Awesome Ads

Remember when everything you bought was labeled Made In America?

“Awesome Ads” app is a celebration of American-made products as seen through the pages of magazine advertisements from 1916 to 1972. View a collection of over 1800 pages of full-page ads for toys, furniture, shoes, television, radio, cameras, food, movies, beer, soda, celebrity endorsements and much more.

Travel back in time to the shopping mall of the past and see the ads for these modern products.

Ron MacInnes

Zeromiles

My passion for automobiles began while riding in the back seat of my parent’s 1950 Plymouth station wagon on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

It didn’t have a radio and no one was allowed to talk, so I spent those hours looking at passing cars and reading magazines. I used to save the ads for new cars, until the U.S. Army sent me a “Draft Notice”. By the time I got out of the service, many of the large scale weekly magazines were out of business and my new car ad collecting days had ended.

A renewed interest in antique, classic, and muscle cars has developed over the past decade thanks to live auctions on TV and car shows all across America. It’s hard to see the difference between a 2005 Honda and a 2010 Toyota, but between a 1956 and 1957 Chevy, the difference is obvious to today’s car enthusiast.

Several years ago I bought several hundred magazines in boxes and my fascination with old cars came back again. Since then I found old issues in garage sales, flea markets, antique stores, swap meets, and the internet.

When the IPad was released in 2010 I saw this as the perfect device to display these ads. Options like chrome bumpers, suicide doors, running boards, and 2-tone paint jobs are distant memories, but this collection of advertisements has brought them back to life. Graphic artists who used pen and ink to create these images have again found a place to display their talents.

Go back to the Roaring 20’s, the Great Depression, WW II, the tri-years, Space Race, muscle cars, oil embargo, and get a different view of America.

Enjoy the ride!!

Ron Maclnnes