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Meet Mr. Product: The Art of the Advertising Character
Here in Meet Mr. Product you ll find a vibrantly colorful tribute to such pop-culture icons as the Jolly Green Giant, natty Mr. Peanut, the Michelin Man, and the countless other advertising characters who have been helping us navigate the grocery aisles and choose our products for years. Offering up a bustling gallery of over 500 spokescharacters, this chunky compendium charts the origins and development of the advertising character and gives brief glimpses into some of their most intimate secrets. (Did you know that the Michelin Man has been spotted with glamorous ladies on his arm? Or that Borden s Elsie the Cow was married to Elmer of household glue fame?) Famous faces and a host of recently rediscovered characters fill Meet Mr. Product's pages to bursting.
272 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2003
1 person is currently reading
142 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 18, 2024
Advertising characters tell us a lot about the norms/values we hold as a culture. This book is a rare glimpse into our collective cultural experience via anthropomorphism. If you are older than 55 I am you will find many lost friends here. A fun trip back to a simpler time and place when all you had to worry about was what to eat!
April 17, 2014
We are bombarded daily with advertising icons, symbols, and spokes-characters proudly pushing the latest products. This ‘in-your-face’ practice has been used since the end of the 1800s starting with advertisements for medicines. Warren Dotz and Masud Husain explore art and history of advertisement characters in, “Meet Mr. Product: The Art of the Advertisement Character”.
“Meet Mr. Product” is a full-color coffee table book which focuses on the presentation of spokes-characters in retro advertisements for various companies and products. Initially, Dotz and Husain offer a brief introduction concerning the advent and growth of print and graphic advertisements throughout the decades and the effects of media on advertisements (and vice versa). This introduction is easy-to-understand (albeit a bit detached) and allows the reader to look for particular traits in the graphic illustrations in terms of marketing. However, don’t expect an in-depth discussion, as “Meet Mr. Product” spotlights the art versus the history.
Following the introduction, Dotz and Husain present a gallery of advertisement artwork of both rare and popular spokes-characters of brands, products, and companies. This is divided into sections, including: Food, Drinks, Kids’ Stuff, Dining, Technology, Automotive, and Home & Leisure. The layout is clear and concise while the content within each section is further organized into groups of similar illustrations; allowing for comparisons amongst the photos.
Sadly, the caption for each advertisement only includes the character’s name, company, year of promotion, and the source of advertisement (I.E. medium used). “Meet Mr. Product” would have been more compelling with some text describing the illustrator/creator or advertisement agency who conceptualized the character, the reasoning behind it, etc. Basically, there is an absence of research and therefore Dotz and Husain merely display the artwork (granted, this is the intent of book but it would have been stronger with some text).
The strong suit of “Meet Mr. Product” is the whimsical and sentimental element of the brands of yesteryear and also providing chuckles in response to silly advertisements. “Meet Mr. Product” satisfies professionals in the advert field but also entertains general readers/coffee table browsers.
Lacking is a summary or wrap-up from Dotz and Husain, leaving much to be desired and instead the book ends simply with illustrations. This results in a weak conclusion to “Meet Mr. Product”.
Overall, “Meet Mr. Product” is a ‘fun’ retrospective look at advertising characters throughout the decade. Being a quick read (or, shall we say: ‘look’); “ Meet Mr. Product” is suggested for pop culture lovers and those looking for a quirky coffee table book.
“Meet Mr. Product” is a full-color coffee table book which focuses on the presentation of spokes-characters in retro advertisements for various companies and products. Initially, Dotz and Husain offer a brief introduction concerning the advent and growth of print and graphic advertisements throughout the decades and the effects of media on advertisements (and vice versa). This introduction is easy-to-understand (albeit a bit detached) and allows the reader to look for particular traits in the graphic illustrations in terms of marketing. However, don’t expect an in-depth discussion, as “Meet Mr. Product” spotlights the art versus the history.
Following the introduction, Dotz and Husain present a gallery of advertisement artwork of both rare and popular spokes-characters of brands, products, and companies. This is divided into sections, including: Food, Drinks, Kids’ Stuff, Dining, Technology, Automotive, and Home & Leisure. The layout is clear and concise while the content within each section is further organized into groups of similar illustrations; allowing for comparisons amongst the photos.
Sadly, the caption for each advertisement only includes the character’s name, company, year of promotion, and the source of advertisement (I.E. medium used). “Meet Mr. Product” would have been more compelling with some text describing the illustrator/creator or advertisement agency who conceptualized the character, the reasoning behind it, etc. Basically, there is an absence of research and therefore Dotz and Husain merely display the artwork (granted, this is the intent of book but it would have been stronger with some text).
The strong suit of “Meet Mr. Product” is the whimsical and sentimental element of the brands of yesteryear and also providing chuckles in response to silly advertisements. “Meet Mr. Product” satisfies professionals in the advert field but also entertains general readers/coffee table browsers.
Lacking is a summary or wrap-up from Dotz and Husain, leaving much to be desired and instead the book ends simply with illustrations. This results in a weak conclusion to “Meet Mr. Product”.
Overall, “Meet Mr. Product” is a ‘fun’ retrospective look at advertising characters throughout the decade. Being a quick read (or, shall we say: ‘look’); “ Meet Mr. Product” is suggested for pop culture lovers and those looking for a quirky coffee table book.
July 14, 2008
My favorite clip-art book of all time. I wish I could hang out with smiling carburetor people and dancing spoon men. Maybe I should take LSD!
April 5, 2007
You don't read this book as much as you get this book. It compiles mountains of company mascots and spokes-characters since the beginning of print advertising. The evolution of personification is an interesting one in my opinion, but I can certainly see how someone would pick this book up and think it's one-note. I've referred to this publication many times just to get my creative juices flowing.
December 22, 2011
And I bet this doesn't cover nearly all of them. A fantastic collection of famous and lesser-known characters from the world of advertising divided into dining, automotive, technology, etc. They'll put a winking eye and a smile on anything. Minor complaint: no index.
August 16, 2007
very colorful and inspiring
January 31, 2008
duh, you get this. full of classic illustration, including captain cupcake, sambo's, quisp and the frito bandito to name a few. no reading necessary.
April 5, 2008
Hundreds of great advertising characters!
June 9, 2009
This is one of the most ideal books for me. To my surprise, I had an actual model of one of the icons in my coat closet. True.
September 21, 2010
I love Mr. Product. He sells us things we didn't realize we needed.
April 17, 2011
Very cool book! Colorfully designed, chunky and packed with those wonderful little product critters and spokesmen.
November 11, 2015
to read my review, please visit: http://wp.me/P23AlC-vK
February 8, 2024
4.5 Lots of brand mascots of many different product types, mostly focused in US and 1950s-1970s. Fun to see the variety in styles and how they evolved (I wasn't aware paper masks were so prevalent back then).
I didn't like the text that occupies the 1st page of each chapter... felt like a filler and uninspired. The book's intro was better, esp. when talking about evolution of brand mascots using Michelin as an example than endured over a century (but got updated too). And how brands would trick customers into associating myths and positive attributes of their characters to their brand or product with little effort and without any real evidence to back it. That's how our ancestral minds work.
Fun to see pre-Ronald McDonald burger mascot and how Burger King changed it's appearance along these years. A European highlight... the Facit adding machines man, I still remember it from my uncle's mechanical adding machine :D
I didn't like the text that occupies the 1st page of each chapter... felt like a filler and uninspired. The book's intro was better, esp. when talking about evolution of brand mascots using Michelin as an example than endured over a century (but got updated too). And how brands would trick customers into associating myths and positive attributes of their characters to their brand or product with little effort and without any real evidence to back it. That's how our ancestral minds work.
Fun to see pre-Ronald McDonald burger mascot and how Burger King changed it's appearance along these years. A European highlight... the Facit adding machines man, I still remember it from my uncle's mechanical adding machine :D
January 2, 2024
What a fun little book full of clip art of the faces of advertising icons, some of which are still around but many just memories................Mr. Goodwrench; Michelin Tire Man; Count Chocula; Choo-Choo Charlie; Sunshine Baker....................and the list goes on and on. Some were not familiar to me but many brought back childhood days
There is a forward section which describes how advertising changed over the years and I was surprised to learn that the Quaker Oats man was the first "mascot" which captured people's attention. Companies caught on fast and soon everyone had a recognizable figure representing their product.
This is a book that you pick up periodically and scan a few pages at a time. Enjoyable!!
There is a forward section which describes how advertising changed over the years and I was surprised to learn that the Quaker Oats man was the first "mascot" which captured people's attention. Companies caught on fast and soon everyone had a recognizable figure representing their product.
This is a book that you pick up periodically and scan a few pages at a time. Enjoyable!!
June 6, 2021
Meet Mr.Product is a small softcover book I got that I found very interesting full of many characters long forgotten or some that we fondly remember. great artwork and marketing that should be brought back in these sadly very modern and loose times. Some of these characters I have fondly remember some not politically correct but that has never bothered me and I am part of the offended generation. We have alot to learn from the past, Advertising should take note of this advertising anthropology and see where it has gone wrong. Take this trip down memory lane.
January 17, 2020
The number of characters included is impressive, but I would have liked a bit more background on who made them or full examples of how they were used instead of just an image removed from context.
Overall, it's good for quick, encyclopedic review but not much good if you want to learn.
Overall, it's good for quick, encyclopedic review but not much good if you want to learn.
February 22, 2020
I agree with others that this is more of a look than a read. I was hoping to learn more about the different cartoons of advertising, like history and cultural context. It’s a well done collection of images and will keep it as a coffee table book.
September 19, 2020
Essential for anyone interested in character design. This will be a resource I use for years to come.
March 19, 2017
Quite the insight into the dark world of manipulating advertising.
June 27, 2014
So many names I never knew and many I was reminded of.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews