Locavores - TV-vores

I ran across this funny ad from the 1960s. Maybe you remember these like I do. Didn't you always crave the glamour of TV dinners. My parents would serve these as a treat whenever they had a night out and we had a baby sitter.

Ahhhhhhh Swansons Frozen Dinners.  With all this talk about Locavores and Meatless Mondays, you'd have thought we'd all forgotten our past.

Compartmentalized food. Processed within an inch of its life. It's no wonder we've gone back to appreciate the natural fare of locally grown food. (But don't you miss that brown gravy?)

Upclose View of Ad

Happy Housewives Love Their Appliances?

I've been on record deploring the ads of the 1940s and 50s that glorify housewives love for appliances. There are many forms that this love takes. The straight forward "Using this stove makes me happy", the less obvious, "I love this hot water heater so much, I need to draw a heart on it". 

I can just imagine a room full of advertising executives trying to come up with a tag line that expresses how much affection women have for big metal boxes.

Devices and Desires

I've been fascinated by Mid Century gadgets that were the predecessors to the IPad, the IPhone and the HD TV.  Steve Jobs loves his functional forms Take a look at the design that goes into some of these 1960s devices. They're stylin' in their own way.Gadgets on Etsy

Housewife-ly Bliss - Mad Men Style Living

As a general rule, I think living in the 1960s would have been quite hard. First, as this ad illustrates, you'd need to have a relationship with your appliances.

This is one of a series of ads I've uncovered recently in my exploration of the ad industry. I don't think much has changed in how goods get sold. You wouldn't want to take a time machine into the worlds created by advertising executives. Or, at least, many people would recognize this as fantasy.

Need this ad Click Here.

Barbeque Man - Throw Something On the Grill

I found this happpy grill meister in a 1960s life style magazine. He is happy; he is providing for his family. I finally found something to do with this great image. I've made a series of lifestyle paperweights. And voila happy barbeque man was born.

You can check out BBQ guy and all the other retro ceramic tiles I have available in my etsy shop. 
Go To The Shop

Female Astronauts Sell Vodka. Of Course!

Jerry Della Femina and his colleagues created an amazing body of work - in the course of getting us to buy, buy, buy. Of course some of the ads were a little over the top and some were way over the top.  Here's an ad for Smirnoff Vodka. No really, Smirnoff Vodka.

And if you look really carefully, the model in this ad has antenna coming out of her beehive 'do.

You just can't make this stuff up!

If You're Going to Be a Blonde, be a Good One.

My love-hate relationship with Mad Men continues.  This time in the form of admiration for the best advertising of all time.  The best copy was written, the best product photography was shot, the most creative campaigns were created. 



Claroil Hair Creme Toner

 I happened to come across a Look magazine from the era and in that single edition of the magazine were some amazing examples of what I'm talking about.  Here's one.

Mad Men - The Real Crazies of Madison Avenue

Continuing on my Mad Men obsession, I just finished reading From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor written by the famous Jerry Della Femina.  The book was originally published in the 1970s when his memories of the Advertising business were fresh.

You'll find some plot lines that have been used in the Mad Men show. You'll find some observations about what motivated the wild guys who work (worked) in a crazy business.

Jerry started in the business in the late 1940s and began his career in the mail room. I heard him interviewed by Scott Simon a few weeks ago and was struck by his amazing tales.  I  recommend the book to anyone interested in the industry or the era.. 

You can find some great examples of the ads from that era, like "Why This Martini" for Hiram Walkers Gin.  Or this one for Pall Mall Cigarettes: Find the Lady Blowing Smoke Rings

The Mad Men Way of Life. 1950s

I am totally obsessed with the Mad Men lifestyle.  Plenty of cigarettes, women and booze.  Note to mention the super idealized way of life.  Or maybe life is how they portray it - but I some how doubt it.  I've got a treasure trove of images from that time which I just marvel over.

All those hard working, hard drinking men who come home to a freshly prepared meal, served by a beautiful, smiling wife.  I have a friend who claims that times haven't changed much since then. I hope that's not the case.

I've scoured through vintage editions of Look Magazine and the revered Saturday Evening Post for prime examples of the Mad Men way of life.
How Do Mad Men Love?

Mad Men and Music

Mad Men Card

Did you see Don Draper's Play List: Misery, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Late Freight; The Big Wheel, More.
No surprises there.
Use My Mad Men card to send this list to a friend

Mad Men - Calvin Trillin Remembers the 60's

Watch this video clip of Calvin Trillin, former food columnist and New Yorker contributor, remembering his Mad Men past.

What Was It Really Like?