Above is a pretty good example. It's an ad for Moulas Bros. Furniture located at 1024 Broadway in Lorain. A sale on Serta mattresses is the focus of the ad, but a rather offbeat approach is used. The illustration of the doctor (with dangling stethoscope) examining the bare back of an attractive brunette looks like it was poached from a sleazy paperback from that era – especially since they are posed right next to a mattress!
What do you think?
Looking at the Moulas ad (remember, I was a graphic designer for more than 35 years), I get the feeling that the ad was slapped together at a gallop. Graphic elements (such as the Serta logo) are positioned crookedly; one logo overlaps the border of the ad; the top of a whole line of bold type is cut off by the bottom of the mattress art; and the top of the head of the doctor (if indeed that's what he is) is trimmed to fit somewhat sloppily.
I wasn't sure if the ad was assembled in the Journal art department or if it was supplied by an agency since the Serta sale was a national event. But a quick Google search, I had my answer: it was actually part of the national campaign! Here's the magazine ad version.
I'm guessing that the Journal pasteup artist was given a copy of the magazine ad, and told to cut it up and use it as needed to assemble one for Moulas Bros.
Anyway, I'm not surprised that it's a Serta ad. I had a crush on Joey Heatherton thanks to Serta's early 1970s TV commercials.
I still like a nice pixie cut on a woman, thanks to Joey.
7 comments:
That ad was pretty risqué for 1954.But I can see someone like Don Draper brainstorming it out.
Notice how, in the local ad, they adjusted the middle "Serta" logo and related text to cover the doctor's hand on the woman's tummy seen in the original. I guess they thought the local couldn't stomach such intimacy.
It -does- look like one of those pulp covers you say you don't have in your library, especially the way the woman is turning her head in what seems to be apparent shame, perhaps suggesting her backache is not just the fault of a crummy mattress. It's a strange one.
Very interesting post, Dan. Thanks!
You weren't the only fan, Dan!
https://youtu.be/gZ_lwC4PMFI?feature=shared
Firmness and comfort!
This is why I have Dan do all my design work - attention to detail. My uncle had a few of those lurid 1950 novels hidden in his closet. I always checked them out when we stayed at Grandpas farm. Us boys slept in his old room. The writing never lived up to the promise of the cover art. A lot of moaning and sighing but no details.
I recently bought a price guide of old pulp fiction books.I bought it mainly for the color pictures of the vintage pulp book covers.The artwork is outstanding and leaves alot to the imagination.I can see why the innocent kids and the dirty old men back then would like to hide them from prying eyes and have a secret stash somewhere that mommy didn't know about.
While renovating our house, we came across some "racy magazines" from the 1920: "Silk Stocking Stories" and "The Stocking Parade." We saved the two most intact covers for their art, framed them, and hung them in one of our bathrooms.
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