EOC Week 6: Vintage Ads

    

• Py-Co-Pay Toothbrush advertisement from the 60's: The product was marketed as a product that could be used by astronauts in space. At the height of the space race, Americans were fascinated by everything space related including what products astronauts used.

• Tufsyn rubber-a type of rubber used in tires by Goodyear: Tufsyn rubber is an especially durable rubber that the Goodyear company used for their tires. It was also used in the advertising as a way to set themselves apart from the competition.

•   Retsyn- a breath freshener used in Certs: Retsyn was a special ingredient created by the Certs company that was only used in their product. "According to the Certs Cool Mint Drops Page, Retsyn is a combination of partially hydrogenated cottonseed, cooper gluconate, and flavouring. Aka: oil, copper sugar, and a vague but unremarkable chemical" http://www.omg-facts.com/Other/Certs-Mints-Invented-An-Ingredient-Calle/53428#wXMqjrthj3oxLfx4.99. It was used as a marketing ploy to set themselves apart from the competitors.

   I think vintage ads are fundamentally like the ads of today. They speak to the culture and attitudes of the people. The agencies representing the brands all want to create advertisements that grab the viewers attention by representing cultural phenomenons and public interests. This is represented as such in the ad for Py-Co-Pay toothbrushes. They used the remarkable events of the moon landing and space exploration to capitalize on the marketing of their product. Without the added interest of the space program, Py-Co-Pay toothbrushes are like any other toothbrushes. The Goodyear Tires ad made sure to feaure the fact that tufsyn rubber was used in their product. The abrasion-resistant rubber was highlighted because the agency spoke to the fact that more and more families were taking road trips on vacation. They wanted to assure the public that their special tires would not pop or deflate on such trips. The universal theme of love and lust is used in the ad for Certs mints. This spoke to the millions of single Americans out there trying to find that special someone. It could certainly be used in an ad campaign today. It is essential for advertisements to capture the zeitgeist in order to become effective. In decades past, people did not have the capability to fast forward and skip over ads, so the creator might as well entertain them in the process of selling them products.