I've mentioned a few times how running ads in local newspapers used to be an important part of national advertising campaign, especially in the days before television siphoned off much of a company's marketing budget.
The Lorain Journal used to enjoy a healthy revenue stream from these national advertising purchases, especially in the 1950s. New products were constantly being introduced, and older ones had to make their presence known to maintain their market share.
It's kind of interesting how Blue Bonnet was marketed. The ad doesn't even pretend that Blue Bonnet tastes like butter or is better. Instead, it is presented as an economical alternatives to other margarines and 'spreads.' The ad notes, "Each pound of of tasty, nourishing Blue Bonnet Margarine costs less than half as much as the high-priced spread.' Blue Bonnet is also uniquely positioned as having 'extra nutrition' and being rich in both Vitamin A and Vitamin D.
Baby Boomers might also recognize the grinning face of Howdy Doody in the lower right hand corner of the ad. Blue Bonnet was apparently the freckled puppet's 'favorite.'
I like the gimmick of including photographs of real housewives wearing blue bonnets and offering their own mini-testimonials. It kind of personalizes the ad, although we have no idea where the amateur spokeswomen live.
Lastly, in our modern era in which controversial mascots (Uncle Ben, Aunt Jemima, the Land O'Lakes Indian maiden, etc.) have been retired in recent years, it's kind of nice to know that Blue Bonnet Sue is still around. No one is complaining about the way she looks or her old-fashioned head gear. She's on the package and still looks much the same as she always did.
But alas, while Blue Bonnet is technically a margarine, apparently it's not allowed to market itself as such. According to federal regulations, margarine needs to have a minimum fat content of 80% to be labeled as one in the U. S. unfortunately, Blue Bonnet only has 53%. So instead, the box says "53% Vegetable Oil Spread."
The well-remembered tagline is on the box as well, although I haven't seen a Blue Bonnet TV commercial for decades. Here's a vintage one.
And here's a bizarre one from the Great White North circa 1981, featuring a live-action Blue Bonnet Sue that's about as big as a Barbie doll. (I can see her being chased around the kitchen table by a love-crazed Snap, Crackle and Pop a la the Marx Brothers.)
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I've featured Blue Bonnet on this blog before, in the form of a 1957 advertisement back on this post.
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Click here to read an interesting history of the brand, complete with the story of the woman who modeled for the very first illustration of Blue Bonnet Sue.
My dad always called margarine "oleo."
ReplyDeleteI did too, until odd looks from the other kids in skool suggested I stop. Peer pressure can be a terrible thing.
He also told stories about, when it first sold, it was pure white in color and buyers were provided a little pack of yellow coloring that they could stir in if they wished.
Even I'm not *that* old!
What did Howdy Doody know about margarine anyway. He had wooden taste buds.
ReplyDeleteDon - The practice of selling white "oleo" with yellow food coloring packets did survive into the 1960s, at least. I went to college in Wisconsin, which then and perhaps now called itself "America's Dairyland," and in that state you could not buy yellow margarine. It was against the law, banned at the behest of the dairy lobby.
Dan - The three bonneted women are supposedly famous. I have no idea who the first two were, but the third was the wife of a well-known operatic tenor.
Thanks, Buster.
ReplyDeleteI can see where Wisconsin would want to clearly delineate the difference between dairy deliciousness and miserable margarine. I'm uncertain if that was such a big deal in Pennsyltucky.
But I went looking a little and found this to cut/paste into your browser. Plenty interesting:
https://www.sciencehistory.org/collections/blog/stomping-the-margarine/
It says, in part: "Until 1967 when Wisconsin finally removed its ban, consumers had to smuggle colored margarine blocks from neighboring states."
Yes, it's a wonder that all the women of today and even the fake pretend women aren't demanding that the Blue Bonnet lady be retired.On a side note,there is a man who dresses up as Little Bo Peep all with a twirling umbrella and huge bonnet with a large fluffy petticoat on the east side of Lorain in the summer time.His whole outfit is Barbie colored pink.He walks all over from Broadway all the way down East Erie and then disappears in the east side neighborhood along where the Granny D's Pizza murder took place.So some people still love the Blue Bonnet look.
ReplyDeleteBuster, you're right – the women featured in the ad were not your anonymous housewives. They were all society types! Mrs. Harry Conover was the wife of Harry Conover, whose modeling agency selected the first model to represent Miss Blue Bonnet. Mrs. David Anthony Drexel was either a model, or a well-known high society woman (or both), having appeared in a full-page Ponds magazine ad in the 1940s and early 1950s. (In fact, a lot of women with the last name Drexel appeared in Ponds ads at that time.) And like you mentioned, Mrs. Jan Peerce apparently was the wife of Jan Peerce, the famous American Tenor. Other ads in the same campaign featured Mrs. Dale Carnegie, wife of the author and lecturer, and Joan Bennett the actress.
ReplyDeleteSaw a story in Lorain Journal years ago. A pound of oleo was discovered under a car seat and it was left there for 20 years.t was still usable.
ReplyDelete"How to win friends and grease other people."
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