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Premiering December 9, 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas is a holiday fave for both young and old. This animated Christmas special has proved itself as timeless, having aired for more than 47 years. Like many early television-aired shows, though, this Peanuts special has an interesting history. This special was the Peanuts comic strip’s first animated [...]
By the mid-1960s an American actress became a household name, despite the fact that it wasn’t her own. Josephine the Plumber was a popular character for Comet cleanser, appearing in scores of television commercials and print ads. Jane Withers started her acting career at age three, and was a popular child film star of the [...]
It’s usually the “simple” inventions that make significant impacts on our daily lives, and Scotch Tape is no different. Quite often, these simple items have a detailed, interesting history. The Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. (3M) was founded in 1902 by five businessmen seeking to mine a mineral deposit for grinding-wheel abrasives. With its first [...]
Donald Duck made his debut in 1934 in a short film called The Wise Little Hen. In the cartoon, Donald and his friend, Peter Pig, try to avoid working by faking a stomach ache. One of the most popular cartoon characters of all time, Donald has appeared in more films than any other Disney character, [...]
Dutch Boy was picked as a trademark to represent the high quality paint that the National Lead Company produced using the “Dutch Process.”
The little Fisk Tire Boy was created in 1907 by an artist working for the advertising agency retained by Fisk Rubber Corporation. The artist, Burr E. Giffen, was only eighteen years old. He drew a sketch of a little boy wearing one-piece sleeper pajamas, and yawning very wide. In one hand he held a candle, [...]
Mr. Clean came on the scene in 1958 when Proctor & Gamble introduced its new all-purpose cleaner. The name Mr. Clean was agreed upon even before the product was fully developed. He was drawn in 1957 by Ernie Allen from the advertising agency Tatham-Laird & Kudner as a muscular, tanned, bald man. It has been [...]
Did you know that The Michelin Man’s real name is Bibendum? This is the story of how he came to be, and made it to the very top of the list of best-known advertising characters in the world. Édouard and André Michelin ran a factory in Clermont-Ferrand, France, that manufactured rubber products. One day, a [...]
Born in 1925, the Jolly Green Giant represents The Minnesota Valley Canning Company. That year, the company introduced to a new variety of pea in Europe. These peas were much larger than the ones grown in America, and were very flavorful. The canning company applied for a trademark for the new pea, which was to [...]
The Esso Tiger first appeared as a mascot 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 [...]
Elsie the Cow was first seen in a series of Borden company medical journal print ads in 1936. She was part of a group of cartoon cows that were advertising the purity of Borden’s milk. Commercial ads were also broadcast on the radio. The spots were so popular that Borden singled out Elsie as its [...]
Poppin’ Fresh! The Pillsbury Doughboy is one of the cutest advertising icons ever invented. Born in 1965, he was created by Rudi Perz, of the Leo Burnett Advertising Agency. Mr. Perz had been sitting in his kitchen and thought that it would be really great if a character made of dough popped out of the [...]
“His Master’s Voice,” featuring Nipper, is one of the longest-running advertising images in history. Painted over one hundred years ago, the portrait, along with Nipper, still represents major record companies today.
In the mid 1960s parents were complaining that there was too much violence shown on Saturday morning cartoons. They formed organizations to protest and reform the line-ups. CBS responded with a new show, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! Fred Silverman, in charge of children’s programming, was looking for a show that would take into account concerns [...]
