The Esso Tiger
The Esso Tiger first appeared as a mascot for Esso around the turn of the 20th century in Norway. European divisions of Esso continued to use the Tiger to promote their gasoline products until the advent of war. World War II brought rationing of gasoline to the world market, and advertising for petrol was stopped.
After the World War II rationing period, the Esso Tiger made its US debut. The Tiger was used to make Esso stand out against the other competing petrol companies. At this time a young copywriter named Emery Smith came up with the slogan “Put a tiger in your tank,” which would begin a very successful advertising campaign.
At first, the cartoon Tiger was cute and amiable, and resembled Tigger from “Winnie the Pooh.” In 1964, Humble Oil, a division of Esso, changed the appearance of the Tiger to be more ferocious and energetic in order to convey the power of the gasoline products.
The Tiger caught the public’s eye and one of the most successful advertising campaigns in history was born. Tiger merchandise appeared. One of the most successful products was a tiger’s tail that one could fix to the trunk of a car. It came with a bumper sticker stating the slogan, “Put a tiger in your tank.” 2,500,000 tails were sold! The campaign was so successful that “Time” magazine proclaimed 1964 as “The Year of the Tiger along Madison Avenue.”
Due to the success of the American campaign, the company’s South American, European, and Far East divisions along with Australia adopted the tiger and his slogan.
Leading up to the oil crisis of the 1970s, less advertising took place. The Tiger was retired, only to be recalled into service in 1972 when Esso changed its name to Exxon. At this point, the Tiger looked the same, but the slogan was “We’re changing our name, but not our stripes.”
In the 1980s, the Tiger was changed again. This time a live-action tiger was used, and was filmed by expert cameramen. Ever since then, the Exxon Tiger has remained the same, racing up mountains and along beaches, portraying the energy and power of Exxon (now ExxonMobil) products.
To see a wonderful restoration of a fiberglass Esso Tiger, check out our blog at Vintagevending.com.
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