Quote: Chappers @ 31st May 2023, 3:49 PMWhere does it say it's a box of chocolates?
You know what he is like Dave - just don't encourage him
Vintage adverts Page 66
Quote: alison blunderland @ 31st May 2023, 1:31 PMMackintosh's Week-End (with a hyphen for some reason. Who knows why? I don't. Do you?)
Because that's how it was spelt back then. My dictionary (first published 1959, re-printed 1969) has it thus.
Quote: Chappers @ 31st May 2023, 3:49 PMWhere does it say it's a box of chocolates?
Alright, Rodney?
It doesn't say it's a box of chocolates and I don't say it says it's a box of chocolates. I described it as a 'box of chocolates with a difference' but that's just me leading up to a joke. I know what you're going to say now. Don't give up the day job, right? Don't worry. I won't.
Quote: Billy Bunter @ 31st May 2023, 5:14 PMBecause that's how it was spelt back then. My dictionary (first published 1959, re-printed 1969) has it thus.
Wow! You're only spot on, Billy.
Thanks for telling me.
1954
Now, I know what you're thinking (again). You're thinking these must be made by the same people who invented Polo Mints who, in turn, must be the same people who invented the legendary American sweets - Lifesavers.
Well, surprising as it may seem, you'd be wrong.
First came Lifesavers in 1912 in the USA.
Then came Navy Sweets in 1937 in Britain.
Then came World War II and hordes of American GIs (all of whom loved Lifesavers) came over to Britain and quickly developed a serious case of the blues because they didn't exist here.
'Don't panic!' shouted somebody in the Home Guard and Rowntrees quickly obtained a licence from the manufacturers of Lifesavers to produce them in the UK and the GIs were happy again and basically that's how we won the war.
The licence period ended shortly after the war did and so Rowntrees had to stop making Lifesavers which had been, to use the terminology of the day, a nice little earner. Undaunted, they immediately started to produce a sweet that they claimed didn't resemble Lifesavers in any way shape or form. They called this brand-new never-before-seen sweet a 'Polo Mint' and began flogging them to the public in 1948.
As you might expect, there were some legal arguments concerning copyright and trademarks. Has it all been sorted out yet? Who knows? I hope so.
Quote: alison blunderland @ 1st June 2023, 5:17 PMWow! You're only spot on, Billy.
Thanks for telling me.
Wow??
Bloody hell. Talk about ingratiating yourself - anybody would think Billy had told you the meaning of Life, The Universe and Everything.
1947
In 1854, Edward Sharp was born in Maidstone, Kent, and attended the local grammar school (not on the same day, obviously) after which he took a job as an apprentice in a paper factory where his father was the manager.
Now, you might think having your dad as the factory manager would be quite an advantage for a young apprentice and you'd probably be right but it didn't do young Eddie a single bit of good on the day he stubbornly refused to raise his cap to the managing director and promptly received his P 45.
Fast forward to 1878 and Eddie (now married) is still wondering what to do with his life so decides to open a small grocery shop.
Mrs Sharp helped in the shop and one day when business wasn't brisk, she decided to nip into the back and make a bit of home-made toffee which could later be sold in the shop. Every little helps, as Tesco is always reminding us.
This toffee must have been pretty good because it wasn't long before Mr and Mrs Sharp were selling so much toffee that they couldn't keep up with demand and so did the sensible thing by taking over a nearby rollerskating rink and converting it into a toffee factory that they named The Kreemy Works.
Business just got better and better and by 1931, it was the largest toffee manufacturing business in the world.
P.S. Is it Sharp's toffee (with an apostrophe) or Sharps toffee (without)? It changed at some point but I don't know why.
Do you?
Quote: alison blunderland @ 1st June 2023, 5:17 PM1954
Now, I know what you're thinking (again). You're thinking these must be made by the same people who invented Polo Mints who, in turn, must be the same people who invented the legendary American sweets - Lifesavers.
Well, surprising as it may seem, you'd be wrong.
First came Lifesavers in 1912 in the USA.
Then came Navy Sweets in 1937 in Britain.
Then came World War II and hordes of American GIs (all of whom loved Lifesavers) came over to Britain and quickly developed a serious case of the blues because they didn't exist here.
'Don't panic!' shouted somebody in the Home Guard and Rowntrees quickly obtained a licence from the manufacturers of Lifesavers to produce them in the UK and the GIs were happy again and basically that's how we won the war.
The licence period ended shortly after the war did and so Rowntrees had to stop making Lifesavers which had been, to use the terminology of the day, a nice little earner. Undaunted, they immediately started to produce a sweet that they claimed didn't resemble Lifesavers in any way shape or form. They called this brand-new never-before-seen sweet a 'Polo Mint' and began flogging them to the public in 1948.
As you might expect, there were some legal arguments concerning copyright and trademarks. Has it all been sorted out yet? Who knows? I hope so.
I remember Fruit Polos well because that's what they became.
Quote: Chappers @ 2nd June 2023, 8:01 PMI remember Fruit Polos well because that's what they became.
I have an unopened packet of the original Polos from the 1950s. They're still in mint condition.
Ha ha/boom boom. You've bloomin' got me wanting some fruit polos so much I'm scouring the interweb to see if I can find any at some ridiculously inflated price. 🕵️♂️
Quote: Billy Bunter @ 31st May 2023, 5:14 PMBecause that's how it was spelt back then. My dictionary (first published 1959, re-printed 1969) has it thus.
Could depend on what dictionary you have, but generally speaking, 50 plus years ago the usage in dictionaries and formal usage books was itself very formal still, informing the usage in copywriting. From about 1970ish or so, advertisers' use of copy gradually became more relaxed and informal and this then started to inform the dictionary compilers, so week-end would become weekend, thankfully.
Quote: Billy Bunter @ 3rd June 2023, 7:51 AMI have an unopened packet of the original Polos from the 1950s. They're still in mint condition.
Listening to Tony Blackburn?
Quote: alison blunderland @ 31st May 2023, 1:31 PM1956
Some people thought they were rubbish while others adored them and even today, many still rave about the 'lime candy' one.
Did they? I never heard anyone saying they thought 'Weekend' were rubbish. And I personally didn't know anyone who didn't like them, I certainly loved 'em. But then, the 70s was still a formal and respectful decade and you didn't say a gift of lovely chocs was rubbish if you didn't like one or two of the selection.
For me this background choice doesn't do the chocs much favour. I remember a 1970s printed ad with the background as a southern states grand house type setting which suited the type of 'chocs' much better. I loved that square one, was it desicated coconut or something? then Bounty has always been a favourite of mine. It would be hard to make a version for diabetics as they do with some things now, as I remember them being quite sugary.
Quote: alison blunderland @ 2nd June 2023, 5:14 PM1947
Well with that Sharps advert, your bill (or should that be Aaron's?) keeps going up as you use copyright material - I haven't checked everything you have posted, but it must be well over £100 so far........................
You see, the adverts I was using were ALL from my own archive, amassed over the last 50 years, and either belonged to me or were in the public domain. What you are doing is illegal.
And if you don't believe me, then this from the Crown Prosecution Service might convince you, although you are small fry compared to the prosecution shown here, but nonetheless liable:-
Deliberate infringement of copyright may be a criminal offence, and if found guilty of copyright infringement in a magistrate's court, your business could be fined up to £50,000 and you could face a jail term of up to six months. If the case reaches a Crown Court, fines can be unlimited and the maximum sentence up to ten years' imprisonment.
Going back a few years, I used to post Punch cartoons from the small library of books I had on Punch, but someone pointed out that they (Punch), even though the magazine was long gone, were still in business selling the cartoons and I was infringing their copyright, and so I not only stopped posting them, I also asked Aaron to completely delete the thread, which was blessing now I come to think of it, as I expect you would have had a try at "improving" the cartoons with your pathetic ready wit - and by the way, it is no good saying "My mates down the pub think my work is funny", because when you are pissed, everything looks amusing.
You may get away with it, but in time, someone will report you.................
Here's some of your images so far, that belong to another party (Note the £31.99 per image for use on a website) :-
Three pertinent advertising posters for today from days gone by:
Quote: Billy Bunter @ 3rd June 2023, 10:51 AMThree pertinent advertising posters for today from days gone by:
I hope you're not infringing copyrights there, you Fat Owl - would hate for you to be sent down, or even worse face Quelch, and get banned from the tuck shop as a punishment.
1910s
The very name "Grove's Tasteless Chill Tonic" might be the biggest lie in the history of advertising. According to a great many people who, as children, were forced to swallow a daily teaspoonful of this stuff, it tasted effin' awful.
Developed in 1885, it was basically quinine (which tastes very bitter) flavoured with lemon to reduce the bitterness and was claimed to cure chills and fevers caused by malaria as well as promoting all-round good health. It sold like hot cakes and it made its inventor a millionaire.