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