Lawson's Big-O Orange Juice Ad – December 17, 1962

During the fall of 1962, Lawson's took a beating in the newspapers with a lot of bad publicity, thanks to its sponsorship of the ill-fated Issue 1. But that didn't stop the company from continuing to do a lot of advertising in the paper after the election, including this handsome full-age ad for Big-O Orange Juice which ran in the Journal back on December 17, 1962.

For those who only remember Big-O Orange Juice through its memorable commercials featuring a Lawson's tanker truck, the ad provides an opportunity to take a closer look at the whole operation. It's pretty impressive. The ad notes, how "the oranges are picked fresh in the morning... graded, squeezed, flash-chilled, and shipped in refrigerated tankers the same day... here in 40 hours or less!"

The ad also points out that "Lawson's orange juice is absolutely pure – with no concentrate, no coloring, no additives of any kind. And its cost is kept low through the same famous Lawson distribution plan that holds your milk price down: controlled outlets, fast delivery, glass containers, high volume, quick turnover!"

It's a great advertising campaign that in my opinion has no equal, even sixty years later.

****

Although we drank Lawson's milk when I was a kid, I don't think that we ever had Big-O orange juice in the Brady household. Orange juice was something we had only on Sunday morning, along with perhaps a Hough Bakery kuchen or Sara Lee coffee cake that had to be thawed out.

The orange juice had to be thawed out as well, as it was always from frozen concentrate – usually Tropicana, never Minute Maid (which is what Bing Crosby and his clan were always drinking on TV commercials).

My parents didn't start drinking orange juice every day until I came home from college. The tales I told them about my working in the dormitory cafeteria, refilling the beverage machines (including orange juice) and lugging around huge bags of liquids, must have planted the idea. And I've been drinking orange juice every day ever since, including at breakfast as well as during the evening (when I'm out of pop).