When did the whole "Christmas in July" sales gimmick start?
I don't remember anything like that when I was a kid in the 60s and 70s. "Christmas in July" seems to be something that became popular in the last twenty years or so. In fact, the first time I encountered it was during a day spent at Put-in-Bay.
Anyway, there was a certain sales promotion that was popular in Lorain during the summer over the years: Crazy Days – with prices so low they were 'crazy.'
I've featured a few of these types of sales here on the blog, including 1962 and 1964 Downtown Lorain Crazy Days Sales and a 1971 Ted Jacobs Crazy Daze Sale.
And here's another one, a full page ad for Mars Discount that ran in the Journal back on July 11, 1963.
Now that's an ad that would be hard to miss – or forget.
The ad employs several devices to emphasize the 'crazy' attitude, including beatnik-type lingo, like "Dig These Real Gone Values." There's also a cartoon of a zany type with an apparent Napoleonic complex, and another of either Nero or Caligula (your choice).
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Mars had a long history in Lorain, starting around 1940 or so. In the early days, it was listed in the city directory as Outlet Furniture Company, with Harold and Jos Margolis as the proprietors (which I assume was shortened to 'Mars' when used as the company name.
The store remained at 1816 E. 28th Street until the early 1990s or so, when it moved out to 3009 Pearl. By the late 1990s, the Mars Furniture Showroom was at 2063 N. Ridge Road. It seemed to share the address with Harmon's, which became Erie TV and Appliance about the same time.
4 comments:
The woman at the top may be the first to the "duck lips" pose.
Re: Christmas in July
In New York City, where I moved to in 1984, there was an electronics store called "Crazy Eddie's." He had a TV promo that ended with the pitchman yelling "His prices are INSANE!!!"
Anyway, one of his more memorable promotions was for Crazy Eddie's annual "Christmas in August" sale (not July), where he would dress in a Santa suit and do the commercial while stagehands threw fake snowballs at him. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wVX7uCAd4o
As with many things New York City, where trust is just the name on a bank, Crazy Eddie ran afoul of the law for fraudulent business practices and served time in jail after his company went bankrupt.
But, according to Wikipedia, "Christmas in July" is a real thing dating back to 1892 in France.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_in_July#Origins
I like that the copywriter made one of the headers "Bedroom Fantasies".
I like how they offered nice conveniences like it said "Decorator Counseling" was available to help you with your purchase.Back then stores would try to go the extra mile for your business and show that they really did care.Now it's just take it or leave it.
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