White text on red background.

The Helzberg Diamonds Foundation started an advertising campaign in 1967 when Barnett Helzberg Jr. proposed to his girlfriend Shirley Bush. He wanted her to know that she was loved, and decided to give away buttons reading “I am loved” in all of his stores. The buttons became popular across the country immediately. They were used by schools and religious groups and were sent to servicemen overseas. Foreign language and limited edition versions of the button were introduced. The buttons are still given away in Helzberg stores today with the tagline “buy her a diamond or give her a button, but in any case, tell her she’s loved”.

Red bold text on white background. 

Minnesotans enjoy talking about the weather.  The phrase "Nowhere Else But Minnesota" can often be overheard in dinners and taverns during early spring and late fall, when the weather can change drastically.  At these times of year, it can be sunny and in the sixties one day and cold and snowing the next.  Such is life in the great north woods.  This button humorously commemorates the hearty lives of 4.5 million Minnesotans and their fight for survival in the harsh and inhospitable Étoile du Nord.

Gulf logo in the center of the button, encircled by blue text on a white background.

The business that would become Gulf Oil started in 1901 with the discovery of oil at Spindletop, near Beaumont, on the Gulf Coast of Texas. A group of investors, the largest of whom was William Larimer Mellon, grandson of Thomas Mellon, founder of the Mellon Bank, promoted the development of a oil refinery at Port Arthur to refine the oil found at Spindletop and in 1907 the Gulf Oil Corporation was founded.  The company chose the color orange for their tank wagons because it wasn't being used by any other refinery company and the color was later adopted for their company logo.

The business grew steadily and archived notable commercial and technical innovations including establishing the first drive-in service station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1913 where they also sold the first commercial road maps of the US and building the world's first over water oil platform in Caddo Lake in 1911.  In 1932, Gulf Oil finished construction on their headquarters in Pittsburgh, a 44-story skyscraper known as the Gulf Building, which was the tallest building in Pittsburgh until 1970. Gulf Oil expanded worldwide until the early 1970's, acquiring privately owned chains of gas stations through which they would then sell Gulf products.  The company became substantially invested in product technology and developed many specialty products for the maritime and aviation sectors, most notably its range of greases and lubricants.

After a period of decline in the 1970s, Gulf Oil ceased to exist as an independent company in 1985 when it merged with the Standard Oil Company and rebranded as Chevron. The Gulf brand was licensed by Chevron to Cumberland Farms in 1986 which operated around 500 gas stations in 11 states with the Gulf brand.  The US rights to the Gulf Oil brand were subsequently sold by Chevron to Cumberland Farms (now operating as Gulf Oil Limited Partnership) in 2010, which is headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, and the company now distributes fuel to more than 2,000 Gulf branded gas stations across the US.

Illustration of an orca jumping from the water, with a splash, in front of a white semi-circle background. "Sea World" is written in red text below the whale. The rest of the background is blue. In small black letters, at the very bottom, the copyright date and company name is written. 

SeaWorld first opened in San Diego, CA in 1964.  It was originally planned as an underwater restaurant, but grew into a marine zoological park.  Today there are two additional locations in Orlando, FL and San Antonio, TX. SeaWorld was the subject of much public criticism when the 2013 documentary film Blackfish came out alleging animal mistreatment at the parks. Following backlash and state legislation in California, in 2016 SeaWorld announced they would stop their orca breeding program and live orca shows at the parks.

Golden cursive letters above white text on brown background.

"My Waterloo" refers to My Waterloo Days in Waterloo, Iowa which is a community-wide, annual festival organized by volunteers to showcase and celebrate Waterloo's cultural and recreational opportunities. The festival began in 1982 and it is held in June of each year.

Black and gray image of a castle in front of the number '10' written in blue, pink, red, and orange stripes.   The center of the number 0 is solid yellow, resembling a sun.  Blue text below the image with black Mickey Mouse logo inside the letter 'D' on a white background. 

The Magic Kingdom, part of  Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL, celebrated its 10 year anniversary in 1981. This anniversary was celebrated from October 1, 1981 to September 30, 1982 when the new Epcot park opened. The celebration included a special  parade, performers, and a Main Street Birthday Party show in front of Cinderella's Castle. 

Black and red image of a crown with black text and two-ringed black border on a white background. 

The Queen Mary is a historic ship and hotel in Long Beach, California. Built in Scotland in 1930 and launched from England in 1936, the Queen Mary became known as the grandest ocean liner in the world. It carried passengers across the Atlantic Ocean for 3 years but during World War II it became a troopship. Stripped of its amenities and painted gray, it became the largest and fastest troopship to sail. The Queen Mary was restored after the war, and was eventually retired in Long Beach in 1967. It is now a hotel and event venue and has three world-class restaurants on board. 

Blue, white, and orange Maytag logo below white text on blue background. 

It was made for a Maytag demonstration on Wall Street to promote its new Neptune Super Stack washer. According to a 1998 PR Newswire article, Maytag Corporation teamed up with the New York Stock Exchange for the event, where Maytag executives and repairmen invited the public to shoot stain-loaded squirt guns at white T-shirts and then loaded them into Neptune washers.  

Color illustration of a lighthouse with red text spelling "Detroit" printed vertically down the building. White beams of light with red text shine from the lighthouse. Background illustration of waves crashing against a rock and a black steamship in front of a sunset. 

Vintage city promotion button featuring a convention bureau marketing tag once given to the city: "Detroit: Where Life is Worth Living".  The image of a commercial ship transporting goods on the Great Lakes illustrated how Detroit was one of the fastest growing cities in the 1890s and early 1900s. 

Black and blue text on a white background with brown edges with a portrait of a young woman.

Chichester’s Pills, a patent medicine which were manufactured from 1881 into the 1950s, were branded as a “Relief for Ladies,” promising to alleviate “functional derangements of the female organism” – in other words, menstrual pain. Originally, the pills were called “Chichester’s Pennyroyal Pills.”  This name was later changed when the herb pennyroyal was found to be toxic, although it is unknown whether the original pills contained the herb.  Chichester’s Pills became the center of a federal campaign for truth in advertising, which culminated in the 1920 libel lawsuit, “Chichester Chemical Co. vs. The United States.” Following the lawsuit, Chichester’s changed their packaging, and the pills were presented as more of an herbal supplement than a cure-all medicine.