Christmas Club Ads – 1953

Does anybody still contribute to a Christmas Club account?

I guess the question really is, do banks still offer them during these times, when many people live paycheck to paycheck?

That's a good question. A quick look online reveals that, surprisingly, they're still around. First Federal of Lorain still has one, and Northwest offers something called a Holiday Account, which I assume is the equivalent.

But neither of these organizations seem to devote any advertising dollars (or even social media posts) to promote these clubs.

Anyway, that wasn't the case 70 years ago. Just about every local bank or savings & loan promoted their Christmas Clubs in the "Gift Ideas for a Jolly Christmas" catalog (featured on yesterday's post).

Here are the three Club ads, for First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Lorain, Lorain Banking Company (which became Lorain National, and later, Northwest) and Citizens Home and Savings Association.

It's interesting seeing the different approaches used in each ad. I suspect that the Journal art department did the ad layouts, because some of the clip art used (including the man with the Santa mask and the woman hugging him) can be found in other Journal ads from that time period.  

Today, the marketing departments of banks have established design templates for sub-contractors to follow, to guarantee that their brand has a consistent look. Thus, today you'd never see an ad like the one for Lorain Banking Co., which mixes different types of clip art.

Speaking of Lorain Banking Company, I recently drove by its former building at Sixth and Broadway. Due to some kind of damage to the "600 BROADWAY" sign that has adorned the front of the building for years, you can see the bank's inscription peeking through.

Here's a reminder of what it looked like in the 1950s.