Friday, November 19, 2021

Reddy for Budget Appliances – Nov. 22, 1960

Sixty-one years ago this month, Ohio Edison was still running ads almost every day in the Lorain Journal. Many of these ads featured our old pal Reddy Kilowatt, cajoling readers to consider purchasing an electric appliance from the Ohio Edison stores.

The ad above, which appeared in the Journal on November 22, 1960, promotes simple items that everyone needs: an iron, a toaster and a coffee pot.

Each item in the ad had a special feature that seems quaint today; the iron could both dry-iron and steam-iron; the toaster could adjust “to white, rye, whole wheat or even frozen bread;” the coffeemaker had a Flavor Selector “for mild, medium or strong coffee.”

Contrast those features with the myriad of choices that consumers face today when it comes to those same items. (Except for maybe the iron. Who irons clothes today?)

The brand name of all of the appliances in the ad were Corona – which apparently disappeared over the years, (except when it comes to beer or viruses). The Corona brand seems to have been featured only in ads similar to the Ohio Edison one, suggesting some sort of arrangement between the utility and the manufacturer.

Anyway, I could only find photos online of two of the products featured in the ad: the toaster and the coffee pot. They may or may be the exact same item, but the model number was the same.

That’s a good looking toaster; the coffee pot isn’t bad either. They’re definitely nicer looking than the plastic equivalents that I use to toast my bread and brew my coffee.

3 comments:

Mark said...

Growing up... my parents had a coffee maker that looked just like that one... I was just a kid, so I'm not sure if it was a Corona brand or not... but do remember it lasted for at least 10 years or so...in fact it still may be in the basement somewhere lol... Any way, it lasted much longer than the typical plastic type ones we have today.

Dan Brady said...

Hi Mark,
I know what you mean. My parents’ old Revere Ware coffee pot that they used to perk their coffee on top of their stove is still in the basement as well.

And I still have my classic 30+ year old Farberware 2-4 cup model coffee pot, although in recent years, I've only used it for camping. You see a lot of them on eBay and they’re not cheap. I may have to brew a pot just for old times sake!

Mark said...

Hi Dan - was thinking the same thing - brew a cup lol!