Ms. Magazine

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Text on Button I KNOW! I READ THE NEW Ms.
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White text in varying size and angles on a red background

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Ms. Magazine, the first nationally-distributed magazine run entirely by women, was co-founded by second-wave feminist activists Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes. The magazine began as a one-off insert in the December, 1971 issue of New York Magazine, where Steinem was a staff writer. The first regular issue of the magazine came out in July, 1972, and sold out in eight days. The premier issue featured one of the magazine’s iconic articles, “We Have Had Abortions," a feature that named 53 prominent women who had had abortions—at a time when the procedure was still illegal. Ms. was also the first national publication to address the issue of domestic violence. The magazine has gone through four ownership changes in its tenure, and is now published under the umbrella of the Feminist Majority Foundation. 

Sources

About Ms. Ms. 50 Years of Reporting, Rebelling & Truthtelling. (n.d.). Ms. Retrieved December 4, 2024, from https://msmagazine.com/about/

 

Catalog ID AD0958

Matilda Bay Cooler

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Text on Button ATILDA BAY COOLER TM
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Purple text and a illustration of a palm tree on an orange background.

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Matilda Bay Coolers were a popular wine cooler brand crafted by the Miller Brewing Company from 1987 to 1989. The coolers were advertised as an Australian-themed alcohol with a kangaroo mascot named Skippy. By 1989, the coolers were the fourth highest selling wine cooler, but only "held 7.5 percent of the market" (Lazarus, 1989).  Miller decided to discontinue the coolers as sales declined further (Lazarus, 1989). 

Sources

Lazarus, G. (1989, September 7). Miller to Cap Wine Cooler Business. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-09-07/business/8901100963_1_win….

Catalog ID AD0405

Kentucky Fried Chicken Welcome

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Text on Button WELCOME
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Red illustration of a man's head wearing glasses and with a beard and mustache over red text on a white background.

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Kentucky Fried Chicken was founded by Harland David Sanders during the Great Depression, when Shell Oil Company offered Sanders a service station in exchange for a percentage of the total fuel sales.  As the service station proved successful, Sanders decided to open his first restaurant.  In the mid 1930's, the Governor of Kentucky commissioned Sanders as the Kentucky Colonel.  Colonel Sanders branded himself as the face of all Kentucky Fried Chicken advertising as the restaurant opened new franchises through the 1950s.  In 1964, Sanders sold the company but stayed on as a goodwill ambassador and face of Kentucky Fried Chicken.  At present, Kentucky Fried Chicken still uses Colonel Sanders and the original images in their advertising campaigns.

Catalog ID AD0429

It's Levi's Week

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Text on Button IT'S LEVI'S WEEK! LEVI'S
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Cloth-like surface. White text on a blue background with a red symbol at bottom with white text on it.

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Levi's, which was founded by Levi Strauss in 1853, mainly provided denim outfits for cowboys and farmers in the first hundred years of its existence. The more casual style of the 1960s and 1970s brought about the popularity of jeans in those decades. However, by the 1980s the jeans fad began to fade, prompting Levi's to begin advertising with television commercials, ad campaigns, and buttons in order to boost sales. Throughout the 1990s the company made deals for their brand to be sold in stores like Walmart, and by the early 2000s Levi's began making profits for the first time in ten years. During the 2008 recession the company was known for selling interest-free jeans and most recently bought the naming rights to the San Francisco 49ers' new football stadium in 2013.

Levi Strauss & Co. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Strauss_%26_Co.

Catalog ID EV0145

IBM Easy One For Everyone

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Text on Button The easy one for everyone IBM PCjr
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Illustration of a man in a black suit top hat and a cane laying on his side over black and red text on a white background

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In 1984 International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) came out with a personal computer that was called the PCjr, nicknamed the "Peanut."  The computer was advertised as being easy to use for the entire family, with a variety of capabilities, such as programs to calculate finances as well as educational programs and games. Advertising agency Lord, Geller, Frederico, Einstein, New York City was hired to create the advertising for this computer. Actor Billy Scudder played the part of Charlie Chaplin in the advertising campaign to personify how the computer was fun and uncomplicated to use, alluding to Charlie Chaplin's film, Modern Times.  By 1985, the computer had been discontinued due to disappointing sales.

Catalog ID AD0407

Great Bear Bottled Water

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Text on Button BEAR UP
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Illustration of a smiling polar bear on a blue background

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Great Bear Bottled Water was a water company based out of Fulton, NY. Originally established in 1888 by Frederick Emerick, the company got their water from the Great Bear Springs, a spring where it is said that a young man fought and vanquished a bear. Until the 1950s the company used distinctive large glass jugs to transport the water, many of which can be found today. In 1981 Nestle bought the rights to the Great Bear name and the company became a subsidiary of Nestle.

(n.d.). Facts and History of the Great Bear Springs. Retrieved from: http://friendsofgreatbear.org/history.asp.

Catalog ID AD0474

General Electric Peter Max

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Text on Button GENERAL ELECTRIC peter max
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Button shows concentric circles of pink, purple, light blue, and green from the outside in, and pink hour and minute hands over a yellow center. White text and a corporate logo appear at the top of the purple circle, with more white text at the bottom.

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In 1968, Peter Max created a series of art clocks for General Electric. Six different art clocks were available, including the "Wow Now" version. Peter Max is a pop artist known for his use of vibrant colors and psychedelic designs, which gained increasing popularity during the counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s. His work has been used in advertising, posters, and other commercial products.

Catalog ID AD0427

Gatorade Soft Drink With Muscle

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Text on Button Gatorade The Soft Drink With Muscle
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Red and white illustartion of a soda bottle with muscular arms and swirls on either side over black text on a yellow background

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Gatorade is a sports drink first developed in 1965 at the University of Florida and named for the University's sports teams, the Gators.  A team of scientists developed Gatorade to help the teams' athletes rehydrate after excessive sweating during sporting events. Gatorade's first advertisement came during the 1967 Orange Bowl, where the University of Florida defeated Georgia Tech. Florida's head coach, Ray Graves, stated that his team won due to the help of Gatorade.

Manufacturing rights for Gatorade were first sold in 1969 and are now owned by PepsiCo, who acquired them in 2002. PepsiCo distributes Gatorade worldwide and has expanded the product line to include drinks for both athletes and non-athletes.

Catalog ID AD0456

Fordzie

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Text on Button HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN WIN FORDZIE
Image Description

Black and white photograph of a man in a white t-shirt and leather jacket with a smile and a thumbs up on a white background with red text over the bottom.

Curl Text NG SLATER CORP NYC 11
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This button depicts President Gerald Ford as "Fonzie" from ABC's television series Happy Days. This button was used during Ford's 1976 campaign for his second term in office. The slogan, "Happy Days Are Here Again" makes a direct reference to Franklin Roosevelt's 1932 Presidential campaign slogan directly following the Great Depression. The slogan was used to show American's that Ford could bring happier days back to the country post Vietnam and Watergate.

Catalog ID PO0301

Farrell's Fun Sign

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Text on Button HAPPY-ITIS FUN SIGN FARRELL'S
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Black text around the outer edge on a white background with a red circle in the center and an illustartion of two hands making the letter F.

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Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour and Restaurant, an 1890s-themed eatery, was established in Portland, Oregon in 1963. The franchise, best known for giving free sundaes to people celebrating their birthdays, grew and branched out across the United States, but had begun to decline by the late 1970s as the economy became weaker. In response to flagging sales, Farrell's began advertising on television commercials, newspaper ads, and buttons. Yet throughout the 1980s and 1990s the chain had to sell off multiple locations, and after a legal battle over ownership in the late 2000s, the company was forced to restructure its model. Today Farrell's restaurants can be found in only two states but are beloved for their sundaes and joke menus.

Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour and Restaurant. (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farrell's_Ice_Cream_Parlour

Catalog ID AD0444