Plastics!
Plastics!
—about fifty years ago and today.
Then—
In January of 1972, I was designing the graphics for a plastic container to hold mealworms – packed with thir diet of cornmeal, to be sold to ”bait” fishermen. (Dried mealworms were and are sold as pet food and chicken feed.) But Mighty Mealys were prooduced to a larger size and sold “alive”! The printed promo material was for the bait shop owners. But they learned quickly to empty each package into a large glass container. (*If the product didn’t sell quickly, the shop would have been crawling). For a sale, the mealworms with their cornmeal were then scooped out and counted and put into the Mighty Mealys plastic containers.
I still have one to show here. It is a fairlly stiff plastic and there are tiny pin holes around the lid for oxygen. The container’s instructions says: to keep the packages of 50 or 100 mealworms out of the sun or heat and for longer life add a water source, such as an apple or a carrot.
I wrote of this project, here in 2011 (see: Geezers’ Gallery Packaging Worms) .
My report then, told how the sample package with the product inside — was left for too many days and the *mealworms ate their way out of the plastic container.
Back then, we didn’t know that today there would be three swirling islands of plastics in the Pacific Ocean – each the size of Texas and giant walls of plastic trash – waiting in recycling warehouses and collecting on remote Easter Island’s beaches.
The plastics, huge to microscopic, are difficult to collect and impossible to melt, bury or burn.
Now—
Just about a month ago, in the San Francisco Chronicle of 12−22−19, I saw this report that Stanford University had recently discovered that mealworms eat plastic.
Now, with one of the biggest trash problems on earth — how can we cover our problem with these critters that morph into beetles to fly off to a tastier diet in cornfields?
Their excrement is only partially organic. There are chemicals from the plastic in the droppings that are small enough to blow away. The report doesn’t explain how this research can affect the problem.
On 1−10−20, PBS’s KQED presented an hour on plastics where it was said that a bacteria might dine on the chemicals that are in plastics. And — will they be good bacteria or — ?
The PBS report told of highway surfaces made from one kind of recycled plastic because of it’s long life, but that use isn’t enough to make any difference as re-use. Also footwear has re-used selected plastics. It is the 10 ft. walls of mixed plastic trash that is collecting on streets and floating in the seas.
Boycott of products sold in plastics? Bring your own containers?
Make the purchaser responsible? Make the producers responsible?
Develop an organic, quickly degradable material to replace plastic?
The report showed a residual from beer-making that produced a plastic-like material that can even be eaten.
Some solutions are needed, SOON !
More, from then—
This was the time that the US marketplace received a new kind of worldwide product from various pharmaceutical laboratories.
I was freelancing at that same time (1969 to 1974) with a small art studio (graphics*) in the Wharfside Building (680 Beach Street, SF). Our location was next to the offices of Klemptner Casey, a pharmaceutical advertising agency with Robert Buechert as Creative Director. Our group was able to be their art service for most of their clients’ needs (as well as our other accounts in San Francisco).
KC had Syntex Labs as their client, which had recently won approval of one of the first oral pregnancy contraceptives. The “pill” became very controversial but it was also the time of “women’s liberation era” in the USA.
Some worried about side effects — some objected that the oral contraceptive would prevent a “natural event”. Up to 1973 (Roe vs. Wade) untold numbers of females of all ages in the USA were dying from amateur procedures to stop pregnancies. Even today, the U.S. ranks far behind other industrialized nations in maternal mortality. I didn’t have statistics when I questioned my ethic on working on this product– but I felt that the pill would protect women and its promotion would not be a mistake.
The launch of the Syntex’s “Norinyl 1−80” and “Norinyl 1 – 50”— required medical journal ads, brochures, patient aid booklets, packaging and more.
The 8‑panel (two panels were prescribing Information) brochure, shown below, had a two-page photo. It was a very expensive re-creation of a 1934 laboratory. I never knew the photographer or the team that set up the room. (There is one error – something not accurate for the date of the fake laboratory.) The brochure, launching the product, was the complete story of the development of the oral contraceptive. The Mexican barbasco yam was the basis of the “pill” that changed many lifestyles.
(Above, the tiny error in the re-created laboratory was the two “grounded” electrical sockets – below the white jacket hanging on the wall).
I show the packaging for Syntex’s Brevicon 28-day tablets. My original subtle colors, had to be changed to brighter colors because the packaging was changed to blue, instead of white. The floral illustration needed to be brighter.
Pharmaceutical labs and physicians were teaching women of reproductive age how to use their 28-day product each month. The labs couldn’t package the pills loosely in large quantities – – each pill for the month had to be punched out in sequence from a card with a thin foil backing. The style of the dispensers, that held the cards, varied from one “brand” of pill to the next.
Promoting the style of the plastic dispenser was emphasized to the Syntex product representatives that called on the physicians who would write the prescriptions for their patients.
Here are 10 of 72 images from a slide presentation to Brevicon reps promoting Brevicon and the pill holder — in comparison to competing brands.
(Why did I only show men as doctors? My mother had a woman doctor, way back when I was born !)
The Wallette was a discreet cover for the pill dispenser. For the 5‑view layout, I accidentally rendered one of the female hands darker than the others. It was a lucky error because that caused a discussion to choose, for this file folder, a hand-model with a tan– to suggest patients were other than white females.
In 1974, Syntex and other medical products moved from Klemptner Casey to J. Walter Thompson and later from JWT to an agency named Barnum Communications (with Bob Buechert at each move).
In 1975, I began free-lancing at Barnum Communications (owner Jim Barnum was of the circus family). JWT had filed legal action for moving Syntex products to his agency, newly located at 560 Pacific Avenue, SF.
Time went by, there were even “law-suit” ballads composed by the musically inclined who worked at Barnum Communications. Finally JWT settled. The case was dropped when Mr. Barnum agreed to “cease and desist working in the West”. That left about seven of the agency founders to inherit all of the clients.
1977 there was a move to 901 Battery Street with the new name Vicom Associates. After another move to One Lombard Street, a few years passed and it was acquired by Foote, Cone & Belding Healthcare as Vicom / FCB.
Shown below: Two sections, of a 6‑page, 1992 Vicom / FCB Anniversary Party Report. I didn’t know of these parties, but was asked to illustrate this one. (My illustration of “The VICOM Culture” was flopped horizontally before printing, causing the “initial V” to look strange. The last three show: my window, my workspace and my parking space on the roof (just my car, another week-end deadline).
One Lombard was my last San Francisco location.
( Follow0up: So how many other products, housed in plastic, did I promote? I’ll have to check back. But who even knew at that time, that one-use-plastics were piling up?)
Ann Thompson
Jack Allen — Ad Man + Photographer + Painter
Y&R New York As my old boss in New York used to say, “Where else can you have so much fun and get paid for it too”. Every morning I'd get on that Long Island train and head into New York. I usually got a place to sit from Levittown and I could get my sketches done and then I had a leisurely walk from Penn Station up to 39th and Madison. I could stay underground if it was raining. On a nice day it was beautiful. People watching and I got to see the latest Doyle Dane Bernbach's latest poster in the subway.
On a hot day it would be sweltering. There was no air conditioning in old 285. We would put towels under our arms to keep the sweat from ruining our drawing. Guerney Miller would pop in about 9:30. Guerney and I shared an office. He was our sketch artist and if our client demanded a more finished sketch Guerney was the man. At noon Guerney would bring out his guitar and have a jam session. That drew the music lovers.
When I went to New York, my uncle gave me three of his suits. He was a banker. Well, that’s how I looked, like a banker. Guerney made fun of me and took me down to J Press and got me a proper hat and of course a Brooks Brothers Suit and shoes to match. My wife would never let me hear the end of this. I must have worn that suit to bed.
One day I was sitting in the office I shared with Guerney, and Bob Hope walked in. I swear to god. Bob Hope.
He was doing some promo for the agency so the account executive thought he'd give the troops a thrill. What a thrill. We had a real conversation with him.
Later in life I met Bing Crosby and that kind of completed the two road boys.
It was strange being one on one with the stars of the galaxy like Irving Penn and Norman Rockwell. I never did get used to it.
A picture of yours truly in the headman's office in Y&R NY after we won the art director's award.
Of course the troops had to gather and it was all-new to the kid on the left.
Fred Sergenian 'Sarge' imagine telling him you were leaving Y&R and going back to California.
I still shudder. The guy on the right is Fred Papert, of Papert Koenig &Lewis fame to be.
There were 75 art directors at Y&R when I was there and a lettering man and a type-setter and a raft of production people and a little grey haired lady to usher the work through and three art buyers.
It was strange, but it worked just fine.
Telling my boss I was leaving was the most difficult thing I've ever done. I felt like a traitor. I still do.
San Francisco was warm and exciting. Foote, Cone & Belding was on the top floor of the Russ Building and when the wind blew the building swayed. I know because I worked there many nights.
The people in this story are Ford Sibly; head of office, George Richardson: head of S&W account team, Pete Peterson: Assistant Account Executive. George kept a bottle of booze in his desk for celebration and we managed to find a few times to celebrate. S&W let us run the show and we pushed it as far as we dared.
We got them to go with a full-page color ad in newspaper and got Herrero to design it. It won an award in the New York art directors annual. That made Joe Blumeline, our client, very happy. He felt he was getting his moneys worth. Meanwhile, Ford Sibly was sinking into alcoholism and head office was sending a new man out. Clients were scattering and heading for the door.
Honig-Cooper, sensing an opportunity, pounced on it.
I didn't like the idea of working for Honig-Cooper so I looked to Holst, Cumming & Myers, as they needed an Art Director. And they had a ton of Matson Lines work with two ships due to come on the South Pacific Route, and one more on the Hawaiian Route.
The map painted on the model’s forehead at the studio of Butte, Herrero and Hyde and then we rushed him to our studio and shot him.
We also did a photo shoot with two models to Hawaii and one of the models got measles and was confined to her cabin the whole trip so the other model had to carry double load. She was not happy
I worked day and night. When they turned the heat off in the building, I would take the drapes off the windows and catch a little sleep. It was fun work, designing menus and all sort of non-ad stuff.
Y&R San Francisco George Richardson invited me to his place in Novato. He was moving to Y&R (SF) and wanted me to come back to run the art department. I agreed since I was now, thru with Matson Lines. It's funny how the names kept changing on these agencies. Y&R was a great agency. Don Sternloff was head AD when I joined them and he was much loved by the troops. Which made me dog shit since the writing was on the wall.
I was teaching at the Academy of Art at night and I followed the old Art Center motto, drive them, hard. If they survived, they were keepers. I found two keepers: Mik Kitagawa and Dave Sanchez. I hired them.
Sternloff was let go and I was anointed. The agency had the number one show on the air, Maverick with James Garner as Maverick and that was pure gold in the advertising world. Plus we got Langendorf Bread and we turned Kaiser Industries loose on Mik and Dave. Our plates were full and we were completely busy DAY and NIGHT. Mik and Dave wondered what they had signed up for.
After a few years of this, it wears on you, and it wore on me. I developed an ulcer. I had told myself I would quit this business if I got sick, so I marched in and turned in my badge. They sent out an AD from NY, Mason Clark, and I went home to recoup. Now what do I do?
San Mateo Garage
Why don't I try photography? OK, I bought a Hasselblad and I was off. I got some models to pose for prints and rented a garage with a skylight in San Mateo. I cobbled a portfolio together and let it be known I was starving and got a call from Portland, Oregon. It was from my old friend, Pete Jenkins and it was work. Meyer and Frank wanted a series of NP ads hi-lighting M&F, full page too. I got a designer, Dick Snyder, and an Account Executive, Perry Leftwich –and I put a darkroom together in the garage. I hired models and when clothes arrived from Portland, we shot up a storm.
We designed ads and they wanted MORE. We were a hit. I had visions of forming an agency and we pitched Harrah's club. It went well and Bill Harrah wanted us but his ad manager got him to change his mind (the ad manager was afraid of losing his job) so we didn't get the account.
Dick Snyder had trouble with the free-lance world so we disbanded.
And Perry went back to salary.
M. Halberstadt Meanwhile, the photographer Milton Halberstadt invited me to lunch and suggested we might pool our talents. He had a beautiful studio in North Beach and I said yes, quicker than dirt.
At first we had fun—as Hal liked the sets he was so good at putting together—and I liked the people. So we fit well (Bank of America). And we enjoyed lunch at New Joes. And Hal was a Master Photographer so I was learning every day.
Chicago Rep, Jack Kapes Another thing fell out of the blue. Jack Kapes, an agent from Chicago. Jack was looking for photographers to represent. It seems Art Directors in Chicago would dearly love a trip to San Francisco to work with a San Francisco Photographer and get away from that Chicago cold.
And so it started. Leslie Salt Co, Cilux Paint, Champion Papers. They came out with their wives for a little vacation and of course we showed them the town. We were beat by the time they hauled anchor but richer by far and just like the Tea Trade, we had established a trade route. One of the fun ones I recall was when Pillsbury sent me to Jamaica and then I shot the cake at Hal's studio.
Vanderwater Studio As in many things, they don't always work as planned. Hal and I parted as friends and I moved to Vanderwater Street in my own studio, next to Veneto's Restaurant. Years of work came out this Studio.
More work in the very busy mid-1960s.
Eichler was a great one that got you a sure medal in the art show. Working with Sidjakov was such a pleasure. Pacific Telephone was another winner and putting Wally Summers in a phone booth as Superman, had to be my biggest thrill. Honig-Cooper surprised me when they hired me to shoot a Levi's series and the kids we hired turned out to be wonderful. One of the greatest AD's to work for was Hal Riney. You had to burn rubber as he was never satisfied but the work was superb and you could be very proud of it. The free ones were often the most exciting as the Christmas Card ad for BBD&O showing all their kids. It was like herding cats. But I loved it.
One Super Star that was champing at the bit was George Coutts. The Joseph Magnin AD had tons of talent. I had a few drinks with him on a late shoot one night and when I finally said good night and locked up, I went out to my car and dropped the keys in the street. I didn't see them so I got on my hands and knees and just then a police car came around the corner. He flashed the light on me. "Can I help you sir?" he said, ”I'm looking for my keys to my car”, I said. "You better not find them”, he said. One of the hazards of flying at night.
Sutter Street The Portland People at Dawson, Turner & Jenkins were putting pressure on me to start a branch of DT&J in San Francisco and sent a young fellow down to help in that endeavor. First we had to move to Downtown, Sutter Street. Then we had to get agency type furniture and all while photography was going on. Nude photography for Avon. I scoured the model files in SF but they were light on the right kind of nudes so I flew to Los Angeles, found a young lady that fit the bill and booked her. She arrived on a Monday and the clients arrived from Chicago and Sidjakov, the package designer arrived, and my assistants got to work and the young lady stripped. She had no modesty and said her parents were nudists and they had been that way as long as she could remember. We photographed uninterrupted.
Dawson Turner & Jenkins brought a political type pollster down to shake the tree on the Pete McCloskey race against Shirley Temple Black for Congress. He won. Again, I got a call from Dawson, Turner & Jenkins. They wanted a campaign of newspaper ads, full-page size.
Covering Meier and Frank’s “Jerry Frank” who was making a run for Governor. The success of this campaign led to an offer to move to Oregon and an “offer I couldn’t refuse”. The agency, Dawson, Turner & Jenkins, got swallowed up by Lennen & Newell, then somebody else, then Richardson, Seigle, Rolfs & McCoy became somebody else and Macy's bought out Meier & Frank–––and I started designing work for the Port of Vancouver:
and I figured it was time to retire.
By this time they had done a pretty good job of brainwashing on me as how beautiful Oregon was and I was resigned and my wife and I weren't getting along. (Old story) So we went.
Solo-ing It-In Oregon Tons of work. Had my own way, pretty much. Nice people.
Jk Gill’s, Oil Heat, Port of Vancouver, Blue Lake Green Beans.
Oregon. Oregon, what have I done? Left everything for the unknown. Politics, know the Governor, know the Senator, work on his campaign. Packwood's in trouble.
Work. Work. Jk Gill’s. A stationary store. A big stationary store. Many stores. Why not give it a cluttered look. I found a young artist that had a great "busy" look and had him do an ad. Perfect. And Newspaper ads for Kasch's Nurseries. White Satin Sugar: A perfect place for Herrero to strut his stuff. As well as sweet photos.
Oil Heat Dealers. A collection of dealers in Oregon, Washington and Idaho that service and sell heating oil to homes in the Northwest. Reminder ads that are visible, aught to do it.
A rumble this summer by hippies threatened to spill into riots. I suggested we put up a series of billboards that say, "WAVE TO A COP TODAY" –and sponsor a music festival in McIver Park (a mile away from downtown). It worked. I was also involved with "lighting the bridges in Portland" which taught me "stay away from Architects". The things I did with Frank Farah at this time: we designed and Frank illustrated the walls of the Bend, Oregon Bus Station. Quite something, in Bend.
The sale of agencies was humongous. I never knew who was going to be my boss on Monday morning. It got to be a joke. My friend that started this whole thing, Dick Turner, had jumped off Suicide Bridge. And Pete Jenkins, his partner, had taken his ill-gotten gains and fled to Europe.
I became an account executive and married one of the Oil Dealers that I was fortune enough to stay married to for 46 years until she died last year.
William Cain Advertising I met Bill Cain on one of our Oil Heat trips to Hawaii and looked him up when I got back to Oregon. Bill was the owner of William Cain Advertising and had just had a revolt from his crew and they had walked away with his star account. Nike. He did have another account, Louisiana Pacific so he wasn't totally wiped out and he needed an art director. What the hell. We had a good time I still had Port of Vancouver, Bill had Louisiana Pacific, and everything swam along. Until Bill decided to sell the agency– including "my Port"–– to Gerber Advertising.
Gerber Advertising After the dust had cleared, I agreed to work for Gerber for 10 years (I actually worked for twelve) In that time I produced ads for Louisiana Pacific Windows and many other products.
Painting
I retired at 65 to paint
I said to myself, "what am I going to do with myself when I retire?"
"Paint"
"But I don't paint"
"Try"
So I tried. And my wife said, 'What are we going to do with all these paintings?"
I did 25 paintings a day.
"Paint slower"
I found a slow style. Wysoki
It was peaceful, fun and it was slow.
It took me a month to do a painting.
My wife said "good boy".
"Now let's get rid of this painting.
So I called a Jigsaw puzzle company and soon I was painting another one.
And another.
I've now done 96.
They rejected most for being too salty.
But happy wife, happy life
–that tuned in jigsaw puzzles.
Jigsaw Puzzles
Politics. That is what I would say most typifies Oregon. Small-town Politics.
I learned to love the people and the quirks and the laid back life.
Looking back I suppose what we did isn't so important but it sure was exciting and alive. We were making beautiful statements and bringing art and commerce together in a new, bold way.
We can be proud of the work we did and now that I'm out to pasture, I can see the work we did is so much superior to much that is done now because it mattered to us. Our 1/8 of an inch made all the difference in the world and was worth fighting for.
Thank you, Ann and Piet, for shining the light on the 50's and 60's.
Jack Allen
Editor’s Inclusions:
We welcome your comments on this story or to say hello to Jack. All comments will be reviewed before forwarding to Jack.
I don't know if Jack remembers, but he called me at KPIX and offered me the job as AD at Y&R.( I was in his ad class at the Academy) I got Mik (Kitagawa) the Job at KPIX and told him about the offer, and if I don't get the job maybe you will. So I helped him pull his portfolio together and we both applied for the one job, on the same day, with Jack. We were so inexpensive he could hire us both for the same money.
Dave Sanchez
Writing That Gets Read.
What I miss most about the world of today’s advertising is the eye-catching, thought provoking Headlines of the Golden Age.
I guess, Volkswagen started a lot of it with one word, Lemon.
I am enclosing some ads here that I feel are examples of what seems to be missing. My ego won’t allow me to tell you who wrote these ads but I will acknowledge the Art Directors and Photographers who played a big part in helping me create them.
Agency: McCann Erickson (San Francisco)
1 Del Monte — Art Director: Jon Hyde; Photographer: Ed Zak
2 YOSEMITE — Art director: Jon Hyde, Photographer: John Muir
3 AIRPORT HILTON — Art Director: Jerry Leonhart; Illustrator: Chris Corey
4 SKIING AT YOSEMITE — Art Director: Jon Hyde; Illustrator: Larry Duke
5 McNevin Cadillac — Art Director: Bruce Campbell
6 THINK. DON’T DRINK. — Art Director: Jon Hyde
Another quick tale:
I once did a B.A.R.T. poster for MasterCard and the headline said;
Bay Area Rapid Transaction.
Bart Poster
Advertiser: MasterCharge – San Francisco
Advertising Mgr.: Rick Wynne
Agency: Foote, Cone & Belding / Honig – San Francisco
Art Director: Kris English
It took up a wall in the BART stations. It won an Award so I asked photographer Ed Zak for a copy of the poster. In typical Ed Zak style he said he would have to charge me $25. to make a copy. Zak was one of a kind.
Oh yeah…sure…put that photo in.
It’s the first one I’ve liked in about 20 years.
Todd Miller
POP and POS
In the years shown here, “Point Of Purchase” and “Point Of Sale” were the terms to describe the many items that made products appealing, (Today the term: Point Of Sale or POS is widely defined as the process of purchasing the product or service.)
In the years of 1970 to 1975, I was able to touch on this area of marketing. From label and product designs to the promo pieces that brought attention to the product in a store setting. These assignments gave me a sense of being there, greeting the customers. (I was young.)
The A. Carlisle & Co. of San Francisco had the printing and construction equipment to develop a variety of store displays. Carlisle’s creative directors gave me — twelve assignments. Here are some examples:
Shasta: In 1889 “Shasta” was known for the waters from the Mt. Shasta, CA region.
In the years after 1931 it was developed into a ginger ale or soda and they were offered usually as a mix for alcoholic drinks. In the 1950s Shasta Cola became available in cans. Operating from their headquarters in Hayward CA, the Shasta company was a nearby client for advertising assignments.
1970 Shasta Cola, Shelf-Talker. This was an unusual idea at that time – opaque inks printed on foil, with a die-cut. This was to show along with the Shasta Cola displayed on the market shelf.
C&H Sugar: (California and Hawaiian Sugar Company) As early as 1906, ships from Hawaii were sailing into San Francisco Bay, then northeast through San Pablo Bay reaching the port of Crockett where they offloaded raw cane sugar. C&H today, produces 700,000 tons of sugar annually. C&H was a steady client for San Francisco ad agencies and printing companies.
1971 C&H Sugar Hawaii (3‑D wire hangers). Here the request was to have two “Wire-Hangers” with two different scenes on each side (one showing daytime and the other side, nighttime. Also there was a banner with the words: “LUAU LAND”
1972 C&H Sugar (Wire Hangers). I first tried other rough ideas: an egg and bunny as a folded die-cut in an egg shape – – a little bunny – – a chicken – – then two layouts preceded the final five wire-hangers.
1973-Electric & Gas Industries Association –EIGA. Originally headquartered in San Francisco, with roots from the early 1930s, EGIA began as a nonprofit membership association with the mission to help promote the sale of energy-efficient appliances for retailers throughout the state of California. EIGA is now located in Sacramento, CA.
1973: Clorox’s Liquid-plumr
“Liquid-plumr” made by Clorox with headquarters in Oakland CA, was another regional client. Not having a color Xerox in those years, I show these four examples in b/w. The one chosen was to be rendered as finished art, printed and then placed in markets near the product.
The large wine industry in California gave the Carlisle Company many opportunities of displaying a variety of displays and bins that would hold many bottles and have photographs portraying an elegant display of the wines.
1973: Inglenook wine was founded in Rutherford, California during 1879 by Gustave Niebaum, a Finnish sea captain.
This Inglenook page of layouts offered the client a choice of photographic settings. The clients would choose the mood that they wanted displayed and a photographer would follow the basic “look” and be the one to choose all of the elements for the “table-top” setting. The chosen “look” is shown also.
1973: Chilean Wines. Carlisle’s client, here, might have been a company dealing mostly with wines imported into San Francisco Bay. It might have been the beginning of the San Francisco Wine Trading Company. (I have no other source.) For this assignment, we offered many choices of subjects for the “feel” of a Chilean vineyard. Two of the subjects were developed.
1973: One of California’s oldest and most renowned wineries, Geyser Peak Winery was founded in 1880 by Augustus Quitzow, a pioneer in Alexander Valley winemaking,
1974: POP concepts for imported BABYSHAM.
1973 – 1974: Annacorré. I don’t have notes on this display sheet as to who brought this job to us, nor the name of the parent winery. I cannot find any information about this wine, on line.
United Vintners Starting in 1975 I got a number of assignments from United Vintners, usually through ad agencies such as McCann Erickson. Some assignments were also for magazine ads, and posters for Guild Brandy. A “warm-up” jacket was offered.
How many ways can you offer a wood wine-rack for $22.00?
For Inglenook, these b&w copies were Magic Marker color sketches to show eleven ways to make that offer on their in-store display bins.
This other (folded) display layout was to be placed behind a collection of Inglenook bottles.
United Vintners, in those days, also had the three TJ Swann ($1.75) fruit wines: Easy Nights, Mellow Days, and After Hours. These are no longer available in markets. This “Dial a Wine” was to be attached to the refrigerated cases that held these wines. The turn of the dial to 15 descriptive sentences, would offer the suggested fruit wine for each occasion!
This was one of three strange assignments, so far in my career. (The first was the packaging of mealworms for fishing. (“Mighty Mealys” was a previous story.) The other was for a J. Walter Thompson client: Shakey’s Pizza. They planned a Christmas P.O.P. poster showing a slice of pizza with the Shakey’s logo as the star on the top. 7‑Up was an additional product to show – so bottle caps were ornaments and the 7‑Up bottle was the trunk of the tree. (I’ve tried to forget that assignment.)
Browne Vintners
Paul Masson (1859 – 1940) emigrated from Burgundy, France to California in 1878. In 1892 he developed his first sparkling wine. Masson eventually became known as the “Champagne King of California”.
Late 1970s: David Reid, creative director at Browne Vintners, planned that this poster for Paul Masson wines to be, actually, a P.O.P.!
The artist, Dick Moore, said that it was offered FREE– as a “tear-off-sheet”.
ADASF 1958 – 1971
Here is a collection of designs accepted in the annual exhibitions of the Art Directors and Artists Club of San Francisco. Point Of Purchase aka: Point Of Sale.
One might question how a large outdoor board could be a point of sale. The two “OK” boards, in the ‘70s, were place at the side of the large Chevrolet lots selling “OK” approved used cars. Too bad, that the annuals were only in black and white. (I had one color example, so I added it.
The many San Francisco Bay Area graphic artists and art studios — had steady sources of employment. Reviewing all of these examples from the few years shown, I wonder how the POP industry is operating now. Do artists still have the freedom to develop and render various choices for the client, printing shops, or ad agencies – – still with markers or what?
Ann Thompson
An Apple For The Artist
Long before an Apple Computer became one of my art tools, I was asked to create Illustrations “the old fashioned way” for the Apple IIGS Owner’s Guide (manuals are no longer offered).
Apple’s Macintosh had been introduced in 1984, yet the Apple II series of computers continued for about ten more years. When I was awarded the job on 8−26−85 my finished artwork was still accomplished with illustration boards, pens, brushes and inks. At that same time, I had my freelance and agency-in-house artist space in the Vicom Associate’s offices on Battery Street in San Francisco.
There were a couple of meetings with Apple, when I would drive down to Cupertino to plan an art style and page design and also determine my price for the job. Translating copy to art for Apple Computer’s IIGS manual, I was asked to keep my spots “light-hearted”. Everything developed smoothly and when I needed the accuracy of depicting the four Apple computers available those days, I turned to Richard Moore (freelancing from our home) to compose and create the finished detailed art of the four existing line of Apple II computers.
Apple IIGS Owner’s Guide. 1986, Apple Computer, Inc.
Concepts and Illustrations: Ann Thompson, Art Direction: Molly Tyson; additional product illustrations: Dick Moore.
Soon, more Apple II Guides were needed, but my original agency accounts in SF needed me. My contacts in Cupertino asked me “Are there any more like you at home?” and I said, “Yes” and Richard Moore completed several more manuals for them. Apple was glad that Richard set us up at home with an Apple IICX –$16,000 (at that time) including printer, scanner, (the works)! Richard’s Apple illustrations for the manuals were, for the first time, created with an Apple computer!
The Macintosh, A Better Apple Was Presented.
Apple’s Macintosh computers were being introduced and soon set up in Vicom Associates’ art department. At one point, the agency wanted to test the Macintosh’s abilities against my usual methods of making the large, 24” X 36” — presentation boards for the agency’s meetings with their various clients. The requirements: –quality of message and speed — I won, achieving both requirements!
The art department could only print letter-sized prints from their Macs. The crew in the art department had to (1‑search and choose from the limited choices of clip-art, (2‑compose the type, boxes, arrows and images, (3‑print out the document, (4‑send it out to a copy shop to make a Photostat up to display size and then (5‑wait for the b/w print and when it arrived, spray-mount it to a foam core board. I had the benefit of 1 sheet of large layout paper, full color (markers and pencils) and I could compose unlimited subjects. I often had to work through the night on those display boards that were to fly in the morning to an early meeting on the east coast. (Using the Mac, the agency would have had to keep the art crew and copy shop into the night.) My boards became known in this agency as “Annie-Boards”! When one of our art directors moved to another advertising agency, she, out of habit, asked for “Annie- Boards” to be made.”Animatics”?, “animation?”, her co-workers asked. She said that she had to describe my boards.
(Note: I don’t have the exact example from the competition, because it was shown at the planned client meeting.)
There were times that I could have asked for a Mac in my room in the agency, but there were young and eager hires ready to sit there with and art director over their shoulder, and I knew that I’d get into it on my own at home. When I did, we had an AppleIICX at home. My abilities grew as each new graphic software program became available. I experimented with all kinds of subject, yet I would keep trying subjects needed for my agency assignments.
With the earlier computers and drawing programs, drawing with a “mouse” (like a small brick) it seemed not to matter if I was left or right-handed. The very early computer line art had the large pixels. “Studio 8” offered a lot to the graphic artist, but the edges were still very rough. The Mac and the two Adobe programs: Photoshop and Illustrator offered a huge range of different qualities for different needs. These show the improvement of the graphic programs and my improvement using them.
Personal Experimental:
Job Subjects:
Ten Second Manager
Around the mid ‘90s I received many assignments for Apple University (internal teaching publications). One assignment from Apple University was a pocket-sized handbook for employees — the style of the illustrations was to be “more humorous”. Following the copy that was written for the pocket sized handbook, 23 humorous illustrations were accepted.
Apple University – The Ten-Second Manager. 1996, Apple Computer, Inc.,
Copy: Molly Tyson, Design and Illustrations: Ann Thompson, Evangelism: Sherri Rose, Production & Moral Support: Ken Freehan
Internal Homepage: Apple University
The first meetings were with the title, “The Art of Management”. Many more page arrangements brought us to the next sketch that you see with the title “Apple University”. The final design is shown here on Netscape, the web browser of that time.
“Leader’s Lounge” was a link from the Homepage. The highlighted objects in the Lounge were “links” to additional pages with more written information.
Apple University’s Catalog of Services
Forty pages plus cover with 15 illustrations (mostly of them repeated from the Ten Second Manager.
These assignments, above, for Apple University were my favorites because of the amount of creative freedom they gave to me. The Mac became my favorite art tool. I’m on our iMac, now.
Ann Thompson