Meet Mr. Product!

I picked these two tomes on  a whim and I'm exceedingly glad I did. The United States as a modern society is structured almost completely around the marketplace. Our economy lives and breathes on what we as a populace buy and what we buy is determined rarely by absolute need but by want and that want is guided by the devilishly delightful marketing schemes produced by the myriad ad men and women of the world. When print dominated the delivery systems colorful icons were useful to stop the eye in a sea of advertising and made the sign stand up and out in the sprawling suburban landscape. These two books showcase many of the cute little figures used to humanize the sometimes arcane aspects of modern life. Smiling faces almost always because a light-hearted tone was seen as essential. The same rules that dictated a/most exclusively happy endings in the avalanche of Hollywood offerings dictated that ads make you smile and maybe chuckle and perhaps even laugh. 

I had thought to included a host of the little characters here but then I found this link on which a goodly number are shown and that's good enough I suspect. Check it out to get a real feel for what's in these two books. The compilers have done well in designing a clean package, copious and surprising characters arrayed on pages that never seem cramped, at least to my eye. Enjoy!

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