Sunset Cordials, 1945

[write-light.livejournal.com]

This ad is so weirdly silent (and lacking a product) and yet so rich in atmosphere and detail.



via Christian Montone's flickr

Comments

[ms-hissyfit.livejournal.com]

Personally I think, that his suspicion his well founded. The man with the hat is obviously a communist spy! There is a lot of tension in this picture, for an idyllic main street scene.

[whoseline_wlsc]

I like this city scene, but the guy with the bike does look like he's up to something.

[noluck-boston.livejournal.com]

That signal light that is closest to the front seems a bit off. There does not appear to be an intersection that requires it.

[luke-russell.livejournal.com]

And the red light is on the bottom!

[murakozi.livejournal.com]

So many questions are raised by the picture. Do they mean cordials as in liqueurs? What does that have to do with mailing letters? Is the kid with the bike gonna mug the old man or is his look one of suspicion and the old man a spy? What's he mailing anyway? Why does he look kinda like Boris Karloff? What's up with that traffic light? The bottom red light implies some kind of left turn signal, but there's no road on the left.

Inquiring minds want to know!

[luke-russell.livejournal.com]

And why is there nothing showing at the cinema?!?

[ms-hissyfit.livejournal.com]

Turns out this is no small town idyll, but a David Lynch film waiting to happen...

[teamrodent.livejournal.com]

And why is the Hotel Green brown?

[gillianinoz.livejournal.com]

When I was in Primary school they used to give us pictures like this for writing class. Tell us the story, they'd say. What's the story behind this picture?

First thing I thought of when I saw this. There's so much going on in that picture.

[pikkewyntjie.livejournal.com]

It is an interesting ad, but, yeah, weird that it seems to have little connection to the product. I wonder if it was part of a series or something.

[write-light.livejournal.com]

In fact, I can't find a single other ad for Sunset Cordials.

[pikkewyntjie.livejournal.com]

I never heard of them before this, either. I wonder if they were a small company that invested a lot in this campaign, only it was so esoteric nobody knew what the hell they were selling, where they could get it, or why they should buy it! No matter how attractive or interesting the ad, it's a fail if it doesn't sell. Hey, that sorta rhymes! With my accent, it does. ;)

[murakozi.livejournal.com]

Kind of like the original tv commersials for Infiniti where they'd just show water and fish and stuff. I sure didn't know it was some new car company for a while.

[pikkewyntjie.livejournal.com]

Or like Homer's later Mr. Plow ads. The first ones had a catchy jingle and made sense, but then he had one made that was so artsy nobody could tell what it was for.