Ad Nauseam: Newsprint Nightmares from the ’70s and ’80s
1984 Publishing, October 5, 2021
Michael Gingold (Author), Joe Dante (Foreword)
Ballyhoo, the art of selling the public something they don’t want, has never changed—but like the devil it has assumed many disguises. In the 19th century small towns were inundated with colorful broadsides, barn-sized murals promoting the arrival of the circus or a traveling vaudeville show. The 20th century made do with the daily newspaper’s theater section—all in black and white but jam-packed with exciting possibilities. Today we have Twitter and your neighbor’s cousin’s friend on Facebook. That’s not exactly progress.
The movie advertisements of a not-too-distant yesterday were called ad mats. They permeated the entertainment sections of the dailies, crammed together side by side like post-war housing developments. They were in close competition for our undivided attention so the artwork was designed to attract—and shock—the most jaundiced soul.
1984 Publishing, October 5, 2021
Michael Gingold (Author), Joe Dante (Foreword)
Ballyhoo, the art of selling the public something they don’t want, has never changed—but like the devil it has assumed many disguises. In the 19th century small towns were inundated with colorful broadsides, barn-sized murals promoting the arrival of the circus or a traveling vaudeville show. The 20th century made do with the daily newspaper’s theater section—all in black and white but jam-packed with exciting possibilities. Today we have Twitter and your neighbor’s cousin’s friend on Facebook. That’s not exactly progress.
The movie advertisements of a not-too-distant yesterday were called ad mats. They permeated the entertainment sections of the dailies, crammed together side by side like post-war housing developments. They were in close competition for our undivided attention so the artwork was designed to attract—and shock—the most jaundiced soul.
- 10/19/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
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