Results tagged “vintageads”

Pity the person made agitated and restless by drinking an over-stimulating beverage. Because of their tragic decisions, the owl woman fell asleep at her office desk, while the mule man walked up to his boss, a report firmly clenched in his hand, and allowed his overactive nerves to tell the boss what he really thought of the company’s management. By the end of the day, both found themselves facing the harsh realities of the Great Depression. If only they had sent away for a free sample of Postum…

A dazzling view of the Toronto skyline welcomed visiting flyers like this Royal Canadian Air Force pilot throughout World War II. The glimmer of city lights, the Royal York Hotel, and other pre-war skyscrapers as he approached Port George VI Airfield (as the island airport was officially named upon opening in 1939) was a far more welcoming sight than enemy fire.

Isn’t it wonderful when four stereotypical figures can come together in perfect harmony thanks to a humble can of spaghetti? We never suspected that the finest spices from Asia lurked within our sloppy Saturday childhood lunch.

We’d like to offer a toast to the unheralded service industry workers who served up fine fountain drinks back in the 1960s. Whether it was a bow-tied bartender who knew the perfect mixed drink to suit his or her customer's needs or a bow-tied teenager asking if you'd like a Coke with your burger and fries, these professionals required the finest of beverage-dispensing equipment to quench the thirst of bowlers, brides, and boozers.

And what are your kids doing tonight, besides hanging out in a dimly lit club?

Based on these ad campaigns for two of Labatt's top-selling brews in 1960, we surmise that 50 was targeted to men who indulged in a healthy round of log rolling/jumping or other potentially fatal tomfoolery while downing a few stubbies, while IPA was intended for the alpha male who wanted no distractions, apart from watching his favourite sport, while indulging in his favourite beverage.

While Blue Jays fans may bemoan the disappointments of the past season, at least this year’s squad didn’t stink as badly as their predecessors thirty years ago. The 1979 edition of the bluebirds was the worst in team history, with a record of fifty-three wins and one-hundred-and-nine losses. Chances were good that the shirt modelled by outfielder Rick Bosetti could have performed better on the field than most of that year's lineup.

We can picture it now—a giant, disembodied head floating in the locker room of Maple Leaf Gardens, hovering near his microphone as he interviews battle-scarred hockey players preparing to dazzle the rest of the country with their skills over the airwaves on Saturday night. Interviewees were too focused on the game ahead to notice the lack of a body…

Yes, your friends were happy that the iambic pentameter flowing out of your mouth finally sounded naturalistic and not an exercise in word fumbling. For that, you deserved a night on the town!

During World War II many Torontonians worked towards victory and, as this billboard testifies, cows were not excluded from doing their part to tackle Hitler and Tojo. The regional bovine population contributed to the war effort by providing food-solid goodness for the home front. Officials of local dairies soon discovered that the helmets they issued refused to stay on any cow’s head (straps were at a premium), so they were utilized as feed buckets or souvenirs for children touring their facilities.

For most city students, this week marks the start of another year of hitting the textbooks or reasonable facsimiles of. Back in 1929, local department stores such as Simpson's did their part to further the education of their future customer base by offering texts alongside the normal range of school supplies. Of the subjects listed, note that it was slightly cheaper for students to study British history than Canada’s past, which demonstrates the societal ties that remained between Ontario and “the mother country” (unless the publisher simply charged less). Also note how perilously the texts float above each student’s head—we hope this wasn’t a hint that knowledge should literally be fed to student brains.

Translation: the "temporary" relationship clause in a White Glove Girl's contract refers to the amount of time she has remaining on this mortal plane. Until then, we're happy to shuffle temps around from employer to employer, keeping our White Glove Girls under lock and key until the next call comes in. Sometimes we'll let them out of the dunge...asset pool for a few minutes to take care of their "happy homemaker" duties. Anyone thinking of stealing one of our assets should be aware that we've spent years working on glove-tracing technology—we'll know when you've stolen our assets!

Once upon a time, the managers of Eaton’s men’s clothing department were preparing a hiring call for designers for their 1971 fall line. Just as they were about to post the position, an eccentric designer approached the retailer with a portfolio of exciting ideas. The man called himself Adam, and rumour had it that he had been a rising star in the fashion biz until overwork and several personal crises induced a nervous breakdown. He now believed he was the Biblical figure whose name he had assumed and claimed many of his ideas were simple suggestions delivered nightly by a higher figure. Most of the time these ideas had worked, but even “the first man of fashion” had his off days, such as the time he tried to sell an American department store chain on a line of fig leaves dyed to match the colours of fall.

It was ninety years ago today that east-enders were first able to enjoy fine entertainment at the theatre that underwent numerous name changes between its opening as Allen’s Danforth and its current incarnation as the Music Hall. Growth in what was considered suburbia in 1919, along with the ease of reaching Danforth Avenue via the recently opened Prince Edward Viaduct, persuaded the Allen’s cinema chain to build a high-quality theatre in the neighbourhood.

Last year, we featured the television spots used during the latter half of the 1980s to encourage tourists to come to Toronto and "Discover the Feeling!" Today’s ad is an early print version of the campaign used to lure travellers from Motown into driving east on Highway 401. After a year of development by Camp Associates, the new tourism slogan was unveiled in 1984 as a replacement for "Toronto...Affectionately Yours," which had been used since 1972. Early reaction to the new slogan was summed up by Star columnist George Gamester: "’Discover the Feeling!’ doesn't sound like much for $50,000. But then 'I Love New York' probably didn't sound earth-shattering when first proposed, either."

These three local towers were...

Little-known fact: during the construction of the SkyDome, so many people stared down at the rising stadium from the CN Tower that the landmark occasionally came to life, with binoculars in hand, to see what all the fuss was about. Reports of the tower leaning over at a precarious angle were written off as mass hallucinations or proof of too much partying.

If Listerine can freshen your breath and kill bacteria in the mouth, why can't it do the same to the rest of your body? It's safe!

Based on the illustration, is it really the bride’s happiness that’s at stake or is it the cook in the background’s satisfaction with the proper food preparation equipment? Or is the artist depicting the bride having a vision of her happy homemaking, which shows her as someone who remains cool and relaxed after her Happy Thought got her through the third meal of the day (and the rolling pin maintained discipline in the house)? Could we be looking at two neighbours exchanging knowing glances at each other, possibly because they bought Happy Thoughts before everyone else on the block?

During a long night of testing out the latest dance moves with local swingers, isn't it refreshing to know that hot canapes will be waiting for you when you need to step off the disco floor?

Three weeks, more than forty productions, four venues. Those were the stats for the first Fringe of Toronto Theatre Festival, which marks its twentieth anniversary this year. Among the titles first-year audiences sampled: Blood Everywhere (You Should've Seen It), God is Dead as a Doorknob, Hurtin' and Hootin', and Siamese Twins Joined at the Smile.

You’re flipping through the entertainment options for a night on the town in 1980s Toronto. Let’s see...a cabaret musical about sex that employs a double-entendre for its title...and it has nudity...and it features tunes like "Fellatio 101" and "I'm Gay"...and it hasn’t been shut down by the morality squad yet.

Given the attitudes, health concerns, and advertising restrictions regarding tobacco products, Toronto newspaper readers won't be seeing appeals to send smokes to Canada's overseas forces in their morning read anytime soon—a general appeal for morale boosting/easy to barter items would be more likely.

Which of the approaches used in today's ads help determine where you spend your food dollar—the restaurant where the owner employs their children to vouch for the quality of the dining experience, or a simple line drawing of a comfortable-looking setting that promises a break from downtown traffic?

As Toronto taxpayers now own part of General Motors, we feel it appropriate to offer up a slice of their new investment's history.

Hands up—how many of you read Chickadee or Owl during your childhood or purchased it for kids you knew? With features like the cartoon adventures of the Mighty Mites and the experiments of Dr. Zed (aka York Region science teacher Gordon Penrose), these magazines aimed to introduce scientific and environmental concepts to young readers.

No statistics have ever been made public about the number of deaths and injuries caused by the swift, sudden attack of colossal bellboys bearing large stacks of classifieds that descended upon downtown Toronto during the spring of 1936. Urban legend has it that the attack was an extreme ploy launched by the Toronto Star in its circulation war with the number two paper in the city, the Telegram, that was intended to bury "the old lady of Melinda Street" in a mound of newsprint.

Would you trust a doctor whose name carries an element of danger with your next bridge work? Especially when they advertise a half-price offer? At least Dr. Risk tried to make his patients as comfortable as possible by focusing on small details and a comforting environment. In an ad that ran in The Toronto Star throughout most of 1899, the good doctor claims that:

With spring heading into its full stride, visitors who aren't afraid of the latest pandemic are starting to make their way to our fair city. This tourism pitch from the provincial government spotlights several all-season wonders of indoor Toronto, including the magnificent enclosed space that is the skating rink at Nathan Phillips Square. Several of the featured locales had been open for less than a decade when this ad appeared—how many locations can you identify?

Fiat has been in the news headlines regularly lately, thanks to its proposed alliance with ailing automaker Chrysler. Half a century ago, the Italian auto giant tried to woo buyers in North America with compact cars like the Fiat 1100 in an age when bigger was better for domestic manufacturers and consumers.