Advertising in comic books

Last updated
The dribble glass was a typical comic book advertisement Dribble glass advert.jpg
The dribble glass was a typical comic book advertisement

Comic book advertisements are a common feature in American comic books mainly from the 1940s onwards. As these advertisements were directed at young people, many made sensational claims, [1] and sold the products for a few dollars or less, to be sent to a post office box. Products offered included novelty items, toys, and self-improvement courses such as drawing and body building.

Contents

Companies

The Johnson Smith Company placed advertisements for gadgets and toys [2] that appeared on the back cover of many historically significant comic books, including Action Comics #1 (June 1938) [3] (the first appearance of the character Superman) and Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) (the first appearance of the character Batman).[ citation needed ]

Notable products offered

The ads also included recruitment of youngsters to act as salespeople for products such as greeting cards and the national newspaper Grit .

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advertising</span> Form of communication for marketing, typically paid for

Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a specific good or service, but there are wide range of uses, the most common being the commercial advertisement.

<i>Acme Novelty Library</i> Comic

Acme Novelty Library is a comic book series created by Chicago cartoonist Chris Ware. Its first issue appeared in 1993. Published from 1994 by Fantagraphics Books and later self-published, it is considered a significant work in alternative comics, selling over 20,000 copies per issue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Ware</span> American artist

Franklin Christenson "Chris" Ware is an American cartoonist known for his Acme Novelty Library series and the graphic novels Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth (2000), Building Stories (2012) and Rusty Brown (2019). His works explore themes of social isolation, emotional torment and depression. He tends to use a vivid color palette and realistic, meticulous detail. His lettering and images are often elaborate and sometimes evoke the ragtime era or another early 20th-century American design style.

Sea-Monkeys is a marketing term for brine shrimp (Artemia) sold as novelty aquarium pets. Developed in the United States in 1957 by Harold von Braunhut, they are sold as eggs intended to be added to water, and almost always come bundled in a kit of three pouches and instructions. Sometimes a small tank and additional pouches are included. The product was heavily marketed in the 1960s and 70s, especially in comic books, and remains a presence in popular culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bazooka Joe</span> Bubble gum comic strip character (c. 1954–

Bazooka Joe is a comic strip character featured on small comics included in individually wrapped pieces of Bazooka bubble gum. He wears a black eyepatch, lending him a distinctive appearance. He is one of the more recognizable American advertising characters of the 20th century, due to worldwide distribution, and one of the few associated with a candy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Care Bears</span> Fictional character group

Care Bears are multi-colored bears, originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. They were turned into plush teddy bears and featured in The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings (1983) and The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine (1984) before headlining their own television series called Care Bears from 1985 to 1988. They also made multiple more feature films including: The Care Bears Movie (1985), Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986), and The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American comic book</span> Comic book originating in the US

An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of Action Comics, which included the debut of the superhero Superman. This was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II. After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the comic book industry rapidly expanded and genres such as horror, crime, science fiction and romance became popular. The 1950s saw a gradual decline, due to a shift away from print media in the wake of television and the impact of the Comics Code Authority. The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a superhero revival and superheroes remained the dominant character archetype throughout the late 20th century into the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monkey (character)</span> British advertising character

Monkey, is an animated puppet advertising character in the form of a knitted sock monkey. He was first produced by The Jim Henson Company via their UK Creature Shop, puppeteered by Nigel Plaskitt and Susan Beattie and voiced by comedian Ben Miller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Orlando</span> Italian-American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist (1927–1998)

Joseph Orlando was an Italian-American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of Mad and the vice president of DC Comics, where he edited numerous titles and ran DC's Special Projects department.

A novelty item is an object which is specifically designed to serve no practical purpose, and is sold for its uniqueness, humor, or simply as something new. The term also applies to practical items with fanciful or nonfunctional additions, such as novelty aprons, slippers, or toilet paper. The term is normally applied to small objects, and is generally not used to describe larger items such as roadside attractions. Items may have an advertising or promotional purpose, or be a souvenir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Wood</span> Australian comic book artist and illustrator

Ashley Wood is Australian comic book artist and award-winning illustrator known for his cover art, concept design and his work as an art director. Wood initially worked in both the UK and international comic book industries, working on characters such as the British character Judge Dredd, before breaking into the US market, where he worked for such companies as Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Wood later worked for Image, creating graphic novels and cover art for the various Spawn properties of Todd McFarlane, and projects with IDW Publishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Droste effect</span> Recursive visual effect

The Droste effect, known in art as an example of mise en abyme, is the effect of a picture recursively appearing within itself, in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appear. This produces a loop which in theory could go on forever, but in practice only continues as far as the image's resolution allows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beppo (comics)</span> Comics character

Beppo is a monkey superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, primarily those featuring Superman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Powers Collection</span> 1980s Kenner Products action figure line based on DC Comics characters

The Super Powers Collection was a line of action figures based on DC Comics superheroes and supervillains that was created by Kenner Products in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnson Smith Company</span>

The Johnson Smith Company was a mail-order company established in 1914 by Alfred Johnson Smith in Chicago, Illinois, USA that sold novelty and gag gift items such as miniature cameras, invisible ink, x-ray goggles, whoopee cushions, fake vomit, and joy buzzers. The company moved from Chicago to Racine, Wisconsin in 1923, to Detroit in the late 1930s, and from the Detroit area to Bradenton, Florida in 1986.

Toy advertising is the promotion of toys through a variety of media. Advertising campaigns for toys have been criticised for trading on children's naivete and for turning children into premature consumers. Advertising to children is usually regulated to ensure that it meets defined standards of honesty and decency. These rules vary from country to country, with some going as far as banning all advertisements that would be directed at children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woody Gelman</span> American publisher and cartoonist

Woodrow Gelman was a publisher, cartoonist, novelist and an artist-writer for both animation and comic books. As the publisher of Nostalgia Press, he pioneered the reprinting of vintage comic strips in quality hardcovers and trade paperbacks. As an editor and art director for two-and-a-half decades at Topps Chewing Gum, he introduced many innovations in trading cards and humor products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compare the Meerkat</span> Advertising campaign for price comparison website comparethemarket.com

Compare the Meerkat is an advertising campaign on British and Australian commercial television for comparethemarket.com, a price comparison website, part of BGL Group. The adverts feature Aleksandr Orlov, a CGI anthropomorphic Russian meerkat, and his family and friends. Orlov is portrayed as being of aristocratic stock and the founder of comparethemeerkat.com: the campaign originally centred on his frustration over the confusion between his website and comparethemarket.com, playing on the similarity between the words market and meerkat. Orlov's catchphrase is "Simples".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nesquik</span> Brand of products made by Nestlé

Nesquik is a brand of food products made by Swiss company Nestlé. In 1948, Nestlé launched a drink mix for chocolate-flavored milk called Nestlé Quik in the United States; this was released in Europe during the 1950s as Nesquik.

Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily U.S. newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, books and multiple media with adaptations including radio in 1932, a serial film, a television series, and other formats.

References

  1. By (25 May 2008). "12 Comic Book Ads That Taught Us To Be Cynical". Cracked.com.
  2. Comic Book Come-ons that Catch Kids. Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. November 1974. pp. 43–46. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  3. Tosh, D. (2015). Picker's Pocket Guide - Comic Books: How to Pick Antiques Like a Pro. F+W Media. p. pt252. ISBN   978-1-4402-4514-5 . Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  4. 1 2 The Thin Man. Cincinnati Magazine. September 2005. p. 58. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  5. "Monkey Madness". NPR.org.
  6. New Society. New Society Limited. 1975. p. 697. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  7. Hix, Lisa. "Sea-Monkeys and X-Ray Spex: Collecting the Bizarre Stuff Sold in the Back of Comic Books". Collectors Weekly.
  8. American Woodworker. New Track Media. p. 42. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  9. The New York Times Book Reviews 2000. Fitzroy Dearborn. 2001. p. 1706. ISBN   978-1-57958-058-2 . Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  10. Penkava, Michael. "Penkava: Don't monkey around with comic book ads". www.nwherald.com.

Further reading