A REAL CHRISTMAS GIFT for yourself

Portrait of a Legend

I had been planning on running this vintage magazine ad for a Sam Cooke album, but when I saw the above offer on Amazon I knew it was important to run it NOW. I don't know how long Amazon is going to have this album at this price, but for $2.99 it's a steal for Sam Cooke fans. You can click on the image or title to see the offer. 

UPDATE: This special price is no longer available.

On December 11th it will be 48 years since Sam Cooke's death. He was part of the soundtrack of my youth.


Click on image to see it larger. (SOURCE: Teen, March, 1964)

CHRISTMESS GIFT IDEA No. 2

This Christmas make sure you buy your loved ones something to wear made from Dacron. Why? Because…

Dacron (dāˈkrŏn, dăkˈrŏn) [key], trademark for a polyester fiber. Dacron is a condensation polymer obtained from ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. Its properties include high tensile strength, high resistance to stretching, both wet and dry, and good resistance to degradation by chemical bleaches and to abrasion. The continuous filament yarn is used in curtains, dress fabrics, high-pressure fire hoses, men's shirts, and thread. The staple fiber is ideal for mixing with wool in men's and women's suits, as well as in dress fabrics, knitted wear, and washable woven sportswear. (SOURCE: Infoplease)

It doesn’t wrinkle when it’s shipped from China. It resists stains so you need not worry about the wine you spill on your crazy relatives at the holiday dinner. It doesn’t breath because it was never alive. But ummmm…it’s interesting to see American Airlines used in an ad for Dacron. If you don’t know it by now, don’t wear polyester blends when flying. Wear natural fibers. Why? If that sucker goes down natural fibers will not melt onto your skin.


(SOURCE: Teen, May, 1966)

But hey, if you feel like a princess in orange or sun gold polyester for only 12 bucks...go for it!

If you TALK DOWN TO YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE...

 If you talk down to your target audience, inferring they're stupid, does your audience get it?

This comic is from an old Teen from the mid-1960s. In order for there to be humor a teenage girl would have had to recognize that someone is stupid. I'm guessing it was hoped that the reader would not identify themselves as the target, but would instead think, "Oh yeah, Margie is just like that!"

So why would editorial think this was funny? Am I reading too much into this? Hey, it's late and my net access has been out all day.

CHRISTMESS GIFT IDEA No. 1

During the coming month I'll be offering creative gift ideas. They come with a warning: If you know anybody who would want any of these items...for cryin' out loud get them off your gift list! However, there is one caveat...these items are perfect secret Santa gifts, but try not to laugh too hard when they open it or the jig is up.


(SOURCE: Oh heck I don't remember. Some stupid Teen magazine from the '60s, as if that weren't obvious.)

WARNING: This blog is not responsible for any undo retching caused by the idea of going to Fruggyville. Dig it? I know you do.

The GIRL IN THE AIR WITH THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HAIR...Breck

In February 1967 airline hostess Judy Neumann received the honor of being called a Breck Girl. Very pretty lady, but again all of the Breck girls start to look alike. Luckily for Judy, there doesn't doesn't seem to be any information about her online. If they ran ads like this today she'd have her own FB page and be marketing herself all over the place.


(SOURCE: Teen, February 1967)

I long for the days when people didn't become famous just for having a huge ego. Judy Neumann had just the right about of fame, a lovely portrait, which I hope the Breck company gave her.

Miss Bobbi Bo for THE WORLD CHARM CLUB

"The Insincere Need Not Apply"

Hmmmmmm...do you think that includes the snarky too?

And what a roster of club members!!! Surfers and church groups. Yeah, that must have made for interesting charm meetings. Sports. What does she mean by "sports?" Certainly it couldn't have been those girls I heard about in school who were "such good sports." And nothing better than folk singers and skin divers exchanging charms.


(SOURCE: Teen, February 1967)

That's okay. I don't want to join your stinkin' club Miss Bobbi Bo, Miss Charm of '65-66.

And where is Miss Bobbi Bo today? Agent for Honey Bo Bo, the kid who couldn't get a reality show?

Groovy Ops'n Pops...WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

Imagine the poor admen back in the 60s trying desperately to take old brands and make them young and hip for the youth market. Was there a focus group that said, "I really hate boring ballpoint pens that look like the one my grandfather uses. It's a bummer."

So they gave us Ops'n Pops. Huh? What the...? I like the pens. I even like the add with the pshychedelic type reminiscent of Bill Graham Fillmore concert posters. But "Ops'n Pops"? Really. How long did it take them to come up with that name? And why? And what was it like to hear the copywriter say "groovy" for the first time in a meeting with the client?


Click on image to see it larger. (SOURCE: Teen, June 1968)

The 60s were an odd time. Rather schizoid. On one hand you had the girls in the Breck ads looking like traditional nice girls. And then you had PaperMate trying to win over girls who might be using Breck, but were secretly wishing they were hanging out on the Strip with Buffalo Springfield. An advertising high wire for sure.

Poor admen. Poor poor admen. Life used to be so easy.

More BRECK GIRLS

Okay, now that I'm looking at more of these they are sort of odd. They all start to look like performers on the Lawrence Welk Show. I'm imagining them in chiffon dresses, standing in a line, singing Proud Mary. Just not workin' for me.

Lovely drawings, but something a little off.


(SOURCE: TEEN, March 1965) Click on image to see it larger.


(SOURCE: TEEN, September 1967) Click on image to see it larger.

BRECK GIRL, September 1964

If you're of a certain age (old) you'll remember the Breck Girl. Women's magazines, teen girl magazines, ran full page ads showing a lovely girl with beautiful hair. The images were constantly changing. Blonds, brunettes, redheads...they ran the gamut. By the time I became aware of the ads the illustrator was Ralph William Williams. The illustration below was done by him.


(SOURCE: TEEN, September 1964) Click on image to see it larger.

I have not found any biographical information about the artist other than what is in this Wikipedia post about Breck Girls.

Breck Shampoo is an American brand of shampoo that is also known for its Breck Girls advertising campaign.

In 1930 Dr. John H. Breck, Sr. (June 5, 1877 – February 1965) of Springfield, Massachusetts, founded Breck Shampoo. In 1936, son Edward J. Breck (1907 - 1993) assumed management of Breck Shampoo and hired commercial artist Charles Gates Sheldon (1889 – 1961) to draw women for their advertisements. Sheldon's early portraits for Breck were done in pastels, with a soft focus and halos of light and color surrounding them. He created romantic images of feminine beauty and purity. He preferred to draw "real women" as opposed to professional models.

In 1957 Ralph William Williams succeeded Sheldon as the Breck artist. Unlike Sheldon, he often used professional women. Breck advertisements ran regularly in magazines such as Ladies Home Journal, Woman's Home Companion, Seventeen, Vogue, Glamour, and Harper's Bazaar. They were most often on the back cover of the magazine. During these years, Breck Girls were identified through the company's sponsorship of America's Junior Miss contests. After Williams' death in 1976, the advertising tradition stopped.

In 1963, Breck was sold to Shulton Division of American Cyanamid, a chemical company based in New Jersey.

In 1990, Breck was sold to the Dial Corporation.

In 2006, Breck was acquired by Dollar Tree of Chesapeake, Virginia. It continues to sell the variety of shampoos, plus moisturizing body washes and bubble baths in a variety of fragrances, such as "Lavender Lily" (2006) and "Vanilla Melon" (2007).

The Breck Girls ads are now in the advertising history records in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

I didn't even know Breck was still being made. I remember using it as a teenager in hopes I'd look like one of the beautiful Breck Girls. I didn't.

I must say that this one looks a bit like Betty Crocker...another impossible standard to live up to.

I'll have to dig through my other magazines in hope of finding more.