Barn advertisement

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A Mail Pouch Barn in southern Ohio Mailpouch8466.jpg
A Mail Pouch Barn in southern Ohio
A Rock City barn in Sevier County, Tennessee Rock City Barn on U.S. Highway 411 South, in Sevier County, Tennessee.JPG
A Rock City barn in Sevier County, Tennessee
An Ohio Bicentennial barn in Ashtabula County Ohio Bicentennial Barn, Dorset Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio.jpg
An Ohio Bicentennial barn in Ashtabula County

A barn advertisement is an outdoor advertisement painted onto the exterior of a roadside barn. Advertisers take advantage of the barns' prominence in rural landscapes, paying their owners for the right to paint and maintain logos and slogans on them. [1] Painters of barn advertisements and other murals are known as "wall dogs". [2] Once a common form of billboard advertising in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States during the early– to mid–20th century, barn advertisements have faded into obscurity, as many of these rural ghost signs fall into disrepair, along with the structures that bear them. [3]

Contents

Advertisers

Common barn advertisers include local roadside attractions, restaurants, and chewing tobacco manufacturers.

The Bloch Brothers Tobacco Company is credited with popularizing the medium. The company began advertising their products on the sides of buildings in 1890. By 1925, they had moved to advertising on Mail Pouch Barns. At the program's height in the early 1960s, some 20,000 barns in 22 states displayed Mail Pouch advertising, [1] with the greatest number in Ohio. [4] Most of the barns were painted by Harley Warrick. Competitors such as Red Man and Hillside Tobacco also painted barns in smaller numbers. [5] [6]

In the early 1940s, [7] Clark Byers painted barns and their roofs for Rock City near Chattanooga, Tennessee, often with messages promising travelers the chance to see seven states from atop Lookout Mountain. Byers painted advertisements for the attraction on over 900 barn roofs in 19 states. [8]

More recently, Bob Evans Restaurants painted barns in Indiana and Illinois in a style identical to their billboards, until 2001. [9] The restaurant chain later painted some barns with the Italian tricolor to advertise their pasta dishes. [10] Frisch's Big Boy also advertised on barns at one point. [11]

From 1997 to 2002, [12] the Ohio Bicentennial Committee commissioned Scott Hagan to paint 101 barns, [13] including one in each county, with the committee's logo and colors. One was destroyed by a tornado shortly after its painting and was replaced. A few have since been torn down or repainted. [12] [14] The painted barns celebrated the state's 200th anniversary in 2003. Each barn took about 18 hours of labor and 7 US gallons (26 L; 5.8 imp gal) of paint. [15] Enthusiasts traveled from across the state to watch Hagan paint the barns. [16] An estimated one million people saw at least one of the barns. [17]

Since 2009, Hagan has also been commissioned to paint barns with anti-tobacco and breast cancer awareness messages in West Virginia. [18]

Regulation

In 1965, Congress passed the Highway Beautification Act, which regulated and in some cases removed billboards from the sides of federally funded highways. Barn advertisements were also affected by this legislation, leading owners to paint over them, [3] until public outcry led to a 1974 amendment that specifically exempted them as "folk heritage barns". [1] The National Historic Barn Preservation Act of 2001 protects barns 50 years or older from demolition and funds education programs about these structures. [3]

Method

The advertisements are sketched then painted freehand, with the painter standing on a scaffolding platform. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billboard</span> Advertising signage

A billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure, typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers. Typically brands use billboards to build their brands or to push for their new products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marlboro</span> Cigarette brand

Marlboro is an American brand of cigarettes owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA within the United States and by Philip Morris International outside the US except Canada where the brand is owned and manufactured by Imperial Tobacco Canada. Marlboro's largest cigarette manufacturing plant is located in Richmond, Virginia.

The Honolulu Advertiser was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and Internet editions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">False advertising</span> Misleading content in advertisements

False advertising is the act of publishing, transmitting, or otherwise publicly circulating an advertisement containing a false claim, or statement, made intentionally to promote the sale of property, goods, or services. A false advertisement can be classified as deceptive if the advertiser deliberately misleads the consumer, rather than making an unintentional mistake. A number of governments use regulations to limit false advertising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capri-Sun</span> German brand of juice pouches

Capri-Sun is a brand of juice concentrate drinks based in Germany and Switzerland. Invented by Rudolf Wild, it was introduced in West Germany in 1969 by his company as Capri-Sonne. It is now sold in over 100 countries, with licensees including Kraft Foods in the United States and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in parts of Europe. As of 2016, roughly 7 billion pouches are sold per year, making it one of the few globally prominent soft drinks not originating from the United States.

Out-of-home (OOH) advertising, also called outdoor advertising, outdoor media, and out-of-home media, is advertising experienced outside of the home. This includes billboards, wallscapes, and posters seen while "on the go". It also includes place-based media seen in places such as convenience stores, medical centers, salons, and other brick-and-mortar venues. OOH advertising formats fall into four main categories: billboards, street furniture, transit, and alternative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skoal (tobacco)</span> Brand of smokeless tobacco

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">America's Best Chew</span> Brand of chewing tobacco

America's Best Chew is an American brand of chewing tobacco which was first introduced in 1904.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silk Cut</span> British brand of cigarettes

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mail Pouch Tobacco barn</span>

A Mail Pouch Tobacco barn, or simply Mail Pouch barn, is a barn with one or more sides painted with a barn advertisement for the West Virginia Mail Pouch chewing tobacco company. The program ran from 1891 to 1992, and at its height in the early 1960s, about 20,000 Mail Pouch barns were spread across 22 states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fast food advertising</span> Promotion for fast food

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloch Brothers Tobacco Company</span> American tobacco company

The Bloch Brothers Tobacco Company of Wheeling, West Virginia was a tobacco company founded by brothers Aaron and Samuel Bloch in 1879. It was best known for its Mail Pouch chewing tobacco. Mail Pouch was a popular chew advertised on over 20,000 barns, most of which were located in the rural Ohio River Valley. Each barn had an end or side painted with the familiar Mail Pouch lettering and advertising, "Treat yourself to the best."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backwoods Smokes</span> American cigarette brand

Backwoods is an American brand of cigars that was introduced in 1973. This product was notable during the 1970s and 1980s for heavy advertising, which became one of the more obvious examples of how companies at the time reacted to changing laws and cultural views on public health and smoking culture.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harley Warrick</span> American painter (1924-2000)

Harley E. Warrick, was an American barn painter, best known for his work painting Mail Pouch tobacco advertising on barns across 13 states in the American Midwest and Appalachian states. Over his 55-year career, Warrick painted or retouched over 20,000 Mail Pouch signs. When he retired, he was the last of the Mail Pouch sign painters in America. The Mail Pouch signs have become iconic and some of Harley Warrick's work has been exhibited by the Smithsonian Institution. Though he was not the first or the only Mail Pouch barn painter, he was the most prolific and famous. Featured in newspapers and magazines, traveling to fairs and festivals to demonstrate his skills, Warrick's fame increased appearing on Good Morning America and On the Road with Charles Kuralt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio Bicentennial</span>

The Ohio Bicentennial was a series of events and programs held in the U.S. state of Ohio to coincide with the 200th anniversary of statehood on March 1, 2003. The Ohio Bicentennial Commission was established by the Ohio General Assembly in 1995 to sponsor commemorative barn paintings, bells, and historical markers throughout the state in the years leading up to the celebration. Other state and federal agencies also marked the anniversary with special events and designations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regulation of nicotine marketing</span> Regulations regarding the advertising of nicotine-containing products

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of nicotine marketing</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Brown, Carole Gilbert (2008-07-24). "Demolition uncovers Mail Pouch ad". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Block Communications. Archived from the original on 2012-01-21.
  2. "Bicentennial Barns" (PDF). Madison County, New York, Planning Department. 2006. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Simmonds 2004, p. 113.
  4. Simmonds 2004, p. 18.
  5. Nunberg, Geoffrey (2001). The Way We Talk Now: Commentaries on Language and Culture . Houghton Mifflin Reference. p.  32. ISBN   0-618-11603-6.
  6. Simmonds 2004, p. 116.
  7. Simmonds 2004, p. 117.
  8. Tucker, Gregory (2009-09-07). "Rock City painter left mark on South". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee: Gannett Company . Retrieved 2009-09-09.[ dead link ]
  9. Simmonds 2004, p. 115.
  10. "Bob Evans Restaurants Ad Campaign Behind Italian-Painted Barns" (Press release). Bob Evans Farms (Restaurant News Resource). 2006-10-02. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
  11. Simmonds 2004, p. 97.
  12. 1 2 "Ohio Bicentennial Barns". Ohio History Central. 2005-07-01. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
  13. MacCarter, Mike (2007-12-27). "Ohio Bicentennial Barns". Ohio Barns. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
  14. MacCarter, Mike (2009-07-01). "Ottawa Co". Ohio Barns. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
  15. McNutt, Randy (April 13, 2002). "Warren County: Come see painting of Ohio barn". The Cincinnati Enquirer . Gannett Company . Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  16. "Artist finishes 88-barn tribute". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Gannett Company. Associated Press. September 21, 2002. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  17. 1 2 "The Barn Artist". Out Here. Tractor Supply Company. Winter 2007. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  18. Jenner, Andrew (July 9, 2014). "Using Old Tobacco's Tactics Against Them in a West Virginia Ad War". Modern Farmer . Modern Farmer Media. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2015.

Further reading