1976 Dental Health campaign

In 1976, the American Dental Association sponsored a National Children's Dental Health Week. This advertisement shows a cartoon done by animation shop Rick Reinert Productions and is from U.S. Navy Medicine (February 1976).

SL Gallant and Carolyn Belefski's new advertising work

Shannon Gallant talks on his blog about his advertising work for Clorox and you can see all the ads here.

Shannon tells me that Carolyn Belefski also did work for them, but I don't see her cartoons on the site yet.

Life Without Fossil Fuels cartoon ad in today's Washington Post

For the record, it's on page A5. Does anyone know who's drawing these?

Give me some old school PSAs

PSA's (aka Public Service Announcements) still exist, but are probably not as noticable to most in our media saturated environment.  As you might expect, cartoonists and cartoon characters are often a part of them. Of course, they also serve as an advertisement for the cartoon itself. Here's a current one that I walked past for a couple of months (excuse the cell phone quality):



This Blondie panel from 1970 was in a newspaper in the National Museum of Health and Medicine:



These comics of the Pink Panther, Blondie, Beetle Bailey, and Mutt & Jeff all come from Navy medical newspapers or newsletters.











Speaking of Mutt and Jeff, cartoonist Al Smith drew it for about 50 years. Here he is entertaining patients at a 1971 visit to Bethesda's National Naval Medical Center.



Caricaturist Jack Rosen visited Naval Hospital Orlando in 1979.



Of course, sometimes an ad is just an ad. This US Postal Service Mover's Guide Official Change of Address Kit, January 2013, has a Disney advertisement, and is available right now from your local post office.



These are minor footnotes in a larger history of comics, but hopefully enterained you briefly.

Bambi wants YOU

Disney's Bambi "Protect Our Forest Friends" by preventing wildfire poster, in Skyline, Falls Church, VA.

PR: Fantagraphics Bookstore Welcomes Warren Bernard and Tom Neely this Saturday!

F.B.I. Informant

Join us on Saturday, September 24 at 6:00 PM for an eclectic evening of comix entertainment. Comic strip historian and curator Warren Bernard (from the other Washington) will discuss his new book and companion exhibition Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising. His slide talk will be followed by an art reception and book signing. Also appearing is iconoclastic Los Angeles artist Tom Neely presenting his new self-published "painted novel" The Wolf. Tom's provocative work seamlessly combines elements of fine art, narrative comix, and pop culture. He'll present a short video piece followed by a book signing. Hope to see you all soon and often at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, located at 1201 S. Vale Street in the heart of Seattle's historic Georgetown art colony.

Warren Bernard's cartoon advertising book Drawing Power

Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising talk by Warren Bernard, August 24, 2011. I like this book a lot. Here's more photographs.

Aug 25: Warren Bernard on comics ads at Politics and Prose

I'll be there.

Warren Bernard - Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising
Aug 25 2011 7:00 pm

The comic strip has its roots in advertising as well as in art. In the first book-length study of these dual sources, Rick Marschall, founder of Nemo: The Classic Comics Library, and Warren Bernard, a prolific commentator on and extensive collector of cartoons as well as the Executive Director of Small Press Expo, look at work from the 1870s to 1940, documenting how popular cartoon characters like the Yellow Kid, Little Orphan Annie, and Popeye have figured in advertising campaigns, and how their creators were highly sought-after pitchmen, selling products alongside the best movie stars in Hollywood. As part of his presentation, Bernard will have on-hand select original ads and other advertisting items from the era.

In anticipation of Small Press Expo (SPX) 2011 - being held September 10-11 in Bethesda, MD - a complimentary one-day pass to the show will be available with the purchase of Drawing Power at Politics and Prose on the night of the event. More information about SPX 2011 at www.spxpo.com.

A couple of comics ads

My buddy Warren Bernard will be signing his book on comic artists and advertising later this month at Politics and Prose. Here's a couple by noted cartoonists Ed Nofziger and William Steig I found today that he may or may not have in the book - happy hunting!

1934 Saturday Evening Post cartoon ads or illustrations

I had three decomposing issues of the Saturday Evening Post from 1934, so I've photographed the cartoon advertisements or illustrations in them and put them on my Flickr site (click through the link because they're not all posted here).

Among others are William Steig:


Fontaine Fox:


The now forgotten Wyncie King (who, for a Washington connection, has some papers in the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art):


Ripley's Believe It or Not:


...and other including Tony Sarg, Raeburn Van Buren and Herbert Johnson (and doesn't this cartoon still apply?)

Warren Bernard's new book solicited in new Previews

Previews is the catalogue that comic book stores use to stock their shelves. Friend of ComicsDC Warren Bernard's new book Drawing Power, on advertiesments by cartoonists, is solicited in new Previews. Since Previews' website sucks, here's a link to Drawing Power by Rick Marschall and Bernard at Fantagraphics Books' site.

A little bit of Peanuts history

This ad for "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" is from the July 8th, 1969 Chicago Tribune - or 8 days before Apollo 11 took off and 12 days before it landed on the moon - thus explaining World War 1 ace Snoopy's spacesuit helmet.

Cartoons, cartoons every where

Here's some pictures from 16th St, NW in DC today:


Pom The Antioxidant Superpower ad in a bus stop.


Shrek Forever After ad on a bus.


Marmaduke the movie ad at a bus stop. The original comic strip is by Brad Anderson, a longtime gag cartoonist.

Kevin Pope, formerly of Express ads

When the free Express paper started years ago, Juniper ran ads by cartoonist Kevin Pope. There were probably about 10 different full page ones before the campaign stopped in the paper. However, it continued online, until now. See "Juniper Kills the Cartoons!" Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading, FEBRUARY 24, 2009 and "Juniper's Cartoonist Isn't Bitter," Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading, FEBRUARY 27, 2009.

Unfortunately, the company also took the cartoons off their website, depriving us of an opportunity to play catchup.

OT: Cartoonists ads from Playboy continued

New Yorker cartoonist George Price ad for Chival Regal scotch in Playboy, March 1981. What a wonderful wacky line he has!


Edward Sorel art for an ACLU ad against the Moral Majority in Playboy, March 1981. Oooh, Sorel can be hard-hitting.


Arnold Roth caricature of William Buckley in letters section, Playboy, March 1981. Roth just had a lovely color illo in a recent New Yorker issue.

OT: Cartoonists ads from Playboy

Jack Davis Dexter shoe ad in Playboy, Dec. 1980. Around this time, Davis seemed to be everywhere. He regularly covered TV Guide, drew a postage stamp, did posters for the American Cancer Society... hard to believe this is almost 30 years ago.



Cassette recorder? What's that? Charles Saxon gag cartoon ad in Playboy, Dec. 1980. Saxon's best known for his New Yorker work.

New York Times on Spirit movie posters

This is buried on the Times' website, but it's pretty interesting - "Inside the Layers of a Print Campaign," New York Times.com December 25 2008 - the poster campaign is discussed while alongside the posters themselves load. The last poster shown made it into comic book stores, or at least Big Planet, but I didn't get any of the earlier ones. Hint, hint.

Spirit movie advertisements showing up in comic stores

Some of the advertising material for the Spirit movie that was distributed to comic book shops. That's a temporary lipstick tattoo, a set of 4 trading cards of the women in the movie and the box they're in, and a glow-in-the-dark sneaker print sticker. Big Planet Comics Bethesda has a pile of movie posters that they're giving away. I've also seen a keychain with recordings from the movie on it.

Variety didn't like the movie very much (tip from Mr. Media Bob Andelman).

Comic advertisements - a few old snapshots

Here's some more advertisements using comics motifs.


Dick Tracy advertisement for Franklin Bookman standup - Crown Books March 1998.


Spider-Man advertisement - Hardees May 1999 (in Kentucky, I think).


Thing from Fantastic Four - Dodge Caravan advertisement - NJ Turnpike September 1999.


Spider-Man - Got Milk Metrobus advertisement, August 1999, Washington, DC.


Disneyland ashtray.

Advertisements using comics motifs

These would more properly go on my friend The Ephemerist's blog, but I'll stick them up here. A request for advertisements showing comics influences to use in teaching went up on the comix-scholars list recently. I tend to have a lot of clippings files on comics, and this was one that I could help with. Here's what I scanned for the request - a lot of these date from the 1990s because I was much better about getting things filed when I had no children and wasn't writing about comics.


Watson Wyatt superhero motif ad, Washington Flyer magazine, May 1998.


1st National Bank of Maryland's Superchecking ad was obviously influenced by the Superman logo. Washington Post, September 29, 1996.


Paramus Honda ran a series of ads with a continuing comic strip in the Bergen [County, NJ] Record. This one is from November 29, 1996.


Norton Utilities compared themselves to superheroes in this ad from Government Computer News, September 4, 1995.


AOL's cd mailer went for the superhero ad motif.


The "Commander in Chief" tv show ran several gag cartoon ads in both the Washington Post and the New York Times. This one is from the Times, September 14, 2005.


"Superhero Action Figures - They Really Exist" from Inova Hospital for Children, Washington Post, October 26, 1996.


Neal Adams' Continuity Associates Studio undoubtedly did this series of ads for the Mercury Tracer car that ran in magazines in 1996. This one is from Entertainment Weekly, September 6, 1996.




The 1st Tennessee Bank used a superhero comic strip ad, Cookeville Herald-Citizen, September 11, 1994.


Paramount's Kings Dominion amusement park and MTV teamed up in this ad, Washington Post, June 25, 1995.


An ad, probably done inhouse by an amateur cartoonist, for Fitzgerald Auto Malls, Washington Post January 17, 1997.


Perry Ellis ad, New York Times, February 6, 2006. These panels were from a longer storyline.


Perry Ellis ad, New York Times, June 6, 2006.


Perry Ellis ad, New York Times, June 30, 2006.


Balvenie whiskey ad, Washington Post March 28, 2006. These ran longer in the NY Times than the Post, and an earlier series is available on their website. A lot of these were about holidays.


Balvenie whiskey ad, New York Times May 13, 2006.


Balvenie whiskey ad, New York Times October 6, 2006.