Ballyhoo

August 20, 2010 7:38 AM

A lot of old advertising, like the copy here, reads like literate AOL kids. They spell and capitalize and punctuate, but they're still hype machines stuck on exclamation marks and shouting and… boldface and underlines. Today, the fashion is for much shorter ad copy. If sound came along today, we'd come up with a catchphrase and call it a day. "Hear the difference." In 1929, if you didn’t have at least five catchphrases, some capitalized buzzwords, and several exclamation marks, you just weren't with it.

A few years ago, Sam Stoddard of RinkWorks fame (discussed previously) dusted off his 1929 Film Daily Yearbook for an exhibition of the craziest advertising ploys recommended by early Hollywood execs. The ten-part series is a small portion of the cinephile podcast/blog All Movie Talk.

• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
• Part 9
• Part 10

posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis (6 comments total)

Needs ukulelecontest tag.
posted by bonobothegreat at 7:49 AM on August 20, 2010

And by the 80s we'd be having Krull-themed weddings.

You've come a long way, baby.
posted by Naberius at 8:01 AM on August 20, 2010

This is great. I worked in entertainment advertising for ten years (film and television) and let's just say a lot of great work is generated that the public never sees.

Two quick additional links: What Ever Happened to Showmanship?, John Waters' essay on old-school movie stunts from his book Crackpot, and MonKeyArtAwards, a satirical insider take on the industry (inspired by the always-maddening Key Art Awards).
posted by roger ackroyd at 8:14 AM on August 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Life getting you down?
Raccoon coat!
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:00 AM on August 20, 2010

All the studios put out press books to give local newspapers ideas for contests and features to tie in with the latest movie releases. The Academy Library has them, and they're usually great and hilarious (Kids! Wear Harold Lloyd's Glasses! with an accompanying pair to cut out and keep.)
posted by Ideefixe at 10:01 AM on August 20, 2010

"I'd give anything for a raccoon coat!"
"Anything?"
posted by redsparkler at 10:22 AM on August 20, 2010 [3 favorites]