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Vintage Toronto Ads: It’s New Nescafé Week!
Source: the Telegram, May 13, 1957.
Yes, it was great news for Toronto coffee drinkers that week in 1957 when New Nescafé arrived in town. Few were more excited than Mrs. Dorothy Smith of Don Mills, who was quickly hooked by the instant java’s “flavour bonus.” She quickly canvassed her neighbours to see who would turn over their unwanted coupons and samples to feed her rapidly growing addiction. Her children watched bemusedly as she grew more wide-eyed and jittery and babbled each morning about needing more “rich, mellow flavour.” As the week wore on, it was clear that the 18 jars she carefully lined across her kitchen shelf and posed in front of for Mr. Smith’s camera weren’t going to last long.
Source: the Telegram, May 15, 1957.
The cashier at Mrs. Smith’s preferred Dominion store grew increasingly alarmed as the homemaker’s smile widened each time she checked out, until it developed a frightening permanence like that crazy Joker fellow in Batman comics. By the end of New Nescafé Week, Mrs. Smith parked herself at the front door, begging incoming customers turn over their coupons to her. The store manager took Mrs. Smith aside and told her she was no longer permitted to buy New Nescafé on his premises. Showing concern for her plight, he offered her a free case of Postum coffee substitute to alleviate withdrawal symptoms. Thanks to her friendly grocer, Mrs. Smith soon recovered her wits and ability to frown, and spent most of the following week in bed catching up on lost sleep.