So what happened here. How, in the span of 19 years, did we go from this to that? The first image is from a beer ad dated October 31, 1949. The second image is from a tick spray ad dated August 9, 1968.
Most people might actually be more familiar with the 1949 image. It’s a common image…the sunny-smiling white-toothed guy with limitless confidence. It’s almost so common and familiar that we don’t see it anymore. It has become simply a meme, a symbol.
Now, look at the image from 1968. Part of what’s happening is this shift in advertising copywriting during the Sixties. We find a lot of this closed-mouth, we’re-straight-shooters posturing from advertisers and companies. So, we’ve got a black and white photo of a can of tick spray. Period. Copy says, “Sergeants. The largest selling spray flea and tick killer in the whole world. Because it works.”
Read that copy again. “…in the whole world.” “Whole” gives the copy this faux-juvenile spin, something you start to see during this period. Then that last line is understated and flat: “Because it works.” Finally, see how they aren’t capitalizing the copy? We want flat, flat, flat. Graphically, lower-case is flat. Also these are not sparkling words. No “amazing, wow, and gee” kind of words.
All of this is intentional. I imagine that some bearded, sideburned ad exec said, “Listen Phil, let’s take an understated approach to this next Sergeant’s campaign.” Phil said, “Kind of like the Volkswagen people?” And Sideburns says, “Right on, Phil.”
