Thrifty Acres: The Way They Were

Hello! In my previous post, I showed off vintage ads of products which have disappeared from store shelves. In today's post, I'll show off ads from products that are still around, but with different packaging - and different ad campaigns, of course. These ads are also from the September 1948 issue of Woman's Day magazine.

Above, the mom looks absolutely ecstatic - and so does her son - over the pouring of V-8 juice into his drinking glass. They may be thrilled, but when I was a kid, I was thrilled my mom never served the stuff! Don't care for it, but I'm sure it's still considered a "wholesome easy-to-serve drink". 

In fact, the "easy-to-serve" aspect was highlighted in a current V-8 ad campaign, in which the V-8 imbibers were competing against opponents who favor trendier healthy beverages. In one commercial, a man downs his V-8 while a muscle-bound fellow is still shaking his drink to mix it. In the other commercial, a woman empties her glass of V-8 while her competitor is calling in an order to some juice bar or smoothie place. 

I thought both commercials were hilarious, even if I still don't like V-8!

The "Derby" name is no more, but Peter Pan peanut butter is still around. (at the time of this ad, Derby Foods was a subsidiary of Swift & Company. This peanut butter is now made by ConAgra Foods.) The ad also mentions "New...Crunchy...Tasty, crunchy peanut bits mixed all through the smooth goodness of Peter Pan Peanut Butter."

"mixed all through" - guess they pointed that out so folks wouldn't think the "peanut bits" were only on top!

I think the vegetables on the label resting in front of the tomatoes are supposed to be peppers, but what's the green stuff behind the tomatoes supposed to be? The ad mentions that Hunt's Tomato Sauce is made with "fine spices and seasonings", so perhaps it's something along those lines. 

The ad copy ends with this: "Get six cans right away!" But why that particular number? The ad doesn't say. 

This time of year, grocery store end-caps are loaded with s'more fixings: graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate bars. But in this ad, the product is used in a pie crust for Peach Meringue Pie.  "Make this 'new' company pie!" the ad copy exclaims. I have to admit, I'd never heard of peach meringue pie, but a google search came up with several recipes for it.  

The Nabisco graham cracker boxes certainly don't look like this anymore. I think the the graphics on this box appear quite old-fashioned. 

Also old-fashioned in appearance are the graphics for these Ocean Spray cranberry products:

Yeah, I know the ad is from a magazine that's almost 70 years old, but by comparison, the graphics on the Hunt's can seem more modern in style.

Rit's still around, but I don't know if "Lots of girls" are still "dunking dresses" in it. I've used Rit a handful of times myself, most notably to change the color of some compression socks my dad was supposed to wear. I couldn't find this type of sock in green, his favorite color, so I dyed several pairs in green Rit dye. Worked pretty well.

 Good ol' French's mustard, which was first introduced at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. From that auspicious beginning, the R. T. French company (the founder's name was Robert Timothy French), has endured. I read that it's currently the #1 mustard brand in the US. 

Well, that's it for my blast from the past. I wonder how many of these products will still be around 69 years from now? And if still around, who knows what their packaging - or their ads - will look like!