Sunday, March 4, 2012

Forward Thinking Gum?

This ad says it all. Check it out, and then I'll tell you when it's from:


Fleers Gum is long gone, although I have enjoyed years of chewing on another of their products, Dubble Bubble bubble gum. Apparently, this is the company that started baseball cards and other trading cards. I wish they were still around, because just for running this ad in... March 1946's Radio Mirror magazine, I would buy all of their gum I could chew.

If you can't make out the text, it says: "'Don't let them kid you!' says Ray Milland. You can't tell a good American by the color of his skin, the church he goes to, or the way he spells his name. People from every race and every country have helped to make America great. Let's all remember that, and show the world America means what it says about Democracy!"

The gum may be gone, but the message of the ad is timeless. I wish I knew what was behind this ad in 1946. Is there a story that goes with it? Is this a post-war message (that few heeded...)? Is it something more personal to the company? What does the lovely Mr. Milland have to do with it? Regardless, it's impressive.

3 comments:

  1. Hi,

    I love your old magazines. They are so fascinating aren't they. We went to the Great Dorset Steam Fair in August last year and it tipped it down all weekend (typical England). Walking anywhere was horrendous but the silver lining was that all the traders dumped their unwanted stock and packed off. This meant we spent a wonderful afternoon scooping up all the left magazines before the rain ruined them. All for free! We dried them out and read them all. They ranged from 30s women's magazines to 60s men's woodworking magazines. The adverts are definitely the best. My favourite one so far is the 50s advert for self assemble asbestos sheds! Do you think the US magazines differ from UK magazines? It would be interesting to see.

    Jess x

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  2. Lucky you! I'm a sucker for any kind of old paper, really! I have some English women's magazines and I think they share a lot in common with their American sisters. However, because rationing was so much more severe, the concerns are quite different at times. Much more make-do-and-mend rather than buy! Buy! Buy! ;)

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