It Takes Character

During my years building our B2B advertising agency in Atlanta, I’ve always been interested in advertising history, and especially ad characters. Recently, I came across some kindred spirits in the form of a new book, ADBOY – Vintage Advertising with Character, by Warren Dotz and Masud Husain. This excerpt gives a brief glimpse of what you’ll find within the pages of this rich history of ad characters.

“The postwar, twentieth-century economic boom launched a generation of charming, cheeky, and relentlessly cheerful critters and characters that found their way into American homes — and hearts — in print, on television, and on packaging. Some took detours that reflected historic events: Elsie the Cow was sent into space in 1958. Some were fashion victims who managed to survive the times — who can forget Hippy Hush Puppies, circa 1969? And some, sadly, are no longer with us — like the Frito Bandito, who was finally brought to justice in 1971. These endearingly offbeat creations are as fresh and engaging today as they were when they first appeared in decades past.

They also have a great blog associated with the book that I suggest you check out as well.

We have an extensive collection of ad characters of all types here at MLT Creative. We have a history of bringing unique character to our successful B2B projects for more than 25 years.