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.

Politically Incorrect Christmas Ads – 1971 Edition

Just like it just wouldn’t be Christmas here on the blog without an appearance by Reddy Kilowatt, similarly it would be hard to celebrate the holiday without some vintage ads that would be seen as sexist today. 

It’s surprising, but fifty years ago there were still newspaper ads in the Journal with cartoon illustrations that looked like they belonged in a cartoon found in the back of a True magazine.

First up is an ad for Diamond’s Mens Stores at Midway Mall that ran in the Journal on December 8, 1971.

Despite the illustration, the ad is actually directed towards women, with various suggestions for mens gifts. Lots of knit products in that ad!

A second ad for the store ran in the Journal on December 16, 1971. This one is more typical, with a Santa Showgirl that would look right at home at a Rat Pack Christmas Party. Lots of knits in this one too!

I like the three cartoon mens heads. The pipe smoker looks like he could be a modern version of Cappy Dick.

Lastly, here’s an ad for Northern Savings and Loan Company promoting their 1972 Christmas Club. The ad ran in the Journal on November 8, 1971.

In this case, I think the Santa gal was just an attention getter, something a little more interesting to look at than a photo of the free jar of Smucker’s Jelly "in a specially packaged apothecary jar” mentioned in the ad. Plus it seems somewhat appropriate with the protest movement going on at that time.

As a bonus, here's a Sam Klein Co. ad from the Dec. 18, 1972 Journal with another attention-getting Santa babe. 

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Back in 2018, I did a whole post devoted to ads of this sort. 

Of course, Diamond’s Mens Stores was one of the stores whose ad was featured. By the way, it appears that at least one store is still around. Here’s the link to its website, where it's described as “A Cleveland Tradition Since 1941."

Lorain Banking Co. Christmas Club Ad – Dec. 1960

How would you describe Santa Claus?

Most people would probably say that he has a a red suit and cap, a white beard, and leave it at that. I’m not even sure that they would describe him as fat any more, judging by some of the scrawny, ‘realistic' Santas you see on TV and out in public. 

But what people often forget is that Santa (or St. Nick if you prefer) was described in A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore as having cheeks “like roses” and a nose “like a cherry” and eyes that twinkled. He was a guy who was jolly, non-threatening and instantly likable.

Haddon Sundblom painted that Santa Claus in his series of ads for Coca-Cola. His Santa had tousled white hair, often with some of it sticking out from under his stocking cap. It’s an appealing image, and for many people – myself included – that is what Santa looks like. 

I'm sure whoever designed this ad (which ran in the Lorain Journal on December 3, 1960) for the Lorain Banking Company’s Christmas Club probably agrees. It’s a great looking Santa, and is a close cousin to Sundblom's.

Anyway, within about four weeks of this ad, the Lorain Banking Company would not exist. With the start of the new year (1961), the Lorain Banking Company and the National Bank of Lorain would merge to form the Lorain National Bank.

Today, of course, Lorain National Bank is no more.

Christmas Club Ads – 1970

The concept of Christmas clubs is a topic that I’ve pretty much beaten to death (with a club, natch) annually over the years on this blog. I’ve done about eight different posts, with a sampling of ads from 1950, 1953, 1956, 1957 1963, 1966, 1967 and 1968. 

For decades – even in the late 1960s – the banks featured some kind of illustration of Santa Claus in their ads. It was an easy way to symbolize the holiday at a glance.

But for some reason, the 1970 crop of ads seemed to be different. Here are some of ads to prove my point.

First up is the ad for Elyria Savings & Trust that ran in the Journal on December 2, 1970.

By George, there’s no Santa at all – just a nebbish-like character with a Santa hat. 

With his lack of definable clothes, he kind of resembles the comic strip character Smidgens, which ran in the Journal for years (and was always great).

Next is an ad for Citizens Home and Savings Association that ran in the paper on December 1, 1970. No Santa in this one either – just a pants-suited woman frolicking on a Publishers Clearing House-sized check.

At least this ad for Lorain County Savings & Trust Company (that ran in the Journal on December 11, 1970) features a Santa – well, a comely Santa babe. 

(A couple years ago I did a post about Christmas ads that would be seen as politically incorrect today.)

And although this next bank ad is for one of them newfangled credit cards rather than a Christmas club, it follows the same theme of going with something other than the classic illustration of Santa Claus. It’s for Central Security National Bank and ran in the Journal on December 5, 1970.

This Santa looks more like a Rankin-Bass TV puppet than the jolly old elf we all know.

Oh well, that’s the 1970s for you.

Christmas Ads – 1968

I'll wrap up my calvacade of vintage Christmas ads with a sampling from the pages of the Journal from December 1968 – 50 years ago.

I'll start off with – what else? – two Christmas Club ads, this time for the City Bank Company. Like the ads I posted for Central Bank and Elyria Savings & Trust, these feature jolly old St. Nick as well. Here's the one that ran on December 8, 1968.

As you can see, City Bank offered those lucrative 50 cent savings plans just like Central Bank.

Here's another ad for City Bank from December 15, 1968. Now that's a good looking Santa.

The Lorain County Plumbing Industry had a great Santa in their ad too, which ran on December 24, 1968.

Hey, where's my favorite plumber, Raymond Plumbing? 

Anyway, the last 1968 ad is for Sandy's, a longtime favorite topic on this blog. It ran on December 19, 1968.

I wonder if anyone still has one of those Sandy's Christmas stockings? I'd bet it would be worth quite a lot today to Sandy's aficionados. But it won't be too long before Sandy's is completely forgotten (if it isn't already), as there are very few people that I know who have even heard of the hamburger chain.

Central Bank Christmas Club Ads – 1966 & 1967

Christmas Clubs must have been big business back in the 1960s, judging by the number of ads I run across when reviewing vintage newspaper microfilm from that era.

The Central Security National Bank of Lorain County was a big promoter of the seasonal savings idea, with regular ads running in the Journal beginning in November each year, and running straight through the holidays.

Here’s one from 1966. It ran on November 12th in the Journal that year.

The ad is interesting because it provides a financial snapshot of the previous season's Christmas Club deposits that were being paid out: $263,300.

That’s a nice jaunty Santa illustration. Unlike many renderings showing the jolly old elf as bald as a cue ball, this one has a nice full head of hair parted on the side.

Here’s a Central Bank ad from the following year (below), running in the paper on December 2, 1967.

The ad has another great Santa illustration. It also shows that you could sign up for a plan depositing as little as 50 cents a week. (I’ll bet that plan would be popular today, in the era of living paycheck to paycheck!)

And here’s one last Central Bank ad from December 21, 1967.

This Santa’s a little less appealing than the other too, as the message is one of worrying and he looks uncomfortable. Hey, he’s got a tassle on his cap instead of a round, white puff.

Anyway, when I did belong to a Christmas Club, I sometimes found it difficult to be setting aside dough for next year’s Christmas when I was still trying to pay for this year’s Christmas. 

So are Christmas Clubs still relevant today? Here’s an article from 2017 that provides an answer.

Christmas Ads – 1963

Continuing with my parade of vintage Christmas-themed ads from the pages of the Lorain Journal, here are three from ’63. All have rather offbeat cartoon renderings of Santa Claus.

First up is an ad for the Associates Loan Company, which was located at the O’Neil Sheffield Center. The ad ran on December 9, 1963.

It’s strange to think of having to go see a loan company to get money for “presents, parties or Holiday Travel.” 

Little did anyone know in the early 1960s that by the 2000s, many people would have no problem regularly running up massive credit card debt. (According to this report, the average credit card debt per household is about $8,000.)

My next 1963 ad is this one (below) for the Elyria Savings and Trust. It ran in the Journal on Dec. 13, 1963.

Once again, Santa is linked with money. This time, though, he’s promoting the bank’s Christmas Club accounts.

That makes two things that you don’t see too much anymore in Lorain County. A bank named after a city in the county (or the county itself), or an ad for Christmas Clubs. I gave up belonging to a Christmas Club when the bank stopped sending me the final check and just deposited it into one of my accounts. That took all the fun out of it!

My last 1963 ad is for Kohlmyer’s Hardware & Appliances on Pearl Avenue. It ran in the paper on Dec. 23, 1963.

The store was still guaranteeing delivery before Christmas of appliances purchased as gifts, which was pretty impressive.

That’s a good looking gift basket “full of goodies” worthy of being swiped by Yogi Bear!

1950s Citizens Home and Savings Christmas Club Ads

I just opened my 2013 Christmas Club account recently (I'm running a bit late as usual), and remembered that I had these old ads. Both are for The Citizens Home and Savings Association and its Christmas Club program.

The above ad ran in the Lorain Journal on November 24, 1955 and includes some nice typography, some great illustrations and a photo of the bank.

The below ad is from two years later and ran in the Lorain Journal on November 28, 1957. It includes an interesting bushy-haired, stylized Santa. Actually that's his 'bed head' look since he just got up.

Strangely enough, one of the banks that I do business with – Fifth Third – is in the former Citizens building (below). I like going in there and chatting with Val, Krystal and the rest of the gang.

The bank did a nice job of branding the building as their own. To me, it looks like a bank should!

My Christmas Club account, though, is still over at good old First Federal Savings of Lorain (as I pointed out here).

First Federal Savings Christmas Ad - 1950

Here's an ad for my favorite local bank that ran on December 13, 1950 in The Lorain Journal. It's for First Federal Savings & Loan promoting their 1951 Christmas Club.

I still have my Christmas Club there; got my genuine First Federal measuring spoons and gravy shaker as my freebie gift for keeping it open this year.

But as usual, when I went to go Christmas shopping this past Saturday, I looked for this year's club loot which I had stashed in an envelope so it wouldn't get spent on groceries or something else. But as usual, it had been spent for something else!

Wish I could remember what it was.

1963 Lorain County Savings & Trust Christmas Club Ad

Here's one last Lorain Journal Christmas-themed ad from December 1963. This one is for the Lorain County Savings & Trust Company. (Seeing as this blog is supposed to cover all of Lorain County, it seemed only right to include this ad.)

Nowadays you don't see very many ads for Christmas Clubs. (By the way, I did end up raiding this year's Christmas Club stash to catch up on next year's!)

Anyway, since I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to Elyria and its businesses, I had to do a little online research to find out what eventually happened to this bank. It appears that it is now part of FirstMerit Bank. 

Research also revealed that Lorain County Savings & Trust Company had one of the first office towers in Elyria for many years. To see a postcard of it and other Elyria landmarks, click here to visit a great local website, Classic Elyria Postcards.

1953 Lorain Banking Company Christmas Club

Here's another great 1953 Christmas Club newspaper ad, this time for the Lorain Banking Company.

I just love these old ads that used illustrations to catch the eyes of the readers. That's a particularly good-looking Santa Claus in the ad.

Nowadays, the trend in advertising (and even at shopping malls) is to use actors or male models with real white beards to pose as Santa. The problem is that they rarely have nice big cheeks or even a twinkle in their eye – they're just a guy with a white beard.

When I first read the ad, I couldn't quite place the bank (I'm a big First Federal Savings of Lorain customer, remember?) But a few minutes of online research revealed what many of you already know, that Lorain Banking Company merged with National Bank of Lorain to form Lorain National Bank in 1961.

1953 First Federal Savings Christmas Club Ad

I haven't shown any vintage ads in a while, so here's one to put you in the Christmas spirit. It's a 1953 ad for First Federal Savings of Lorain, promoting their Christmas Club program. (Click on the ad for a closer look.) 

I really like the ad, because it hearkens back to a simpler age.

I've had a Christmas Club at First Federal Savings since the 1980's. I like the fact that they still have the old-time savings books that get inserted into a machine to be updated, instead of making the customer do it themselves with their own sloppy scrawl.

I still have many of the free gifts given out each year with the opening of the account. The oldest ones from the 1980's were kind of generic Christmas items (such as a candle holder), but during the last few decades the items always have a First Federal logo on them. The gifts can be just about anything: a cooking timer, a desk clock, a pie plate, or even a cutting board (this year).

At Thanksgiving this year, I pulled out my trusty First Federal Savings pie server to cut the pumpkin pie, and we set our beers on First Federal Savings coasters.

Now that's loyalty.

I still think Christmas Clubs are a great idea, although in recent years I must confess that sometimes I used the cashed check for something else (like a utility bill).

I also confess that I'm a little bit behind on next year's Christmas Club (about 4 weeks). Since I cashed this year's check and still have all the loot in an envelope for shopping, would it be so bad if I used some of this year's cash for next year?

Maybe I should just deposit the whole stash and save myself a weekly trip to the bank!