Note from Lou @ oldiestelevision.com In putting this compilation togwthwe
from numweoua sources, I was reminded of how the rules of video were so different
in the 50's then now. Cigarettes is the obvious. The tobacco and oil companies
almost ruled TV, save Proctor & Gamble with daytime. Cigars and cigarettes were kiddies,
believe it or not, sold as health promoting (yeah, right) and in style. Sugar was just
great for kids (we have two RC commercial clips in which Art Linkletter.
of all people) promotes soda pop as "Vitality" for children. George & Gracie,
Lucy & Desi made us laugh, but even they promoted tobacco as great stuff.
There is a sad story behind Marylin Monroe and the Titan oil company commercial.
Royal Titron, a UK conglomorate, was losing ground to Esso (now Exxon) and Texaco as well as the other big
oil companies. Their genius ad agency decided to get Hollywood's top glamor girl
to do a sex sell on TV, whatever that was suppose to accomplish. The prolific
ad writer wanted Marylin in a two piece bathing suit surrounded by burly gas station
attendants. Marylin was uncomfortable with the television medium and especially
uncomfortable with pitches. She told her agent at William Morris she didn't want
to do the commercial, especially in a bathing suit.
Royal knew they had to spend big bucks despite they were a money loser. They
shoved the money in front of the William Morris Agency and in those days,
managers ruled talent with an iron fist and iron clad contracts. Marylin could
not get out of filming the ad.
They made two versions a "hot" with the bathing suit and the "cool" you see
in the clip. The cool ad was the only ad submitted to networks. This leaves
the suspicion that the only reason the "hot" bathing suit version was even filmed
was the executives wanted to see Marylin Monroe in front of them as nude as
could be legitimately done. This wouldn't be the last time this would befallen
a starlet. The stories speak volumes.
Another deception in the 50's were stars doing public service announcements.
Viewers assumed the celebs did them from the goodness of their heart, like
Jerry Lewis did with MD Telethons and Danny Thomas was and daughter Marlo is doing for
St. Jude. Not so, for example, with The Duke. John wayne was paid $15,000 to pitch
for The American Cancer Society.
Final note: the kitchen of the future infomercials (yes, they had infomercials
back then, too. Ronco started it all with the Dialex knife sharpener, no dount
the inspiration for Ralph Kramden's Chef of the Future knife kit. Frigidare,
Amana, Westinghouse and Admiral all had space age devices, like dish washers
that hand you the cleaned saucer, which never came to fruition.
But Jimmy Durante's schnozz...ah his nose knows, facial tissue would remain
a mainstay. Except Kleenex cornered the market, not Scotty.
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