Mid-Century Ads

Description

Gleaned from thousands of images, this book offers the best of American print advertising in the age of the "Big Idea." From the height of American consumerism, bold and colorful campaigns paint a fascinating portrait of the 1950s and '60s, as concerns about the Cold War gave way to the carefree booze-and-cigarettes capitalism of the Mad Men era. Digitally remastered for optimum reproduction quality, the ads burst with crisp fonts and colors, as well as a sexy sense of possibility, beguiling their audience to buy everything from guns to girdles, cars to toothpaste, air travel to home appliances. At turns startling, amusing and inspiring, this panorama of midcentury marketing is at once an evocative period piece and a showcase of design innovation and advertising wit. About the series Bibliotheca Universalis - Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe!

Steven Heller has produced over 200 books on visual communication and published countless articles in international design magazines. Currently he is cofounder and cochair of the MFA Design program at the School of Visual Arts, New York. Jim Heimann is the Executive Editor for TASCHEN America. A cultural anthropologist, historian, and an avid collector, he has authored numerous titles on architecture, pop culture, and the history of Los Angeles and Hollywood, including TASCHEN's Surfing, Los Angeles. Portrait of a City, California Crazy, and the All-American Ads series.

"If you're a graphic design nerd, a marketing guru looking for a coffee table book or just a lover of pop Americana, trust us, you want this for your collection." * Huffingtonpost.com * "...an alluring time capsule of the era, showcasing colorful capitalism in all of its self-satisfied splendor." * The Boston Globe * "This bumper book offers the best of American print advertising from the 1950s and 1960s - and it's likely to appeal to fans of Mad Men." * Daily Telegraph *