Horseshoes, Spoons and Light Bulbs: The Wildest Costumes of Advertisers of the Past
Advertising has always been the engine of trade, and people realized this in ancient times. By the 19th century, the advertising industry had already reached significant development and began to resemble the modern one, although with some peculiarities. Are you familiar with girls and guys in branded clothes or funny costumes, handing out leaflets on the streets? This method of promotion appeared in the Victorian era of England and remains popular to this day.
You can be creative to the core, but you will never surpass the advertisers who operated in the United States at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The absence of any rules and the flight of consciousness unclouded by stereotypes and marketing rules gave birth to truly outstanding images.
How do you like this New York lady, whose outfit is completely embroidered with candies, and whose tiara is made of lollipops? It was probably not easy to keep the costume safe on the streets of the metropolis, teeming with nosy children. It is not known whether real candies were used or fake ones, but the temptation to check is very great.
What kind of product do you think this girl on roller skates represents? It's easy to guess by the shoes and the jars of shoe polish on her dress. She advertises the shoe store of businessman Robert Kirk.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, advertising was done exclusively by girls. They were called "banner ladies" or "banner girls" because they had an advertising poster - a banner - on their chest, back or in their hands. It often looked like a flag or standard, so the advertiser looked very pompous. It was also necessary to decorate the clothes with samples of the product or, as in this case, money. The girl in the photo is advertising not just some toffee shop, but the entire "First National Bank"!
This lady has a very formal face, as if she is not very happy with her job. But everything will fall into place when you find out what she is advertising. Mr. J. M. Dolph's company sold coffins and furniture fittings.
How about this bakery lady? She was probably bothered by children, street dogs and pigeons. Let's hope that at least the loaf of bread on the head of this lady representing the bakery was just a dummy. Otherwise, she would have had a hard time.
And this beauty from Ohio represents a company selling light bulbs. A sort of garland girl. Yes, we agree, the product is not exactly feminine, but men were a rarity in marketing at that time.
And here are two ladies from South Dakota advertising a hardware store. Spoons, forks, knives, razors, keys, pins - the assortment, so to speak, is there.
The banner girls came to take pictures in the studios of photographers who were also not averse to fashion trends. Look at this lady advertising a photo studio offering portrait photography and retouching. You could say she got off easy, and now you will understand why.
The owner of another photo studio, Mr. Van Norman, did not spare the hired worker at all and put a camera on her head. Maybe this is the very first model of an action camera?
A chair on the head and curtains with a cornice on the belt. And how would you decorate the costume of a girl representing a furniture, curtains and carpets store?
Another live shoe ad. The product samples on the hem of her dress are very reminiscent of modern sneakers. How do you like this idea of advertising Nike or Adidas?
And here is an advert for Criswell and Miller's cookware and tools. The costume's creators did not skimp on details and it probably weighs a lot.
This banner girl is decorated with horseshoes and nails. Obviously, these are just dummies, otherwise the kilograms of iron would simply tear off her dress.
Another horseshoe ad, this time from Pennsylvania blacksmith FP Diehl.
And in this old photo we see a family business. Mother and daughter advertise the hardware store "Williams and Sons". Here they did without a banner, simply placing the advertising inscription on the clothes.
Two Missouri drugstores teamed up to create this ad campaign. The figures of people on the girl in black raise questions, but now, a century later, it's hard to say what the costume designer had in mind.
As we can see, cat food was advertised in the USA back in the 19th century. And we must give credit to the authors, no one exploited animals for profit.
It remains to add that Americans have always been ahead of the rest of the world in advertising. Don't believe it? Then you should learn the story of the longest non-stop flight dedicated to a casino. Unusual advertising costumes not only attracted attention, but also became part of the urban culture of that time. Today, marketing has made great strides, but can we say that modern advertising campaigns are just as creative?