Learning the Ropes About American Commerce

Reinhardt kids were surrounded by advertising appeals. Stepping across the great divide of the older reading culture and the new media of electronic images, we had many sources for our shopping. A child bookworm like me could spend hours reading every line of type within a comic book, a Mad magazine, or a Boy’s Life, including ads like these:

Several of my greatest sources of excitement and greatest disappointments were mail order transactions from these types of ads. For instance, I had the same experience as Louise in joining the Smokey Bear Club. Read her MySpace blog story by clicking the link below. Scroll down to her blog dated Saturday, July 28, 2007--The Story of My Life Day 8:

http://blog.myspace.com/198075569

[A Smokey Bear doll was released by Ideal Toys in 1952, which included a mail-in card for children to become junior forest rangers. Within three years, half a million kids had applied. In April 1964, Smokey was given his own ZIP code, 20252.]

I wasn’t stupid enough to get sucked into buying the x-ray glasses described in this piece:

http://freakcomics.com/2005/09/14/false-advertising-in-comics/

As a Mickey Mouse Club member and avowed straight shooter, I likely had my share of Mattel guns.





And I believe I spent 15 minutes or so of my life trying to figure out this idiotic toy:

The picture shows all (6) 1954 Kellogg's Corn Flakes Cereal U.S. Navy Frogmen Premiums in this lot. These Navy Diver figures dive with baking soda. All six have their metal caps on the bottom. A 1954 Kellogg's adverisement states: "6 COLORS - COLLECT THEM ALL!" well, there are six different colors here. Included here are:
(3) Torch Man figures
(2) Obstacles Scout figures
(1) Demolitions Expert figure.

And my skinny brother got clipped on this one:

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, downtown Dallas had a store where we could see what we were purchasing before we bought it--Magicland and pick up a snack on the way at Planters Peanuts. [more to follow]

http://www.dallashistory.org/cgi-bin/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=72767