CHICKEN CHARLIE OR CHICKEN CHARLIE’S

Inquiring minds would like to know how an Eskimo came to be the mascot of Chicken Charlie? To add more confusion, the postcard on the right bears testament that there was a Chicken Charlie’s restaurant in Kalamazoo, MI but with a different mascot. The two obviously bears no historical connection other than my assumption that 1) Chicken Charlie was not meant to be a food/restaurant character 2) it is a cheap souvenir or 3) an earlier attempt to market an Eskimo character from the present day “Arctic Circle” franchise. - Masud

Who is Mr. Chips?

“He is the man who developed the cookies that came in the same box as this comic book --that’s who!

He’s the man who finds time to roam the Burry Bakery 20 hours a day putting more chocolate chips into his chocolate chip cookies!

He’s the man who, when the job’s done, is still chipper enough to appear on television to tell you all about his three great varieties of chocolate chip cookies as well as appearing in his very own adventure comic book!

So three cheers for MR, CHIPS -- the man who broke the “chocolate chip barrier.”

(Copied from the inside cover of the Mr. Chips comic book shown above, dated 1965)

With obvious reference to the kingdom of Mysore in India and the civil rights movement this little comic is just amazing -- for more cool characters check out our book AD BOY - Masud

SMAXIE THE SEAL

This was a nice find at the flea market! Smaxie the Seal on a 1969 box of Sugar Smacks from a Kellogg's Variety pack. We've added a cool Smaxie button to the Sea Creatures chapter of Ad Boy. You can also find a bunch of great cereal boxes in the Cereal chapter.

According to Topher's Breakfast Cereal Guide: Born in 1957, an animated seal in a sailor suit named Smaxey "makes breakfast the happiest meal of the day." He appeared on boxes until 1959. -Warren

For more cool cereal info check out Topher's cereal site: http://www.lavasurfer.com/cereal-guide.html

MR. SUB

The first Mr. Sub franchise opened in 1968 the same year---not surprisingly from the looks of this matchbook---as the Beatles animated feature film, Yellow Submarine. Perhaps someone at corporate headquarters thought better of having their delicious heroes depicted with both a moustache and a periscope because nowadays only the logotype remains on the company's signage. -Warren

MR. MISTY

Have a Good Day And a Mr. Misty! We are particularly fond of ad characters named "Mr." Especially one with cool 1970’s graphics like Mr. Misty seen here on this pin-back button. In Ad Boy we've included a fantastic orange cap of a vintage Mr. Misty container. You can find it in the chapter titled, "Misters." -Warren

I LIKE MR. STEAK TOO

Check out the blog Suicide Food.

http://suicidefood.blogspot.com/

What is Suicide Food? According to the blog, Suicide Food is any depiction of animals that act as though they wish to be consumed. Beyond our enthusiasm for the art and design of advertising icons we should also consider some of the points made in this blog about our treatment of animals (as foodstuffs) and the advertising that goes along with it. -Warren

SENOR DIABLO

The Alameda Antique Flea Market happens on the first Sunday of every month in Northern California. There’s fresh air, beautiful views of SF, kettle corn and of course nice stuff to be discovered. So here’s my find of the weekend. That’s Senor Diablo on a 1960's county fair bumper sticker. Antioch is at the foothills of Mount Diablo in nearby Contra Costa County. You can check out other county fair characters and as well as devilish ad mascots in our new book Ad Boy. -Warren

HIGH-NUTRIENT FERTILIZER MAN

Feel free to tell Shell's burlap bag-bodied, High-Nutrient Fertilizer Man he's "full-of-crap" and he might smile and thank you for being so interested and observant. Actually he's one of the "Not-So-Super Heroes" in Ad Boy. He also appears on this nifty celluloid Nitrogen Cost Comparison Calculator found on Ebay. -Warren