Advertising Is Good For You

This was really a thing

Bickmore Morticians Powder. 

You have to admit, this is some cool vintage packaging.

The National Museum of Funeral History is a thing, too.

Stunning old movie poster from behind the Iron Curtain

One of my other blogs, Found in Mom's Basement, is devoted to old advertising. By old, I mean everything from late 19th century to the turn of the last century. 

I find old advertising by looking through old magazines and googling. Sometimes find advertising that truly blows me away.

This is one of those times.

 

It's a 1957 movie poster from Poland. The movie it's promoting, Height/Vysota, was made in the Soviet Union.

The designer of the poster was Waldemar Swierzy, a noted Polish designer. Learn more about him and his work in this wonderful post by Adrian Curry.

David Ogilvy's approach to starting a successful advertising agency

The Walking Dead intro, 1995 style

Click here to watch The Walking Dead intro reimagined as it would have been in 1995.

Michelob Ultra's less-than-subtle strategy

Michelob Ultra is a low-cal, low-carb beer.

It now comes in a "slimline" can:

Michelob Ultra is using the same marketing strategy as this 1990 woman's extra slim cigarette:

Sad that such a transparent strategy works.

Click here to see an ad for Michelop Ultra, featuring Lance Armstrong.

"Everything tastes better when it sits on a Ritz," according to Andy Griffith

By now, you've probably heard that actor Andy Griffith passed away this morning.

Click here to see Andy Griffith's Ritz cracker commercial from 1977.

This retro packaging would fit right in at Downton Abbey

In the staff's quarters, of course.

 Lyons Cakes' packaging is designed by JKR, UK.

Click here to see another example of wonderfully retro packaging.

Via Lovely Package

In case you, too, have been asking yourself, "I wonder what Mason Reese looks like today?"

For the benefit of those under 40: Mason Reese was a child actor who starred in many 1970s commercials. Visit Wikipedia to learn more.

Via Inside Jay Dean's Brain

Mad Men all over Newsweek

Inside the most recent edition of Newsweek magazine, are lots of Mad Men-themed ads.

From Estee Lauder:

From Ultimat Vodka:

From Mercedes-Benz:

From John Hancock:

From Spam:

By the way, season 5 of Mad Men premieres Sunday, March 25th.

Via New York Times

St. Patrick's Day commercial from Guinness beer

Click here to watch the Guinness ad for St. Patrick's Day 2012.

Mindy's Hot Chocolate retro packaging

Designed by Kyle Tezak.

Click image to enlarge.

Click here to see a few more examples of retro product packaging.

Via designworklife

Most outrageous reasons people give for being late to work

CareerBuilder conducted its annual survey of hiring managers. The results include the top four most common excuses for tardiness:

· Traffic, 31%

· Lack of sleep, 18%

· Bad weather, 11%

· Getting kids to school or daycare, 8%

No surprises there. The fun began when CareerBuilder asked hiring managers to provide the most outrageous excuses given by employees for being late. CareerBuilder shares the ten best answers:

1. Employee’s cat had the hiccups.

2. Employee thought she had won the lottery (she didn’t).

3. Employee got distracted watching the TODAY Show.

4. Employee’s angry roommate cut the cord to his phone charger, so it didn’t charge and his alarm didn’t go off.

5. Employee believed his commute time should count toward his work hours.

6. Employee claimed a fox stole her car keys.

7. Employee’s leg was trapped between the subway car and the platform (turned out to be true).

8. Employee said he wasn’t late because he had no intention of getting to work before 9:00 a.m. (his start time was 8:00 a.m.)

9. Employee was late because of a job interview with another firm.

10. Employee had to take a personal call from the state governor (turned out to be true).

Read more about the survey at CareerBuilder.

The vintage Alka-Seltzer ad is from my other blog, Found in Mom's Basement.

Hey, My Mom Used to Make That!

I’ve started a new blog called, Hey, My Mom Used to Make That!

It’s dedicated to Madison Avenue’s contribution to the dinner table. That is, ads that feature recipes.

Many of the recipes have stood the test of time. Others may not appeal to today’s tastes and concerns about fat grams and carbs. And some of the recipes are for foods so awful even Fido would rather bury than eat them.

You’re cordially invited to drop by anytime.

Click here to visit, Hey, My Mom Used to Make That!