Weird, Weird Advertisements

Back with some more.

First, once more from Pep #226, this bike.

Honestly, do I have to even say anything about it?

Here's the back cover of Eternals #13.

I know that you're thinking "Why is this in the 'Weird, Weird Advertisements' column? Why is this strange, it's an ad for basketballs?" Here's why. Not one person I knew as a kid growing up and reading comics owned a basketball. We spent our money on comics and were notoriously unathletic. This is a very odd place to advertise this product, I think. Or, maybe, I was just a lazy kid.

Weird, Weird Advertisements

Back with some more strange ads from comics from the middle of the 20th century. Seriously, people are going to look back at that century and be flummoxed one day.

I hope.

Anyway...

This first one is from Pep #226, and it's so great. I kind of which I had these. I would wear them over my existing facial hair.

Brilliant. I love the mismatch of the hair colours - they don't care. You'll have sideburns! It's a matter of the drapes not matching the little lace doilies on the coffee table.

I have forgotten where this next one came from, but it's almost certainly an Eclipse comic, maybe one of the issues of P.J. Warlock I read a little while back. It's an anti-SDI comic from the early 80s, demonstrating, somewhat heavy-handedly, the problems with Reagan's Star Wars initiative. It reminds me of the National Social Welfare Assembly comics I posted a while back, though perhaps more overtly political in nature. Unsurprising, for Eclipse.

The National Social Welfare Assembly presents: "Special Christmas Quiz" - February 1964

The National Social Welfare Assembly presents: "Your Free Trip Around the World" - December 1963

The National Social Welfare Assembly presents: "Your United Nations at Work" - November 1963

The National Social Welfare Assembly presents: "Binky shows 'How to Spend a Summer Week!'" - September 1963

The National Social Welfare Assembly presents: "How Not to Enjoy a Vacation!" - August 1963

What dogs think about on family vacations.

The National Social Welfare Assembly presents: "Not Wanted: High School Dropouts!" - June 1963

Sadly, a high school diploma is no longer a guarantee of work.

The National Social Welfare Assembly presents: "What's Your B.Q.?" - May 1966

Though 50 years old, still relevant.

The National Social Welfare Assembly presents: "The Hip Way to Learn!" - November 1965

I just may post this for my students.

The National Social Welfare Assembly presents: "Nature's Bill of Rights" - September 1965

Environmentalism knows no era!

The National Social Welfare Assembly presents: "Summer at HOME can be FUN!" - August 1965

I've recently run across a number of PSAs in old DC comics produced by the National Social Welfare Assembly. I thought I'd run them here, though you can also find a whole bunch more over at the Social Welfare History Project via Virginia Commonwealth University. I'll try not to duplicate the ones I have here.

First off, how Summers at home can be fun, even if you really wanted to go somewhere else.

(Note: some are in colour, some B&W, depending, I think, on where in the comic it was printed.)