Advertising images and brand packaging have altered significantly over the past century, reflecting the changing tastes and
social attitudes of British popular culture and lifestyle. Our
advertising signs provide a fascinating insight into British consumer society and
how we lived then. Choose from images of classic cars, motorbikes, scooters, Betty Boop, Pears soap, Fry’s Chocolate and many other
old fashioned classics.
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First launched in 1866, the Fry’s Chocolate Cream bar was created by
J.S. Fry and Son Ltd and was the first chocolate confectionery ever to be made on a factory scale. The famous
Fry’s 5 Boys advertisement, which you can buy as a
metal sign from Yesterday’s World, was originally produced in 1885. The 5 pictures of a boy in different states of emotion went with the advertising slogan
‘Desperation, Pacification, Expectation, Acclamation, Realisation…it’s
Fry’s.’
The picture also featured on the label of
Fry’s milk chocolate when it was launched in 1902. The
‘Five Boys Chocolate’ as it became known was eventually withdrawn in 1976.
Another traditional advertising sign synonymous with
British popular culture is the Pear’s Soap
sign, entitled ‘Pears Soap – The Bath, his Turn
Next’, a charming image depicting a young girl holding a wriggling puppy under her arm while her little brother takes his turn in the bath tub.
Pears Soap, which is still known for its traditional oval shape and translucent amber colour, was first introduced in London in 1789 by soap maker,
Andrew Pears. Over the years Pears Soap became one of the first brand name products purchased in American households.
Our museum here at Yesterday’s World in Battle, East
Sussex, has a huge collection of original packaging and
vintage metal advertising signs on display. Our
1930s Grocers display, which features hundreds of
pre-war and post-war food tins and
packaging, conjures up fond memories for many visitors. Some of the packaging of brands that you can still buy today, such as
Bird’s Custard Powder, Marmite and
Oxo Cubes have barely altered in the past seventy years. Who remembers
Sunlight Soap, Robin Starch, Oxydol and
Rinso?
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