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Post by rberman on Feb 13, 2019 13:13:35 GMT -5
What stands out to you about old comic book advertisements? Which ones have stuck with you? Sea Monkeys, of course. I was thinking about how the advertisements tell us what corporate America perceived about the audience of comic books. Most ads seem targetted at boys ten and under, with practical joke items, toy soldiers, and the like. Advertisements for instrumental instruction books were common during the folk music boom of the 1960s. I've heard that late 1960s Marvel was chic on college campuses, but the "High school diploma at home" advertisements speak of a less educated adult demographic. You'll see ads for Hostess Twinkies and Kool-Ade more than for Coca-Cola and Burger King, let alone anything more upscale. Here's a smorgasboard classified-style advertisement page from Nick Fure, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #11 (1972)  Here's an advertisement targetting young soldiers shopping for engagement rings, presumably before they ship out for Vietnam. A poignant sign of the times that appeared in Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85 (1971), the Speedy heroin story.  Here are advertisements from Time Magazine in the same era:   OK, maybe Time's clientele is too upscale to be a fair comparison. But what would? |
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Post by MDG on Feb 13, 2019 13:39:57 GMT -5
I was reading a comic this past weekend and this one hit me:  The same ad actually ran in the Sunday comic section of the NY daily news and was my first inkling that "Hello! there may be something going on here besides what's on the newsstands." One of the problems with ads in comics was that the same ads would appear in every comic and they just became white noise. I think one of the few I saw that caught my attention was...  Though when I saw them in the store with my parents, I had a feeling they wouldn't share my enthusiasm. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 13, 2019 14:07:05 GMT -5
For many years, comics were considered to be rather low end, for advertising; hence, a lot of novelty companies and shady make money offers; not to mention deliberately misleading ads, like the 100 Revolutionary War Soldiers and the like. What you are led to believe is something the size of standard "army men;" what you got was something that needed tweezers to hold. I remember seeing ones like these, and wanting to see the show...  ...which, apparently, looked like this...  Then, there were the Palisades Park ads...    Nothing beat Count Dante, though; deadliest hairdresser on the planet!  |
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Post by rberman on Feb 13, 2019 14:13:35 GMT -5
I think one of the few I saw that caught my attention was... Though when I saw them in the store with my parents, I had a feeling they wouldn't share my enthusiasm. I had completely forgotten this one. Wow. Vampirella does tend to catch attention, especially when snatching helpless babes off the street to chain in dungeons. Where's the Comics Code when you need them? Here is a detailed article about the Aurora Monster Scenes torture kits. Apparently the "no one can hear you scream in New York" bit was a reference to the actual murder of Kitty Genovese. The Nabisco company (owner of Aurora) was picketed over these gruesome model kits. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2019 14:34:42 GMT -5
Love this one:  |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Feb 13, 2019 14:58:24 GMT -5
Yeah, the Cleveland Institute of Electronics fumetti has always been a favorite of mine. In fact, it featured quite prominently in a post I wrote about comic ads a few years ago. Making use of some of the other images from that post, here's an advertiser that was ubiquitous in comics back then:  Any of you guys ever sell Grit? And make a killing? |
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Post by rberman on Feb 13, 2019 15:02:57 GMT -5
Yeah, the Cleveland Institute of Electronics fumetti has always been a favorite of mine. In fact, it featured quite prominently in a post I wrote about comic ads a few years ago. Great article! You raised exactly the issues I was thinking about. Why were there not more ads for tennis shoes and such? By the early 80s, video game ads were common, as well as Dungeons and Dragons. Perhaps ads for movies were impossible due to the long lead time of publication? |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2019 15:15:07 GMT -5
I remember the ads for Sea Monkeys and the Clark candy bar ad with a 2 page spread featuring Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, and Robin. You could send in candy wrappers plus money for super hero items such as lamps and remote control cars. Marvel had a similar ad. Also the Hostess treats ads! Those were in DC, Marvel, and Archie I think.
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Post by Icctrombone on Feb 13, 2019 15:21:52 GMT -5
Love this one: I wanted Bill to paste his boss in the face in the last panel. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Feb 13, 2019 15:23:32 GMT -5
(...) Why were there not more ads for tennis shoes and such? (...) Well, there were these: And with those awesome shoes, you could apparently straight up murder your enemies by launching them into orbit:
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Post by Icctrombone on Feb 13, 2019 15:24:40 GMT -5
For many years, comics were considered to be rather low end, for advertising; hence, a lot of novelty companies and shady make money offers; not to mention deliberately misleading ads, like the 100 Revolutionary War Soldiers and the like. What you are led to believe is something the size of standard "army men;" what you got was something that needed tweezers to hold. I remember seeing ones like these, and wanting to see the show... ...which, apparently, looked like this... Then, there were the Palisades Park ads... I always wanted to go to Palisades to see the DC rides but never did.  |
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Post by MDG on Feb 13, 2019 16:05:57 GMT -5
I think one of the few I saw that caught my attention was... Though when I saw them in the store with my parents, I had a feeling they wouldn't share my enthusiasm. I had completely forgotten this one. Wow. Vampirella does tend to catch attention, especially when snatching helpless babes off the street to chain in dungeons. Where's the Comics Code when you need them? Here is a detailed article about the Aurora Monster Scenes torture kits. Apparently the "no one can hear you scream in New York" bit was a reference to the actual murder of Kitty Genovese. The Nabisco company (owner of Aurora) was picketed over these gruesome model kits. IIRC, Nabisco had just bought Aurora when these came out--they were designed and prepped before the sale--and were caught unhappily flat-footed by the backlash. (This was when any company of size felt a need to "diversify" and start acquiring businesses they had no experience with. If I ever decide to go for that MBA, I'd love to do my thesis on this.) |
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Post by Rob Allen on Feb 13, 2019 16:47:08 GMT -5
I was reading a comic this past weekend and this one hit me: Was this ad in a First comic? I ask because it says "Howard F. Rogofsky". Rogofsky used the middle initial in the ad as a sort of tracking method. His ads in Marvel comics said "Howard M. Rogofsky"; in DCs it said "Howard D. Rogofsky"; in the Overstreet Price Guide it was "Howard G. Rogofsky". That way he could tell which ads were generating the most responses. And another note - to this day, no one in fandom knows who drew the AAU Shuperstar ads. No one has ever claimed credit and no one has even tentatively guessed based on the art. |
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Post by MDG on Feb 13, 2019 16:50:30 GMT -5
I was reading a comic this past weekend and this one hit me: Was this ad in a First comic? I ask because it says "Howard F. Rogofsky". Rogofsky used the middle initial in the ad as a sort of tracking method. His ads in Marvel comics said "Howard M. Rogofsky"; in DCs it said "Howard D. Rogofsky"; in the Overstreet Price Guide it was "Howard G. Rogofsky". That way he could tell which ads were generating the most responses. This isn't the actual ad--an example I found online. I forgot what book it was, but I had pulled an Archie, a Gold Key and a Dennis the Menace. |
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Post by Mister Spaceman on Feb 13, 2019 17:26:50 GMT -5
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