could order blank cards from the Outcaule Agency ancl imprint their own messages, or have them delivered pre-printed. AALL OUR FOLKS WEAR HOUSEHOLD SHOES OUR REASONS THEY WEAR"GOOD™ FIT’GOOD" and LOOK GOOD" seibole: Liou sen id | 3% ; } i a PR. F Ouv%ex.% Something Good fr the Ao wonde peed CFS 910 y 12 13S 16 17'18 «(1G 20 i 22 23 2405) 26 27 28 24 80 31 hecks some day you must regularly now. When life’s December comes, if you have been putting money in “ If Sante Glatt cv_our bank little by little, you canbe Dade. ACCOM AA O°"? independent. pney in OUK bank. We pay 5 per cent interest. THE MABTON BANK, A. T. CARLSON, Cashier Mabton, Wash. + Put your Capital $25,000.00. If you wish to write BIGGER | = a alee ‘ror The family depicted in this earioom ad resembled! Outcault's own ~ children the ages of Dick, J, and Mary Jane (also the name of Buster Brown's girl friend) and a father with waxed moustaches, ax Outcault sparted. Ovtcawlt Busterprs Co. The Ladies’ Home Journal for Seplember, 1919. 153 AOU Ale Sov BEAU TOY ade seco? and Sow CHARA Ralph Barton wos the vrei cartoonist whowe work range from prot-Erté eshiondrasings to brant earistur for Pus, Sug, Pholaplay, Vanity Pair, and The New Yorker; o book illustrations, including for the besl-selling Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos. Ani showed etm a Aseanaces 1) SPECIAL “marines” SAT, SEPT. 15 mur Let the Little Tots See HAPPY HOOLIGAN . [A\Treat for the Grown-Ups es.well roe Roe O'Neil’ Keupios were successes in magazine, comie, and ax sare of many ads As the Children orton un A 1917 Rye fora neighborhood performance of Happy Hooligan ithe lve ac tors or animated cortoon~ got med up wilt a drawing ofthe Dingbat Fey, and an carly Prices 15, 25, 35 oa ‘Brazy Kat by Gorge Herriman. sorry A anal sanplof sprint 00 pinta comistrip characters pro- meting the Tokio and Hassan brands of cigarettes, 6a. 1912.1 Cope. Life Pub. Co. Nurses Wanted ed States Army, the Surgeon-General vice the American Red S. _ The Surgeon-General of the Uni of the United Public Flealth ial ON, s! a ‘The enrollment w 1918. Those who register in volunteer body will jemselves in readiness until April 1, 1910, to be assigned to training schools in civilian hospitals or to the Army Nursing School and begin their course of study and active student nursing. and inforn your State Division of the Wom: of the Council of National Defense, or State Councils Section, Council of National Defense, Washington, D. C. nelosed find one Dot. lie Here is the opportunity for every free woman in ee ae America lo do her country an inestimable service \ anil put herself in the front rank of the great army =o of America’s women. We are publishing this atria \. notice in advance in order to give you time to think suibseriptions "renewed. at . », tt over, and make your arrangements to respond LIFE, 17 West g1st Street, New York. so, to this urgent call. ‘One Year, $5.00. (Canadian, $5.52; Foreign, $6.04.) Next Week's Life—* My Daddy’s Over There” Life magazine wes en early proponent of the United States” intervention in World Way 1. Once the US entered the war; Life combined patriotic fervor with shilling for subscriptions ‘The endorsement of the Gibson Girl’s creator, Charles Dana Gibson, counted for much. 39 RECRUITING SERIES NO. 6 I Tye SERVICE you LIKE BEST INFANTRY t CAVALRY : FIELD ARTILLERY bie on ENGINEERS COAST ARTILLERY YOU GET f SIGNAL CORPS FOOD Be AR SERVICE rOrnG Be Sromnce pp LIVING QUARTERS T, Bs Manu CORPS MEDICAL ATTENTION MEDICAL DEpariee fy DENTAL ATTENTION § i BASE BALL Weterinar SONSTRUCTiON'S), IM FOOT BALL FER Conps CA . re you;young man! Do you want tosee it? Learn a trade and live a strong healthy life? If so enlist _and be happy-you can't beat this!” GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. IF YOU CANT ENLIST- INVEST Buy a Liberty Bond WITH YOUR DOLLARS fp New Moth American Ain't it a Grand and Glorious Feelin’? APTER Yoo HAVE READ ARB You Tate AND How Si FoR The Dozen Time aes Me cones wre petiact aoe eee! The Men Know Heodr Tue CUTE THidgs a a aN ha Te Home Folks Know ne A W.G.PE] [Ane tage iy ean ma haiti” |ipeon 2 (l= Dirw en Boel Retance: “asin | HOUSE” sma a areeand | FHostess Houses a You. — mo Gor: sus es in Seventy camps (A WOMAN'S BIT ! _ = WHEN THE TIDE COMES IN- For the Third Liberty Loan in April 1918, the Liberty Loan Committee engaged no fewer than than 50 cartoonists to draw cartoons urging Americans to empty their wallets to support the Dowuhboys overseas. 1n addition to posters, flyers, and ads in newspapers, magazines and iroltey ears, over 5,000,000 copies of The Cartoon Book were printed ond distributed as part of this advertising campaign across the United States. “2 ‘on-H Boy! AIN'T A GRR-RAND - AND. GLOR-R- RRIOUS FEELIN’? Srilor: How about trying the Navy Doughboy P Roe, quarters, training, treatment pay, and promotion are al good. : Phink tt over and be my) shypmate. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS NAVY RECRUITING STATION 4 COMMITTEE ON WAR ACTIVITIES THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU ‘“EHATS GOOD orto vert Journalist, writer ond cartoonist John T. McCutcheon was amang several Ameriean cartoonists who visited Buropean batilefolde in various capacities during World War I. Shortly after war broke out in 1914, MeCiicheon was arrested, on suspicion of spying, by de German Army as it overran Belgizm. Upon his release, he few over the front i a German plane, end sponta few wocks touring the German lines something the French did net look kindly upon when McCutcheon wanted ¢o visit the front again, with the French Army in 1915. 43 is - off huey, OQage Aap Lerreweneoeed Pada DONG As sunG WITH GREAT SUCCESS Winow JONES Worns, a sl &) Lieillag —_— x \ | Conme$r 1896 By hares Eevathan ral! counties , F Supplement To THE EXAMINER. | Brownresr ce Wirre-Saim Must: Poouswinc CP FRONTISPVECE SOPTRIGHT 1398 BY H.R. NEARS. vonees co j Sete eee yi he rectal ho nig ocstcrese esd ty cos ote yore cos tou epee oetones Wececey Cun Aer oreo ee ieocues o/s cn Soe omni ae a eect songaheet,. ees ate iaeae Seine onesies ieee ners derpak Loos ea seal eg eee ae eee epee eet grees area gaa ua gage ee SEEM eM Sie Music staves and notations are boring no matter what the music they represent. Music publishers festooned the covers of sheet mu- sie with attractive and colorful artwork to at- tract customors as soon as technology allowed. Cartoonists were among the go-to artists for the job. MILITARY Das aut rrr DecnTeL Cartoonists illuminated the eovers of songs devoted to their strips, or music from shows built upon their characters. The Hearst and Pulitzer newspaper chains frequently included froe songshoots in their Sunday nows- papers, with special art by staff cartoonists and illustrators RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO THE NEW YORK SUNDAY WORLD ‘Tin Pan Alley and ragtime publishers also called on popular cartoonists to boost sales of their scores. The need to advertise songs ~and indeed the genres themselves, because certain typos of music craved respectability — put a premium on quality eartoons by promi- nent artists e BY THOMSON % BUNELL, | Tavs MUSICAL 6 GILMORE RL 2S WASYEREER. aoe ‘he . sn ocSmsnn We ROHL FNG Sons isuttkcs DDLNYER MUSIC CE Dart Com ~~ yy THEYLL NEVER a ae BRING UP FATHER = a “ALL THEY TEAR DOWN __“DINTY MOORES ae PLN el aya ed NEW YORKERS Nia Ort Be FUNNIES | CORNED BEEF Exe. or the first time You can enjoy on your dining table the same corned beef and cabbage that Dinty cooks for Jiggs, with the same tempt- ing flavor. Here is a real treat. Ask your dealer. JIGGS SALES CORPORATION Columbia City, Indiana, U. S. A. THE JAZZ ERA artoon ad men of the 1920s did not generally promote their characters, or use them as “spokesmen.” Their artwork was solicited because the cartoonists themsclves were celebrities — that is, for the value of their signatures. And, of course, for the clever cartoon work they brought to the ads, and ultimately to the products. ‘The 1920s saw the rise of the magazine cartoonist as advertising artist. Gluyas Williams, Charles Dana Gibson, John Held, Jr, “Fish,” Dr. Seuss, and others frequently advertised products in the same pages where their popular cartoons appeared in daily, weekly, and monthly periodicals. Hamburg Smothered | With Onion J v | we Wik Relentless as the Northwest Mounted hal 4 We always get our Gift! Ne ba Boy Friend -GOODYEARS— at last! Girl Friend—You're a dear— now you can give ME some of the attention you've been giving the tires. WITWEN GARAGE R. F, D. SAUK CITY, WISCONSIN Bea His . COMPLIMENTS OF KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, Inc. M. KOENIGSBERG, Presiden NEW YORK CITY THE MOST TALKED Of (f CARTOONS OF THE AGE. yt CET aaa BUD FISHER’S LATEST SUCCESS MUTT«- JEFF , COLLEGE EVERYTHING OPERA HOUSE SATURDAY 4 BETTER THAN EVER SEPT. 5 Gear sense ee Ka firand) , Batavia, Mar. 15 J Newspapers and magazines were not the only venues for eartoon advertising. National companies sought national audiences, of course. Local retailers had meager budgets, and frequently no use, for national or even regional publishing vehicles. Cartoon ads came to the rescue once again. Back in the day it was common to see favorite. cartoonists’ drawings or strips on calendars and blotters. We are reasonably confident that contemporary readers will know what calendars are, but blotters might require an Bil dP yve! Wobde BE@TTERS ‘explanation. Before ball-point pens were widely ‘used, fountain pens were the inka franca of correspondence and business transactions, They were clegant, but they were pesky: the ink frequently dried slowly. In ancient times, ‘ground sand was sprinkled on paper, absorbing. the wet-ink residue. Hence, the blotter. Porous paper on one side; a smooth finished paper ~ one that would take printing and advertising! -on the other: Eventually the underside would look like road maps of Los Angeles, with all the blotted ink lines, but before discarding, THIL MEHL Sales Representative Leased « BEER 545 PACIFIC AVE. YORK, PENNSYLVANIA ‘* PHONE 2.0223 SHAW-BARTON Calendar and Specialty Cduertising i] hndome ank Car Company RAILWAY TANK CARS Bought REPLACEMENT PARTS LocaL 29454 @@R® onc pisr. 710 SHAW- BARTON the user would have seen the cartoon ad scores of times, Blotters invariably were given away by businesses whose names accompanied the cartoons; calendars were frequent Christmas- season giveaways, These items, an entire genre of cartoon advertising, were halfway houses between the advertising postcards of Outcault and Verbock and animated 'TV commercials and internet pop-ups with eartoon characters. Dependable Service Since 1924 © Sold © Appraisals 5 : i KID KALENDAR, DON YOCUM ustomor Represent Colin aad Specialy verlsing THEYLL DO IT EVERY TIME KEEPING SCORE LOUIS F. DOW Co. sanrena 4 Goad vetising wnnesora 4 Catendare A Noreen 18 19 20 21 22 25 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 UNEXPECTED HAPPENING There's not much that can be done when friends ask you to ound, but you can rebel when unexpected al good repute customers. We will be glad. to. furn vi ny details | LOUIS F. DOW CO. | sant rut 4 Good bets, mmnesora | ‘+ entondarn A pirect matt # Noreen THE FIRST Jimmy Hatlo BLOTTER SERIES of "They'll Bo It Every Dirne? CARTOONS Now, for the first time, humor by HATLO America’s Famous Cartoonist available in advertising blotter form. Win Friends with Hatlo Humor = LEGAL SIZE ONLY - - - 9x3% SERIES B 4701-12 THE MAIN THING TO REMEMBER I$ TO BE SURE AND G GULFESTEEE NAILS GULF STATES STEEL COMPANY BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA Cerca FOR OVER 70 YEARS FLAVOR EXTRACT SPECIALISTS BLUE SEAL EXTRACT CO., INC. hang we ai Saal 1800 — 1951 MANUFACTURING CHEMISTS TO THE FLAVOR FIELD BLUE SEAL EXTRACT CO., INC. roe xwo Sidaey Smith's The Gump achieved such popularity in the 1020s that it spasened many licensing and merchandiving products and its haro Andy Gump ran forthe Anerican presidancy n a mock, ‘but earnest and detailed, campaign, The sirip was a unique lend of humor, melodrama, adventure, and slapstick, Meanwhile, George MeMenus's character Jiggs, @ laborer turmed nosventsriche, dod the accoutrements his wife Myo adopted in her new ify ike the drink coaster area 1830) errr ct Freat Britain, “Hoath Robinsons” are the equivalent Of "Rube Goldberg contraptions,” which they antedate, in the US. William Heoth Robinson started aso bok iustrator, but his fine Fine and absurd view of machinars found « more permanent home in single pane carteons and cartoon edvcrdsements in England and America reno ma Jn fot, literally the opposite of Andy Gump and Jiggs, toere the character ofthe urbane Glass Willams, ome ofthe mt sought after advertising cartoonists of his time. 58 BISCUITS A GOOD LOUD COUGH IF PERSISTED IN LONG ENOUGH WILL GENERALLY ATTRACT THE ATTENTION OF THE SALES FORCE TO YOUR PRESENCE. BUT IF YOU HAVE A LONG SHOP- PING LIST YOUR THROAT IS APT TO GET PRETTY RAW. AT MCCREERY'S YOU FIND THE KIND OF QUICK AND ATTENTIVE SERVICE THAT MAKES COUGHING UNNECESSARY , AND THAT SENDS YOU HOME WITH YOUR LARYNX FUNCTIONING AT NORMAL. JAS.MCCREERY & CO., FIFTH AVENUE & 34 7H STREET,NEW YORK, ons Rear eis’ Copyright, 1926, James MeCreery & Co. ee ee eee THE SATURDAY EVENING POST NUNRER ‘conoo NIZE BABY ITT OPP ALL De SAYAN RILLS FROM TREMP Treme TREMP!) So FROM ITH Rie ITLL Gonna BE LEFPS WITT SCRIMS FHIS month the sweet girl graduate steps forth, Mistress of Arts, with one will remember this is 2 good ti all the world at her crim little feet. to give you a box of Ipswich Hosier Tradition usually determines the cut _ Verburnsapienti. Ipswich Hosiery « and color of her eap and gown. But bebought almost anywhere foras li Fashion says...“You'll wear silk stock- asa dollara pair, putupin 3-pair bo» ingsof course, my dear,and youneedn’t suitable for graduation presents. ——— Down the Dumbwaiter they're shouting— IPSWICH 7" HO STs ees ‘a pesture, Berne Fiticber, wet ts IPSWICH MILLS, Iprwich, Mass WERENC Sle. flied ary Lenton in “Teen, ICH MILLS, Iprcich, Mass Lawnnnce & 0, Silt 9, ile ‘Yi! ain flak comiccll! Witt ees ing, witt ehoekling, witt ruraog. 24st wot Ti ‘Hiom-m-mt Dun't es! Wi dere tryloos, itt lendalipg vite merretons, itt oll kinds werry sammeskable cektr, dot [ANGDON Tramp Tramp Tramp REELS! A Firat National Picture 108 Charlee Dana Gibson still had appeal, a generation after creating the Gibson Girl in the pages of the old cartoon magazine Life... or to be precise, his iconic women did. Here the Gibson Girl's classic face and figure have been updated for the lesa modest Roaring Twenties. scart Nize Baby was Milt Gross’s Vidish dialoet feature in the New York World. Its immense popularity @ Sunday comic strip: appearances in the daily feature Gross Exagyerations; and best-selling book collection ~ might have eclipsed movie siar Harry Langclon, whose movie this ad promoted. 60 Jane 12,1036 THE SATURDAY EVENING POST us Sal cod Sy wad tage ote se te) bo bie nay i tering ry eee uno ue african aly Unies fragrant stand of wokete Once se Sein tn ene nating in the moa cand here ese zat Fea nae ae lle and even wet feu, et fx one Ent Monarch ea thee relnly knocked engagement was asnoenced and FEMS , Daren ta 1 the Ganeralertheweding sore filefactory

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