Friday, August 10, 2007

Temporal nature of advertising

I recently purchased a game called Adverteasing at a local thrift store. The game was made in 1988 by now defunct Canada Games Company under license from Rischer Enterprises. The game, very similar in game play to Trivial Pursuit, is completely focused on advertising slogans. It has 3,000 questions and is an amazing cultural artifact.

While I’m able to guess at the companies behind a few of the slogans, it is amazing how many companies are no longer in business. For those that are still in business, almost none of the slogans are used today. Here are a couple of examples, see if you can guess the answers (see the hint at the bottom of this post):

“It’s worth the trip”
  • Miami Beach
  • Cunard Lines
  • Dunkin’ Donuts
  • Delta Airlines

“Our strengths are legendary*”

  • US Steel
  • Navistar
  • Samsonite
  • Atlas Van Lines

“Washes clothes without rubbing”

  • Fab
  • Vivid
  • Lively Polly Dry Soap
  • Drive

“Does she…or doesn’t she?”

  • Pond’s
  • Lavoris
  • Clairol
  • Lady Speed Stick

“The Ultimate Driving Machine*”

  • Jaguar
  • Mercedes-Benz
  • BMW
  • Lotus

“The greatest show on earth*”

  • Ice capades
  • Circus of the Stars
  • Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus
  • Circus Circus

“Correct your skin faults”

  • Pond’s
  • Clean & Clear
  • Dioxogen Cream (1937)
  • Clearasil

*Those marked with an asterisk are still used in promotional copy today.

Trivia solving hint: always choose answer "c or #3" in a multiple choice quiz.

No comments: