Ads from 50 years ago

It's 50 years today since the first episode of Thunderbirds was broadcast and, yes, it certainly feels like half a century! I've already done quite a few posts on Thunderbirds on this blog over the years so today I thought I'd look at what else we as kids were thrilled about back then. Much has changed over the last five decades, yet in some ways many things stay the same, as shown by these vintage adverts from TV21 comic of 50 years ago.

Above is perhaps the first Thunderbirds-related piece of merchandise, and certainly the first appearance of a Thunderbird in TV21. It's an ad for Century 21 Records from TV21 No.41, dated 30th October 1965. 

Here are a few other ads from around the last few months of 1965, when the popular things were Lego, Daleks, fireworks, and James Bond. Not much change there, although fireworks would not be advertised in comics now. Personally I think it's time for a revival of Stingray Slippers! (When I was 3 or 4 I had a similar pair with Yogi Bear heads on them! They were all the rage you know.)

As always, click on the images to see them much larger.

Promotions in pink

As many of you will recall, decades ago D.C. Thomson always used to promote new comics and free gift issues by including four page A4 inserts in the centre pages of The Dandy and The Beano. (An idea also later used by IPC.) These inserts were printed in navy blue ink on pink paper so they always stood out. Their design was a masterclass in how to sell a comic, with dynamic layouts, exciting logos and announcements that were hand lettered to great effect.

Here's one of those inserts that would have appeared in either The Beano or The Dandy in September 1966. (I kept the ad but not the actual comic!) I can't remember if I bought The Hotspur that week. I didn't really follow that comic until 1969, but the advertised stories Test Pilot Z and The Black Hawk sound intriguing.

I understand that these four page inserts (often thrown away) are now more collectable than the issues they appeared in! I kept a stack of them for years then foolishly used them as firelighters ages ago! 

  

More ads from 1970

I've shown lots of ads from comics here before and now here's another bunch you may remember. (Hopefully they'll also prove interesting for those of you born after 1970.) 

I've never minded adverts appearing in comics. As a kid they kept us informed of stuff we might like, and looking back on them now they serve a useful purpose in putting the comics in the cultural context of the times. Such as the ad for instamatic cameras...

Due to stricter rules about advertising in children's comics today, a lot of these items wouldn't stand a chance of appearing now. Sugary breakfast cereal and chocolate would be out for a start.

Jam and fireworks? Nope. Not a chance.  

I'd bet there'd even be some objection from some people today if comics advertised voodoo shoes too. What? Voodoo shoes? Yep....

One type of advert I was glad to see the back of were the ones encouraging kids to have a military career. I'm sure that may ruffle some feathers of some readers but I never thought they were appropriate for kids comics, and the 'Hunter-Killer' one shown here was particularly distasteful in my opinion.

Anyway, let's take a look at the rest of the ads. All of them appeared in Lion weekly in 1970...  

Ads of the past (1970/71)

I know some find them intrusive, but I've always liked advertisements in comics. They place the comic into a larger cultural context, and years later can evoke as many nostalgic memories as the stories themselves. Plus they help finance the comics, which can't be a bad thing. 

Here's a bunch of ads that appeared in IPC comics in 1970 and early 1971. Kicking off above with a promotion for space stickers that were free in boxes of Sugar Smacks. Back when cereals were allowed to carry incentives like free gifts. Back when there were Sugar Smacks! (Which I personally always found tastier than their rivals Sugar Puffs.)

Next, an ad for a very slim Cadbury bar which carried free cards. In fact the bar wasn't much bigger than the cards as I recall.  

Spacex! I barely remember this toy brand, but I think I had one of the models.

A full page promo for The Sun from the pages of Scorcher comic. A blatant way to encourage kids to get their parents to buy that newspaper...

Corgi Rockets were a rival to Hot Wheels. I had a Corgi Rockets Triple-loop set, because I was familiar with Corgi cars so the advertising didn't have to work too hard to convince me. 

Puffa Puffa Rice was another cereal that's no longer around, as far as I know. In 1970 they were giving away various plastic warriors. Nice little toy figures. I still have a couple of them, as you can see in the photo after the ad...

Spears Games produced several stocking fillers, - relatively cheap but well made games for the Christmas market. Here's their 1970 ad, alongside small ads for Jacoskates and Subbuteo!

This View-Master ad reads like something Don Draper might create in Mad Men. It really sells the product well. View-Master was incredibly popular back in the sixties and seventies...

Brooke Bond tea regularly gave away free cards, changing the subject matter on a yearly basis. In 1971, with the Moon landing still relatively fresh in the memory, The Race Into Space was the subject...

Free cards were considered a good incentive to sell products, and were comparatively cheap to produce. Even Walls Sausages were at it!

I'll post more old ads at a later date. By the way, if you're new to this blog, click on each image to see it larger. 

Some previous blog entries about ads in comics:

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/junk-food-and-comics.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/ads-from-comics-of-1960s.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/seventies-nostalgia-adverts-in-comics.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/seventies-nostalgia-more-adverts-from.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/more-ads-from-1970s-comics.html

This week in 1969: TIGER AND JAG

It's been a while since I featured Tiger on this blog so here's a quick look at the issue that was on sale from 19th to 25th April 1969. This was the 4th combined issue of Tiger and Jag, with IPC having taken over the Fleetway comics and trimming back the weaker selling titles. The Roy of the Rovers cover is by Yvonne Hutton, whose linework still looks fresh and modern even today. Tragically, Yvonne died in a car accident in the early 1990s. 

The following Skid Solo story is drawn by John Vernon. It's a significant episode because it introduces 'Sparrow' Smith, who became a regular supporting character. (Click on all pages to see them much larger.)

The Nosey half-pager at the end of the Skid Solo story was drawn by Alf Saporito, who a year later became the regular cover artist on Gus Gorilla for Cor!! 

Since its merger with Jag, Tiger had inherited that comic's web offset printing process which was a higher standard of printing, and allowed artists to paint their colour pages instead of relying on the flat colour overlays that the newsprint comics used. Just look at the quality of this full colour Football Family Robinson centrespread by Joe Colquhoun...

Tiger later became an all-sports comic, but in 1969 it still featured a variety of subjects. One such strip was Saber, King of the Jungle, illustrated by the excellent Denis McLoughlin...

Here's a few snippets of some of the other strips in Tiger and Jag that week, starting with Typhoon Tracy drawn by Graham Allen using a less cartoony style than that which he'd used on The Nervs for Smash!

Custer by David Sque...

Black Patch the Wonder Horse by Sandy James...

...and the long-running Johnny Cougar by John Gillatt.

Finally, to add to the flavour of the year 1969, here's a few of the adverts that appeared in that issue, including one of the legendary "Great News, Pals!" announcements for two comics joining forces...

By the way, - you can see more classic ads from other comics in previous posts on this blog. Here's a few links:

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/junk-food-and-comics.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/seventies-nostalgia-adverts-in-comics.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/seventies-nostalgia-more-adverts-from.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/more-ads-from-1970s-comics.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/ads-from-comics-of-1960s.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/advertisements-for-comics-of-past.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/anti-smoking-strips-of-sixties.html