Tasty names
From my back files, this entertaining story in the MediaPost Marketing Daily on April 21st, “Haagen-Dazs Gelato Launch Uses ‘La Dolce Vita’ Theme” by Karlene Lukovitz, beginning: Häagen-Dazs – the ice...
View ArticleAnnals of phraseology
From the NYT on the 10th, an obit by William Grimes, “Cal Worthington, Car Dealer With Manic Ads, Dies at 92″, beginning: Cal Worthington, a car dealer whose off-the-wall commercials, first broadcast...
View ArticleBearBoat
Freshly appearing at a local restaurant, BearBoat wines, from Sonoma. Entertaining name, with its /b/’s. And with cute labels, with this as a template: (#1) Particular instances have captions as well...
View Articleserials
In the NYT on the 12th, an obit, “Robert Taylor, Who Put Hand Soap in a Bottle, Dies at 77″ by John Schwartz: Robert R. Taylor, a serial entrepreneur who popularized hand soap from a pump [Softsoap],...
View ArticleBake and you shall receive
Passed on by Terry Bartlett on Facebook, this ad for Diamond Walnuts. The video: (10/3/13) You always want him to be more thoughtful and romantic. This Diamond Toasted Walnut Truffle recipe will make...
View Articleand it floats!
(Advertising and the display of men’s bodies.) From Chris Ambidge, a set of six vintage ads for Ivory Soap (99 44/100 % Pure … It Floats), mostly featuring men or boys bathing in groups. The first has...
View ArticleIt floats! (ch. 2)
Commenting on my Ivory Soap posting (“and it floats!”) yesterday, Ann Burlingham asks about the images of naked boys and men in these vintage ads: Do you or Chris [Ambidge, who sent me the images] have...
View ArticleAsgardian
In recent advertising news: from Adweek on the 11th, “Charmin Thinks Twice About Its ‘Asgard’ Joke, Even Though Twitter Loved It: Gone but not forgotten” by David Gianatasio: (Hat tip to Victor...
View ArticleBriefly noted: inversion
From an ad for the Teeter machines designed to stretch you out and make you feel better, a reference to the “benefits of inversion”. Inversion has multiple senses, including some in linguistics, but...
View ArticleBriefly noted: ad claims
The website says: Take Cold-EEZE® whenever you start to feel cold symptoms. Our unique zinc gluconate formula releases zinc ions to fight your cold virus. Cold-EEZE® lozenges have been clinically...
View ArticleCartoon retirement
Today’s Zippy: (#1) The characters pass on. On Bazooka Joe: Bazooka Joe is a comic strip character, featured on small comics included inside individually wrapped pieces of Bazooka bubblegum. He wears a...
View ArticleCod loins
From Ellen Seebacher on Facebook, this puzzling ad: (#1) Cod loins? Loin is an unusual body-part term. AHD2 on the word: the part of the body on both sides of the spine between the lowest (false)...
View ArticleBriefly noted: It’s not a razor
Heard, endlessly, on cable tv, an ad for a hair-removal system: It’s not a razor. It’s not a laser. It’s No-No. It’s also not a waxing treatment, but no doubt the razor / laser rhyme was hard to...
View ArticleFrivolity for Valentine’s
From Steven Levine, this remarkable advertising image: Elsie the Cow, in a maid’s apron and nothing else — yielding a racy image — offering a very substantial breakfast. Smiling and dancing. More on...
View ArticleThe lure of trochaic tetrameter
A commercial for Cyvita is currently going the rounds. It promises Longer, stronger, and more frequent erections It begins with two rhyming trochees (SW SW), then branches out into two more complex...
View ArticleLurid Easter food
Passed on from several sources (e.g. here), this 1957 ad “for the gayest Easter Eggs”: When this was posted on Facebook, I wrote there: Wish the text were easier to read. the photos are vividly...
View ArticleStartling image for Holy Week
In my e-mail this morning, an ad for gay porn from the Falcon / Raging Stallion Studios for Holy Week, with hot porn actor Adam Ramzi posing as Jesus (and the playful commercial slogan “It’s a Good...
View ArticleThree for the day (Easter)
Today’s crop of cartoons includes a Bizarro, a Zippy, and a Mother Goose and Grimm: (#1) (#2) (#3) In #1, the kid is obviously a cartoon character, while his parents are represented as what count as...
View ArticleThe poetry of green tea
Among the many teas sold by Tazo (from South Seattle WA) are three green teas that my daughter got for me recently, to replenish my supplies. The company is into lush, poetic descriptions of its...
View ArticleTwo cartoons from yesterday
From yesterday, a Luann passed on by David Craig on Facebook, and a Basic Instructions passed on by Scott Meyer, also on Facebook: (#1) (#2) On the wording of ads, and on aggressive humor (in this...
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