Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Rexall '65 (Advertising)
Back in February, I posted some advertising examples from the 1977 Rexall Family Almanac and Moon Book (click HERE for it); now today I have more from an earlier issue published in 1965. Whether you're hurting, dieting, going back to school, shopping for the holidays, or just want to look 'n smell your best, the local Rexall drug store definitely had the goods-- and these complimentary booklets are full of fun and very well designed 60's ad art and illustrations (apologies about the quality of the scans, this booklet has seriously seen better days.)
i love all the wintery themed illustrations! like the guy shoveling the snow in the THRU ad. it even looks like they put a puff of air coming out of his mouth! and the people skating in SUPER PLENAMINS and the holiday food in BISMA-REX.
ReplyDeletebut man! i LOVE the SHARI ad! the chick and the font! so exotic!
I'd almost forgotten that band aids came in a tin box, and aspirins in a glass bottle.
ReplyDeleteChewable kids vitamins were around back in 1964?
Still wondering about the difference between the Stag and Royal Stag colognes for men. I wonder if it was a knockoff of Old Spice.
No apologies for the scans -- they were terrific, as usual.
I love exotic Shari too, le sigh...
ReplyDeleteIf you find out anything about the cologne, let us know, KL! Thanks for the comments!
What's interesting is that most novelty type bandages still come in a tin. Just not Band-Aid brand (at least, all the ones I saw in a cursory look around the web were vintage). I have one I reload when I buy the bandages in boxes. I didn't realize it was rare.
ReplyDeleteLove that witchcraft cover on this Rexall almanac. They probably had better over-the-counter potions back then.
That's one thing I haven't discussed or featured much with these Rexall booklets is the enormous amount of astrology and horoscope mumbo jumbo featured on some of the pages-- hence the almanacy "moon book" angle of the title, if you were wondering.
ReplyDeleteMany chain stores and national brands printed competition for the Farmer's Almanacs that were so popular then -- that's probably what this is, also.
ReplyDeleteOn occasion, I try to pick up these almanacs from 1955 (the year I was born) -- I've got a BF Goodrich Farmer's Handbook & Almanac, and a Rawleigh's Good Health Guide, Almanac & Cookbook (for local stores that handle Rawleigh's products, which I'm not familiar with). They all have "witchy" info, which is not surprising considering true (non-violent) witches were supposed to be terrific natural gardeners using observation of the clouds, phases of the moon, and ocean tides -- the same things a good farmer might keep track of.
If you remember a Beverly Hillbillies episode where they can tell the weather from a ladybug kept in a matchbox, that's derived from witchcraft.
That's interesting, thanks for delving further into it, KL... I actually have some of the old Raleigh booklets too (check my archive), I'll certainly keep my eyes open for more of these for future posts.
ReplyDeleteyeah - i was wondering about that "moon book" thing - but i thought maybe i'd missed something really obvious as per usual.
ReplyDeleteLove the illustrations, a great find and post as always, Carswell.
ReplyDeleteA visit with The Funny Company is up next-- thanks again for all the great comments!
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