I am a big fan of classic advertising art. It's hard to beat the attention-getting graphics, the top notch illustration, and the often unusual products and companies that have been forgotten by time. The following three images were originally intended for use on shipping crates. In other words, they were just decorative labels used to identify and label the products inside wooden boxes... the only modern day equivalent I can think of is the "Clemintine" logo on the ply-wood boxes they have in grocery stores this time of year.
Indian River Citrus Sub-Exchange--could it possibly be more specific?
How about this one? The earth is an apple!
And perhaps best of all, a shipping label made specifically for sweet potatoes:
Not entirely sure how the rodeo girl on the white horse relates... but that's obviously not important!
While it is often only the most famous ads that make it into the collective memory of the nation, and the most successful products, it is not necessarily because they had the best art. It is funny to imagine how the art world might have been different if one of the products above had become, or remained dominant in the U.S. Warhol may not have gotten famous with prints of Campbell's Soup Cans and Marilyn Monroe-- it might have been Victorious Brand Sweet Potatoes and a cowgirl on a horse.
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