Ads From a Simpler LIFE

"It’s only 31 miles from New York City and
is a very pleasant drive."

This gracious invitation from Con Edison to come and view the Indian Point nuclear facility, was one of two ads for nuke plants that ran in the June 16, 1967 issue of Life.

Westinghouse, who built the reactor for Connecticut Yankee, the plant at Haddam Neck, also advertised in that issue. CY was shut permanently in 1996 and has since been decommissioned.

"The plant will be a welcome neighbor—as clean and quiet
as any good neighbor could be."

"… made with Monsanto ingredients that just refuse
to go wrong—no matter who stirs them up."

A Monsanto ad in the same issue.

"We may be the only phone company in town, but we
try not to act like it."

This AT&T ad encouraged home shopping and reassured us as to just how benevolent a monopoly it was.

“Born loser” is a term we don’t hear much these days. Sure, we have high unemployment, but we’ve got high self-esteem to match. We’re all winners these days, as our kids’ shelves of meaningless trophies, prove. The only losers we tolerate now are weight losers.


One of four cigarette ads in the issue.


Remember Polaroid? This simple ad really looked great running inside the front cover.

The Dogs of Will Rannells (And a Contest!)

Somewhere between Cassius M. Coolidge’s Dogs Playing Poker and William Wegman’s elegant and complex Weimaraners, lie Will Rannells’ canine men of the world.
“What's on the 6th floor?” a history and special collections blog of The San Francisco Public Library, recently featured these Life magazine covers (not to be confused with LIFE, the Henry Luce publication), by Rannells (1892-1982).

Early on, Rannells found that his paintings of dogs set him apart from other artists. It is reported that he thought they were much better subjects than the beautiful girls he had previously been drawing. In fact, his first commercial success (at age 19) was a portrait of a collie that had previously been held in the arms of a girl. When he realized the dog was better off without the human figure, he painted the dog alone and sold it for $40. It later appeared on the June 1, 1912 cover of Country Gentleman. He went on to illustrate for the magazines Life, Judge and McCalls, as well as for a number of children's books.

Will Rannells became an art professor at The Ohio State University, where he taught painting and advertising design. He was active in the Humane Society and was known locally for his efforts to rescue stray animals and for his opposition to vivisection.”

To truly acknowledge the dog days of summer you must head over to Newmanology and partake of, either as a participant or an observer The Newmanology Dog Days of Summer Dog Magazine Cover Contest. There is already a fantastic gallery up, with new additions coming in fast and furious. Add your canine contestant to the mix. Still needed: a bejeweled lady-dog (not just any bitch with bling, must be canine).




Will Rannells covers (starting from the top): "Putting on the Dog," Life (Nov. 3, 1927);
"The Dog Star,"Life (July 16, 1914); "R.F.D.," Life (Dec. 16, 1915);
"An Old Sea Dog," Life (Sept. 3, 1925); Country Gentleman (June 1, 1912);
"Never Again," Life (Jan. 15, 1920). Life courtesy Schmulowitz Collection of Wit & Humor; Country Gentleman courtesy Magazines & Newspaper Center, San Francisco Public Library.