18 Ethyl Gasoline Ads "-- and there is a powerful difference, too,..."

[write-light.livejournal.com]

The Ethyl Corporation, 1950-1952  (makers of lead additives for fuel, yay, still)

Each of these ads relied heavily on the skills of the illustrator to make two rhyming objects appear as similar as possible, even if dissimilar.  In some cases, the results were quite successful, in other cases less so, and in every case, eye-catching.  Prepare to learn some new vocabulary!



These ads range from









to









to










to







I picked this last ad for what it illustrates about language shift (::donning linguist hat::) and what it confirms about how hoity-toity all those folks in 1940s films still sounded with their vaguely British accents - for most people in the US today, these two words are not exact rhymes but in the 50's they were still close enough:

Which is your favorite?

Comments

[whoseline_wlsc]

Those are pretty cool! hehe I like the "puppy/guppy" and "bass/basset" ads best.

[kaelstra.livejournal.com]

These are all fantastic!

[squidexplosion.livejournal.com]

That unicorn face is going to give me nightmares tonight.

[write-light.livejournal.com]

Think of the CORN!

[thisprairielife.livejournal.com]

Wow, I do not want any of those, okthx. So unsettling. And where do I go to get those drugs? Were the marketing guys just huffing leaded gasoline before planning their campaign? So many questions.

[ejia-arath03.livejournal.com]

Oh great, the cauliflower just looks like the collie with its brains exposed and diseased. Eww.

[ladybuggington.livejournal.com]

These are great. I saw one with Cat/Caterpillar a while back and was in love with it, I'm thrilled there are others.

[write-light.livejournal.com]

OOoh, could you find it again?

[nxdxgwen.livejournal.com]

These are awesome!

[say2.livejournal.com]

Who sneaked LSD in my coffee?

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

on the last one, i was thinking new englander accent. that can give the same "ahr" sound at the end of both words.

other than that, pretty trippy!

[pikkewyntjie.livejournal.com]

I was thinking that, too. They probably didn't print panda/gander one in the South. It would have made absolutely no sense to most Southerners, especially pre-Kennedy.

[write-light.livejournal.com]

I would have thought the land of "Scahhhlett" O'Hara would have had no problem with a soft "R".

[pikkewyntjie.livejournal.com]

I guess my problem is I haven't met enough antebellum Georgians played by British actors! ;)

Of course, that ad can go the other way, too. I've met several people who say "pander bear." (I hate it when bears are pandering.)

[oh-meow.livejournal.com]

I just tried reading it out loud, and panda and gander rhyme perfectly for me as someone with a london accent

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Ayuh!

[pikkewyntjie.livejournal.com]

The first one kind of threw me because I thought it was promoting corn-based ethanol.

I like the ones that are more cartoony looking like duck/buck and puppy/guppy. The more realistic ones I found kind of creepy. Like someone noted, seeing the collie first makes the cauliflower look like a vivisection of the collie.

[mellzie-1963.livejournal.com]

But with the last one, you get the extra rhyme of panda AND A gand...ah?