Advertising toothpaste in 1919 with, uh, this guy

I've always had a fascination for ads, which is why I became a graphic designer, and nowadays I'm combining my interest with ordinary history with advertising. And by ordinary history I mean the day-to-day stuff that people did "back in the day", like brushing their teeth.

This ad, which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in 1919, is an example of "getting attention", which is usually done with a scantily-clad female, and this time with an Olympic athlete proclaiming "Vigor". Yes, some advertising agency in 1919 decided that the best way to illustrate an ad for their toothpaste was like this. And if you know your ancient Greek history, you know what athletes wore while throwing the discus. Yeah, nothin'.

Whether or not a drawing like this helped to sell toothpaste nobody knows. My favorite quote about advertising expense is the businessman who said, "I know that half of the money I spend in advertising is wasted, I just don't know which half!"

This reminds me of my grandmother, who was born in 1901, and would have been 18 when this ad came out (the attitude, not the drawing!). She was never rude or crude, but I could tell that she had grown up in a more, how can I say it? open attitude about this sort of thing. I'm on the internet here, so you have to bear with me, because I don't want to come right out and say things. But you know what I mean! She didn't blush at undraped statues, and certainly wouldn't be called "straight-laced!" Don't get me wrong, she was a fine and virtuous woman, she just had seen things that later generations hadn't.


Advertising copy for ads like these were written as if they were epic poetry - but they're not fooling me, this is just advertising, getting attention and then selling the product. Try S.S. White Tooth Paste today!

Vigor! At least he could have been smiling!

Image from the Duke University Library Digital Collections.

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