News & Notes

Picking the best and boldest dog and cat food labels for my two new books was easy. I have the world’s largest collection.The hard part was finding the perfect quote and “words of wisdom” to go along with each wonderful work of label art. I was also lucky to have a fantastic publisher, Insight Editions, that appreciated our vision that dog and cat books can be literate and artistic as well as fun or even funny. Award winning artist, Masud Husain did the graphic design.

Dog Food for Thought and its companion book, Cat Food for Thought will be in gift shops and book stores April 15th.

I am working on another book about advertising (debuting Spring 2015) and in the process came across this wonderful bar of soap. At first I just assumed the “Dry” in Dryad had something to do with an antiperspirant. It does. Dryad was the brand name of a modestly popular deodorant in the 1950’s. I assume the company expanded their product line in the late 1960’s to include soap bars. This of course was the dawn of the Flower Power generation with its interest in health and nature and you can see that influence in the label graphics.

What I didn’t know was that the graphic artist responsible for the label design was also referencing Greek mythology. Dryads are female spirits of nature also known as “wood nymphs.” They preside over groves and forests, more specifically a single tree which the Dryad watches—either living in the tree as part of it, or close to it. Their lives are so connected with that of the tree—that should the tree perish the Dryad dies with it. If caused by a mortal, the gods will punish him for that deed. The Dryads themselves also will punish any thoughtless mortal who would somehow injure the tree. If you want to see Hollywood’s version of Dryads, they are featured in The Chronicles of Narnia.

So there you have it. The DRYness of an antiperspirant + The AD in advertisement + The DRYAD of Greek mythology.

My search for the perfect lei began the day I purchased a beautiful store display of the United Airlines Hawaiian Menehune Girl. My curator at the SFO Museum and I agreed that she would be one of the stars in the display case dedicated to “Airline and Travel Characters” in my upcoming exhibition at the airport’s International Terminal. Travel agency displays, as you can imagine, (before the days of Travelocity and Priceline) were placed in sun-drenched storefront windows. Remarkably, this figure was in great shape except for one detail––it was missing a vintage Hawaiian lei around its neck. So I needed to add an era-appropriate plastic lei. Who knew that lei technology had advanced so much since 1975? To begin, I sought out my present day “experts”: my staff, Amazon, a very cool couple I know, and Ebay.

Michaels: On the recommendation of my employees, this arts and crafts big-box chain store was the first place I looked. Apparently they have been to many Hawaiian-themed lei-making parties for their kids. But Michaels, although helpful, was a disappointment. Apparently leis are “seasonal” items and September meant a store brimming with Halloween stuff. Menehune [pronounced meh-neh-HOO-neh] are said to be a people, diminutive in size, who live in the deep forests and hidden valleys of the Hawaiian Islands far from the eyes of normal humans. I admit a nice necklace of white skeletons would have looked cool, but I needed the real thing. The Menehune’s favorite food is Mai’a (bananas) and fish. Cannibals they were not.

Amazon: Of course leis should be made of real flowers, but fake leis have progressed from thick plastic to inexpensive millimeter-thin frilly plastic, to currently in-vogue lifelike silk flowers. Amazon specialized in the latter two. So for $22 you can get a 50 “Mega Silk Lei Assortment of Tropical Hawaiian Luau Party Favors.” Not for me, but for your next Tiki party, knock yourself out.

Caroline’s Closet: Lately, whether it be lei or cat culture questions, my “go-to” couple is Christine and Greg. They are knowledgeable about all things Hawaiian. They perform in a band featuring ukeleles and are connoisseurs of Island cuisine and culture. Christine’s great suggestion was a South Dakota website, Caroline’s Closet, that “specializes in the production and making of accessories for the 18 inch dolls.” Lo and behold, Caroline’s did sell a beautiful purple and white silk lei. A contender.

Ebay: United Airlines apparently didn’t stop at Menehune store displays to promote their Hawaiian Island routes. There on Ebay was a Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey Menehune Man decanter, given away as a gift at the airline’s sponsored 1975 Hawaiian Open golf tournament. BUT––around its neck was a miniature vintage pink plastic lei! One week later and $40 lighter it was mine. It was the winner.

Mahalo nui loa, Ebay! (Thank you very much, Ebay).

Although I haven’t eaten one in a while, as a kid Animal Crackers, were my second favorite cookie after Vanilla Wafers––but then again, you can’t really bite the heads off Nilla Wafers.

Although considered a quintessential American cookie, animal crackers were an English invention and of course were called biscuits, not crackers. There were several bakeries producing the cookies at the turn of the 20th century in America, and the National Biscuit Company (now Nabisco) was one of them. To distance themselves from the other bakeries, NBC decided to evoke the “circus theme” of the Barnum and Bailey Circus—The Greatest Show on Earth—and their confections became the classic Barnum’s Animals we know today. First sold in bulk in stores from the proverbial cracker barrel, the cookies soon found their way into large tins and finally into the little cardboard boxes we all love. When the diminutive box was designed to hang from a tree as a Christmas ornament a string was added and never left the package design. Manufacturing innovations such as rotary dyes allowed the the bakeries to engrave the animal details more intricately; a great technologic advance if you are an Animal Cracker ear or foot nibbler.

Some of my favorite Animal Cracker boxes (and Animal Cracker miniature buses) can be seen above. Some are even more entertaining than the Nabisco classic. Later this year, I will write about canine crackers—aka, dog biscuits and dog bones—and how they were derived from the dry, vitamin-fortified, “sea biscuits” that sailors would take on long ocean journeys. But that’s another story and another collection.

Below is a 1974 Topp’s Wacky Pack trading card called “Creature Crackers—the snack that attacks.” One would think that with today’s fascination with zombies, dinosaurs and Twilight-like vampires this “imaginary brand” and spoof of a confection would be a best seller. I’m sure somewhere—and in some form—it already exists.

 

Perhaps it’s the graphic designer and scientist in me, I’ve always loved the look and design of the “atomic symbol.” Atomic energy has always had its dark side. In light of the Fukushima travesty, that is even more evident. But to me the atomic symbol always stood for modernity and the promise of a better future. The symbol was based on the model of the atom as devised by Ernest Rutherford (the so-called Rutherford Atom) whereby electrons spin around a nucleus––although you usually don’t get to see the protons and neutrons in the central nucleus of these logos.

The atomic symbol is most often integral to United Nations, national, and international energy commission logos, but also can be found on the uniforms of the Albuquerque Isotopes minor league baseball team, the opening and closing credits of TV’s Big Bang Theory and of course the Genius Bar of every Apple Store in the country. A similar symbol––with a wonderful name, the Atomic Whirl––is the symbol of the American Atheists organization although I’ve never seen one hanging from a gold chain around someone’s neck.

Just the other day I ordered a packet of matchbox labels to obtain a cute cat image. Finding an atomic themed label therein was the bonus prize. I’ve included above a few versions of the atomic symbol from my itsy-bitsy atomic collection. And you can find below some interesting research by Alex Wellerstein who is even more fascinated with this logo and its various incarnations from 1949 on.

http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2013/01/11/the-story-behind-the-iaeas-atomic-logo/

http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2012/04/13/friday-image-the-atomic-energy-commission-seal-1949/

 

Good design makes me happy.

And that is why this can of 1969 Lektro Set has been sitting on my studio drafting table all summer.

If I were ever anthropomorphically transformed into, let’s say, a bottle of 1960’s Hai Karate men’s cologne, Miss Lektro Set’s pouty lips would certainly catch my eye. She looks great even under one of those big salon hair dryers that the product’s package designer craftily fashioned out of its white plastic cap.

For those interested, Lektro Set was a spray you could use to “set” hair “between shampoos” by spraying and sitting under a dryer for ten minutes.

Growing up, my brother and I could not have been more different. I had that über competitive streak and perfectionist personality and he had the easy going one. I had to be number one in every class and grade and I can’t remember ever seeing my brother crack open a text book, even once…although I’m sure he did. I remember, as kids one summer, we were partners in a treasure hunt—the camper finding the most peanuts gets the grand prize. Only he got hungry and snacked though our winnings before the final tally

Fast forward a few decades. It’s funny how similar brothers can become. Some might even say we now look like identical twins (he’s a few years older). What really is interesting is that I have a career in the medical field and as you can tell by this website, enjoy writing about advertising. My brother, on the other hand, is a very successful advertising executive with a special interest in medicine. He creates copy and oversees advertisements for all types of medical lasers and medications, including his team’s award-winning promotional calendar featuring Digger the Lamisil® fungus. Watch your toes! In that calendar’s month of October, Digger had a Halloween treat for your toenails, AKA: athlete’s foot.

A belated congratulations on your wedding, Rich. Wishing you and Cathy, (fungal-free) health and happiness!

Light of India not only comes in it own slip case, but there is also a striking strip on the side of the box so that if you actually want to use it to light a match, you can. The production team at Ten Speed Press did a wonderful job to make this happen. Not only is it the first book about matchbox art from the Indian Subcontinent, but it is the first book ever to double as a matchbox. Seinfeld fans might recall Kramer’s book about coffee tables doubling as a coffee table. Well, it’s kinda like that!

A year ago Random House editors chose Light of India as a selection for their digital book initiative. It was with trepidation that I gave them permission to publish Light of India as an ebook. As its creator, I was concerned that it would be missing those unique features mentioned above. But it was a review on Amazon from Megan Doherty at Galaxy Ink Tattoo that changed my mind. She wrote that “Light of India has great pictures of matchbook artwork. I am inspired by the colors.” Then a comment on the London-based Indian illustrator, Parul Arora’s, terrific blog: “Living away from India has changed so much for me. Its helped me recognise the beauty in things that I took for granted earlier. Anyway, I think this book is beautiful and very inspiring and I feel very silly saying this but I’m extremely proud of it.”

As an author, to hear that your book inspired someone else’s artwork or to read that it made someone proud of their heritage and culture, is very gratifying. So perhaps it’s more important to get your work out there. After all, print editions run their course but digital books will be ongoing in the cloud.

So I am pleased to announce Light of India’s debut as an ebook this July. BTW, here is Parul Arora’s website review of Light of India:

As a kid I loved watching episodes of Superman on TV. Superpowers made him good at everything (and something to aspire to) but those abilities also made him ultimately infallible and a bit predictable. I suppose the success of Marvel comics was in great part having flawed superheroes with limited powers. For example, Thor has primarily his hammer-wielding strength and Captain America is armed only with an indestructible, boomerang-like shield.

When researching the Firecrackers book, I was surprised to see how few Asian mythologic heroes adorned the labels of firecracker packs from China. Perhaps the Chinese illustrators had mainly the American market in mind.

One character depicted on the Roger brand label did capture my attention. He is No Cha (also called Nezha). No Cha is particularly fond of fighting dragons, rides on a wheel of fire and battles his nemeses with a hand-held golden ring that can expand and shrink. No, he’s not a girl, even if he does favor a pigtail hairstyle and skirt. No Cha could fit right in with Marvel’s team of Avengers although he is hundreds of years older.

When Ten Speed Press asked me to produce a gift calendar based on the book Firecrackers: The Art & History, I was only too happy to put No Cha on the cover. I was not surprised to learn that No Cha’s star potential transcends print, starring in a 1979 Chinese animation film titled Nezha Conquers the Dragon King. You can see a snippet of it here, but I like the firecracker No Cha better:

In 2000, as Firecrackers was being printed in Hong Kong, my publicist at Ten Speed Press inquired if there were any national magazines that might be interested in featuring the book. I suggested Playboy, among others.

Although written for adults, Firecrackers would eventually be cited on several statewide librarian “Young Adult Reading Lists” as its mix of comic book style art, world history and pyrotechnics proved very appealing to many middle school boys. Not surprisingly, Playboy did review the book. Their readership was the same feisty group of boys, just bigger and older!

When queried by the publicist as to what image she might offer Playboy, it was a no- brainer: the Mermaid Brand firecracker label. The Mermaid was a bit of an anomaly as mermaids aren’t really found much in Asian folklore. As with the Cowboy and Pirate brands, this South China Sea Mermaid was designed to appeal to American market tastes. (You can see the label in the Books section of the website: Firecrackers!).

Here are two other mermaids. One, the face page of a city street map, recently found, and the other discovered at a flea market a few years back. Both were designed to promote tourism. Why travel related? The Mermaid is the coat-of-arms symbol of Poland’s capital, Warsaw. Mermaids have traditionally also been used to promote luxury sea liners, and even to this day The Little Mermaid is a prominent selling point of Disney Cruise Lines.

Health advocates marvel how often Americans take the most nutritious part of the potato—the skin—peel it off and discard it and then either fry the rest in oil or boil out all the vitamins before mashing with a 1/4 stick of butter.

The Brit advertising characters, the Smash Martian robots, conversely took things one step further. They would mock humans for even attempting to mash their potatoes from scratch when they could easily partake in the time-saving, out-of-this-world, technological advancement of Cadbury’s Smash instant mash. The catchphrase “For Mash Get Smash” is an iconic advertising slogan in the UK.

Around the TV ad campaign’s height of popularity in the mid 1970’s, workers from the Halewood Body and Assembly plant near Liverpool, England, began making their own miniature Martians entirely from components of the Ford Escort cars that were being manufactured at the plant. Press clippings from March 1976 indicate that while bosses at the plant didn’t condone the pilfering of parts, they grudgingly admired the ingenuity of their production line staff.

I’ve just added a second Halewood Smash Martian to my robot collection, and as you can see the two are very different. What I love most about these outsider pop-artworks is their cool metallic colors. Once assembled, the factory workers would send their little robot-man through the paint conveyor for a professional Ford Escort powder coating. In the case of these robots, velvet purple and metallic blue.

(In researching this “Note,” I came across a story that a blue 1975 Ford Escort once owned by Pope John Paul II sold for $690,000. The cost of my little blue martian…not so much…but not cheap, as the bidding was surprising fierce from Smash collectors across the pond.)

Market investors have read a great deal recently about a low-price growth stock, SodaStream. Even the New Yorker magazine detailed this make-your-own-soda machine company’s efforts to run a commercial in this year’s Superbowl. Their stylish, modern kitchen appliance can be found in Bed, Bath and Beyond, and Samsung is even designing refrigerators incorporated with them.

Of course every American schoolboy once knew that if you wanted to make a home-brewed carbonated drink, it required no more than to drop a Fizzies tablet in a glass of water. Fizzies, first developed in the 1950’s, was eventually acquired by the pharmaceutical giant, Warner Lambert, which by 1971 was producing seven flavors. In that year, colorful package illustrations depicted a Wizard, Witch, Zulu Warrior, Genie and Magician among others.

This is my newest find and my favorite Fizzies character: The Mad Scientist. It is exactly who you were, when topping off a bubbly “imitation cherry” Fizzies drink with a splat of Reddi-wip.

(The original Fizzies ad character, a smiling tablet, appeared in Meet Mr. Product and two Fizzies packets are on view in Ad Boy)

Labels also comes bound as two beautifully illustrated diminutive editions— the first, a limited edition of books signed by the author in 1993 and the second published in 2001.