Silent star Bessie Love, real name Juanita Horton, pitches for the Huron Fish Company, 1923. Not terribly glamorous, but Hollywood and the advertising business were still in their infancy.
Ever since there were Hollywood stars there have been star product endorsements.
Corporations and their advertising companies were quick to understand that those larger than life figures floating like angels on the silver screen were potent persuaders. Thus, the synergistic relationship between one product, the movie star, and another product, cigarettes, perfume, makeup, whatever, was born and continues with increasing power and sophistication to this very day.
The idea is simplicity itself: Buy me, be me.
Dolores Costello was one of the great beauties of the silent era. Her milky complexion was the ideal to which women aspired. The assumption in this late 1920's endorsement is that only Kleenex tissues are soft enough for such skin. The terrible irony is that Costello's lovely skin was ravaged by the harsh makeup used in silent films. Today, Costello's granddaughter Drew Barrymore endorses Cover Girl makeup.
In the 1930's, when Carole Lombard pitched for Old Gold Strike cigarettes, she was Hollywood's most popular screwball comedienne. Looking elegant and ultra slinky Lombard projects glamour and sophistication. Let's not forget that during Hollywood's Golden Age, cigarettes were not just cigarettes, they were metaphors for sex.
Veronica Lake achieved worldwide fame because of her peek-a-boo hair style. But in this 1940's ad for North Star Blankets, her hair is pulled back and up. Probably because the peek-a-boo was considered too dangerous for women working in war time industries where it could get caught in machinery. But let's face it, Veronica Lake is barely recognizable. A tragic figure, Lake was bipolar and an alcoholic. Her finances and career crashed and burned after a few short years. She ended as a waitress in a diner and drank herself to death at age 50.
Barbara Stanwyck was Hollywood's greatest actress. She was equally brilliant in comedy and drama. Always a thorough professional, crews adored her and directors admired her genius. Never conventionally glamorous, Stanwyck aged with grace letting her hair go gray and makes no attempt to pretend otherwise in this 1954 ad for Lustre Creme shampoo.
Okay, ladies, it's time to put on some weight. Yup, in this 1965 ad for Wate-On, Raquel Welsh endorses the full figure. Savor the notion.
Ariel Chaim Avrech, ZT'L, May His Righteous Memory be a Blessing.
8 Comments
Carole Lombard really shouldn’t be anywhere near a flame with those sleeves.
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At the same time Wate-On was being pitched by the always beautiful Miss Welch, the diet product Ayds was a common advertiser in mass market magazines. Unfortunately around the mid 80′s a certain disease made their name worthless.
Please don’t spoil a great story and tell me RW’s body is a product of Wate-On and not the result of a great set of genes. Because if Wate-On could make women look like her, someone at the company missed out on a deserving Nobel Physics Prize.
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Johnny :
I did a tv movie with Raquel and when we did lunch she ate lots of fruits and vegetables. No Wate-On in sight.
Here’s the link to the movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096044/
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Johnny, the story is not to be spoiled for you. Although it is demonstrably possible to ingest substances which add to total body fat, it is not possible to ingest substances which alter fat distribution. The latter is under genetic control, as are the changes in said distribution which occur over a lifetime.
That’s some ad: so misleading as to be hilarious.
Julie
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This is interesting, Mr. Avrech. Can you tell us more about this “harsh makeup?” Was it harsh due to some strange requirements of silent film screening or its lighting schemes, or was is just because film makeup was primitive at that time? And what could be in it to ruin a lady’s skin?
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jzdro:
I don’t know a great deal about make-up, but I do know that in the early days actors used theatrical make-up which was quite harsh and could damage delicate skin. Max Factor came along in the late 20′s, early 30′s and developed better compounds that were easier on the complexion and also far better suited to film. Max, a poor Jewish immigrant from Russia, really taught American women how to best use makeup.
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Raquel still has “It”.
But after taking Hollywood 101 from Prof Avrech, there’s some stars I “don’t want to be”!
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Bill:
I have a real soft spot for Raquel. She came to Hollywood a broke, single mother, struggled to get a break and developed into a fine actress. She’s an outspoken political Conservative, which is rare and wonderful for star. I love the title of her book: “Beyond the Cleavage.” Unfortunately, it’s not a memoir, more a how-to-be-a-woman book.
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