This 2008/9 commercial for Van de Kamp’s fish is another indicator of a cultural shift. Yes, the kid is a mouthy, disrespectful brat–kids are kids, and they have always been kids*. So that’s not the point. Point is that in this commercial we’re saying, “The kid is right!” No longer is there an authoritarian voice,... »
The Center Cannot Hold
At some point in the mid-1960s, we start to see non-centeredness. This ad for Chevrolet “OK” Used Cars from 1968 is a prime example. The green box has been added by me. What’s at the center? Usually, the most important information is at the center of the image. But here we’ve got a bored kid... »
Raping My Last Memory Cell
It began at age 17, the year 1981. An instrumental song from the 1960s began to play through my head, and would continue playing for the next 27 years. I would hear it at the Kmart on Blackstone Avenue in Fresno, California, at the old 1967-era Grille that had been so well-preserved that it... »
Harkening to a Valentino Past
What about antiquity in ads from the 1960s? There is a point in advertising when we shift from forward-thinking (or even present-thinking) to thinking backwards. This Oldsmobile ad from April 11, 1969 is hardly the most prominent example of this, but it’s a start. Share and Enjoy: Print this article! Digg Google Bookmarks StumbleUpon Sphinn del.icio.us Facebook Yahoo! Bookmarks Yahoo! Buzz Technorati »
Muscularity and Humility: From 1935 to 1968
Popular Mechanics April 1935. It doesn’t get much better than this. I could write a dissertation about the Popular Mechanics style circa 1930s, but I will spare you. Suffice to say this is complete balls-out, muscular journalism. Contrast with this mis-directed, faux-humble ad from 1968 which practically says, “We’re nobody.” Share and Enjoy: Print this article! Digg Google... »
Faux Sixties Humility: Charlie Brown vs. Gen. Montgomery
Peanuts’ heyday was the 1960s, and in many ways Peanuts encapsulates so many of those points that The Sixties held so dear: Freudian psychology, juvenalia, faux humility. We have this Naive Art style (contrast this with the draftsman-like art of cartoonist Winsor McCay in Little Nemo in Slumberland). Everything in Peanuts is slightly askew,... »