Forties weekend on the Vintage Ads group

The Vintage Ads LJ group is having a Forties weekend, and there's some amazing stuff coming through at the moment. The palettes, the illustration style, the layouts and the fonts -- all pure gold. Exhibit A: this Safe-T Cones ad.

Exhibit B, this Eternol Tint Oil Shampoo ad from 1943.

Both are from the always-great Man_Writing_Slash.

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: ads • Copyfight • happy mutants • illustration • Old school

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DisGuest

Donald Trump has seen that eternol ad, no doubt. Between the combing forward and all around, coupled with the tinting, it had to have been an inspiration.
http://thisisonlya.blogspot.com robcat2075

It’s like her hair has shoulder pads.
http://www.facebook.com/fritterfae Eric Riley

I’m feeling shades of Blade Runner in Eternol.
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZH5LQHHJPERMWNVHCR2Y5GRHHE Jose
  
  Eternol, because Rachael was special: no termination date.
bobtato

Am I the only person visualising the horrible accidents that resulted from earlier, unsafe models of ice cream cone?
- Preston Sturges
  
  You could still put an eye out with the pointy end.
- Jake0748
  
  Yeah, I was wondering. What was so unsafe about previous cones?
  - Preston Sturges
    
    It wasn’t that they were unsafe as such, but they just needed to rebrand after they figured out that the “Mouth Full Of Flaming Shrapnel” trademark was hurting sales.
- pjcamp
  
  How do you think those heads came detached? They cheaped out on Danger Cones.
welcomeabored

‘Let your pet beauty operator show you the wonders of ETERNOL.’

Pet? It’s been observed with some jealous regard among the family’s Schnauzer owners, that our dogs are delivered to the groomers, get a haircut, shampoo and conditioner, blowout, nails trimmed, butt and snatch hair trimmed, anal glands expressed, ear hair plucked, and nice new bandanas tied around their necks — all for about $40, plus tip.

Whereas, when I deliver myself to my hair dresser every six weeks, she’s usually running about a half hour late. When it’s finally my turn, she gives the hair-covered chair a rudimentary cleaning, encases me in the still warm smock from the last customer, foils my hair, scoots me off to process while she does someone else’s hair, shampoos and conditions, and cuts my hair — all for $100, plus tip.

The balance of power between customer and ‘pet beauty operator’ has shifted considerably in the last seventy years, although my ‘pet’ does like biscuits… in the form of crispy twenty dollar bills.
- Preston Sturges
  
  Can I have your dog groomers phone #?
  - welcomeabored
    
    Heeheehee…I’ve been waiting to see who would bite, Preston. The Dog Parlour in Fort Collins, ask for ‘Amy’. Please don’t mention me. A good ‘pet beauty operator’ is hard to find.
Ben Rangel

I’d like to point out the the two men appear to be looking at each other, not the ice cream.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7bdr6fjg-k
http://undulantfever.blogspot.com/ Bruce Arthurs

My first-look reaction to the Safe-T Cones ad was that it had something to do with preventing venereal disease.
- Preston Sturges
  
  It reminded me that benzedrine inhalers were legal back then.
- rattypilgrim
  
  Exactly. The invention of subliminal advertising, but not so subliminal.
Roberto Tyley

“You know that Ice Cream is one of the finest treats money can buy – just another of the good old U.S.A.’s gifts to a troubled world …”

Love that casual disregard for… you know… history…
- Wreckrob8
  
  Well, chewing gum flavour ice cream, perhaps?
chellberty

Whoa censors need to do a better job.
Clemoh

It’s been pointed out, but for the lazy, here’s a picture of Sean Young in Bladerunner looking very much like the Eternol model.
Brooke Lunderville

Your makeup begins with your hair. Specifically, your makeup is shot out of this hair cannon at high speed.
Robert

I just can’t get past the disembodied heads.
http://artdonovan.typepad.com Art

These works are the high water mark in the field of commercial illustration. A style and technique that has never since been duplicated. Sure, it’s been heavily imitated as a kind of tongue in cheek-retro thing. But the quality and attitude of this artistry, as the original era, will never be seen again.
- http://theladyfingers.blogspot.com/ Ladyfingers
  
  Shiny, wrinkly, rosy-cheeked!
  - Preston Sturges
    
    Just a tad maniacal.
sam1148

They where called safe-t cones because the top had a preformed section that would securely hold the scoop of ice cream. Both to prevent ‘ball dropage’ and so it would melt into the base of the cone–instead of down the sides. They also had structural supports that would keep the cone intact when you ate it–instead of cracking and dumping the contents out on you.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  Don’t forget that waffle cones sometimes leak melted ice cream at the bottom due to incomplete closure.