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At first glance, it seems a bit of a stretch to think of Colonel Sanders, the Pillsbury Dough Boy, and Tony the Tiger as part of American history.
Bonnie Drewniany, associate professor and director of advertising and public relations at the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies, believes otherwise.
As far as she's concerned, they and other advertising figures are an integral part of America's development, and upon closer examination, you begin to realize she has a point.
After all, did you know that most Americans' perception of Santa Claus as a jolly fat white man dressed up in a red suit is actually an image created by a Coca Cola ad campaign to bolster people's spirits during the Depression, that the Quaker Oats man was first registered as a brand image in 1877, or that Aunt Jemima, used to sell a self-rising pancake mix, goes back to the 1890s?
The realization that advertising's scope and influence has in fact had a profound influence on all Americans' lives hits home when you visit Drewniany's office and see her gargantuan collection of ad figures that line bookshelves on two walls.
There's the Morton Salt girl (1910s), Mr. Peanut (1916), Snap, Crackle, and Pop (1920s), Bob's Big Boy (1930s), Smokey Bear (1947), and Gidget the Taco Bell Dog (1980s–90s), among the untold number of figures on display.
The collection began in earnest about four years ago when Drewniany was Christmas shopping and saw some ornaments and lights in the form of M&M's, the Campbell Soup characters, and other figures. Immediately she thought, "Why would anyone want this stuff on their tree?"
Upon a moment's reflection, however, she realized, "I should! It would be a fun Christmas tree for my office," and what followed was as many advertising-related ornaments on her office tree as she could find. She added a Pillsbury Dough Boy and his white dog, Poppy, that she had acquired as an undergraduate advertising major at Syracuse and the collection was born.
Before long, colleagues began bringing her other items, a neighbor introduced her to eBay, and students, alumni, and others would buy or alert her to things they had seen at flea markets and yard sales. The collection has grown to "at least a thousand items," some of which are on display through April at the University Visitor Center in the lobby of the Carolina Plaza on Assembly Street.
The exhibit graphically drives home the point of how the characters have given personality to America's corporate world. They also show how they have provided corporations with the ability to cross cultures and nationalities with ease as the companies expand into international markets.
For Drewniany and others, many of the figures have a more personal meaning and many of her favorites are those that make a connection to something or someone that has been important in her life. "These are the types of things that people want to keep," she said.
"Each of the characters that mean something to an individual takes the person back to a point in time, such as the Doughboy when I think of my days at Syracuse. I'll also have students come into my office and say, 'Wow, I was dating so-and-so or I was in grade school when I first saw that.' It's almost like hearing lyrics to a song that bring you back in time."
Most of Drewniany's students have heard of the collection, but when they see it for the first time they're surprised by its scope. "What's fun is when I meet with parents of incoming freshman and I watch their reaction," Drewniany said. "It really speaks to the fact that the college really knows advertising."
The genius of using figures or animals to advertise products lies in the figures' believability, Drewniany said. "In the case of Smokey Bear, you definitely don't want his home to be burned. He's more believable than perhaps having a forest ranger say, 'Watch out for forest fires.'
"Current commercials have a tremendous number of animals, whether they're monkeys who are dancing or a dolphin who's talking, that provide a wonderful connection that people have with their imagination," Drewniany said. "If a company can develop a character that helps with that imagination there's something fun about thinking there's a little kid named Sprout in the Valley with the Jolly Green Giant. We need whimsy."
11/02
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