Boomer Brands: Iconic Brands that Shaped Our Childhood
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About this ebook
Saturday morning TV shows... cereals, soft drinks and snack foods...cool cars and rock ‘n’ roll...
Boomers will savor the memories with the new book, "Boomer Brands: Iconic Brands that Shaped Our Childhood."
Those Saturday morning TV shows entertained Boomer kids, but they were also vehicles for brand advertising. Chances are that’s how Boomers first got to know cereal, soft drink, and snack food brands. The “Boomer Brands” they knew and loved then, they remember to this day.
This unique book is a stroll down memory lane, reminiscing about the beloved brands Boomers first met in the 50s and 60s. Brand maven Barry Silverstein shares “Boomer Brand Cameos” of over fifty of the brands Boomers grew up with: Disney, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Good Humor, Howard Johnson, Hush Puppies, MAD, Ovaltine, Twinkies, WIFFLE Ball and many more. Most of these brands began during the Boomer era and are still around. Plus, Boomers will gain rare insight into how these iconic brands shaped their childhood and have a lasting impact on their life.
"Boomer Brands" is meant be read by Boomers, shared with Boomers, and savored for the memories!
The Buzz About "Boomer Brands"
When was the last time you had your memory tickled over a long-forgotten but prized product that shaped your childhood? You’ll find a lot of those “Oh, yeah, I remember” moments in Barry Silverstein’s wonderful wander down Memory Lane. “Try it, you’ll like it.”
-Ron Schon, Retired Advertising Agency Executive and OLLI Instructor, “The History of Advertising”
Boomer Brands is a delightful book filled with fun facts about our favorite childhood brands and memories. If you're over 50, you're sure to enjoy this nostalgic, entertaining and informative stroll down Memory Lane.
-Nancy Collamer, Career/Retirement Coach and Author, Second-Act Careers
If you remember watching Saturday morning TV while slurping down a bowl of Frosted Flakes, or perhaps begged your parents to visit Disneyland after watching Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday night, you’ll want to read Boomer Brands. This enjoyable, easy read is chock full of fun facts about what made the brands we grew up with iconic.
-Anne Holmes, “Boomer in Chief,” National Association of Baby Boomer Women
Barry Silverstein offers a fun walk down Memory Lane for boomers, describing what made some of their favorite childhood brands so treasured then and now.
-Richard Eisenberg, Managing Editor, Nextavenue.org
If you're looking for some pleasant nostalgia, a fond look at a simpler time, and a good book to curl up with for a few hours, then you've found just that in Boomer Brands. I highly recommend it.
- 5 Star Review, Keith Julius, ReadersFavorite.com
Boomer Brands is a sunny, nostalgic showcase of some of the beloved toys, foods, television shows, and consumer goods that formed such a huge part of that generation’s youthful memories. ...Boomer Brands is an informative and lighthearted peek back at the way Madison Avenue created a huge and enduring market for many iconic consumer products and social trends.
- 5 Star Review, Rachel Jagareski, Foreword Reviews
A unique, entertaining, nostalgic, and impressively informative read from first page to last, Boomer Brands is an extraordinary and very highly recommended addition to both community and academic library collections.
- Midwest Book Review
In 14 breezy but highly informative chapters, Silverstein covers various product categories that were popular during the Boomer childhood years... a delightful journey through a time that saw ‘the birth of the modern brand.’
- Publishers Weekly
Barry Silverstein
I am an author, blogger, brand historian and retired marketing professional.I have a background in advertising and marketing. I founded a direct and Internet marketing agency and ran it for twenty years, and I have over forty years of business experience.I have authored the following non-fiction books: World War Brands; Boomer Brand Winners & Losers; Boomer Brands; Let's Make Money, Honey: The Couple's Guide to Starting a Service Business - co-author (GuideWords Publishing); The Breakaway Brand - co-author (McGraw-Hill); Business-to-Business Internet Marketing (Maximum Press); Internet Marketing for Technology Companies (Maximum Press); and three books for small business managers in the Collins Best Practices series (HarperCollins). I have also written the following eGuides, all published by 123 eGuides: Branding 123 (Second Edition), B2B Marketing, Low Cost/No Cost Marketing 123, Product Launch 123, Sales Leads 123, and On Your Own 123.I have written two novels: The Doomsday Virus and Water's Edge.I publish a blog for Boomers (www.happilyrewired.com) and a blog for dog lovers (www.cmdog.com).
Read more from Barry Silverstein
Branding 123: Build a Breakthrough Brand in 3 Proven Steps - Third Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5B2B Marketing 123: A 3 Step Approach for Marketing to Businesses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBest Practices: Motivating Employees: Bringing Out the Best in Your People Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Best Practices: Managing People: Secrets to Leading for New Managers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sales Leads 123: Generating, Qualifying, and Converting Sales Leads in 3 Proven Steps Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBest Practices: Evaluating Performance: How to Appraise, Promote, and Fire Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Product Launch 123: Launch a New Product or Service in 3 Proven Steps Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Small Biz Trio: Three eGuides for Marketing Success Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorld War Brands: World War II and the Rise of the Modern American Brand Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOn Your Own 123: Launch a 1-Person Business in 3 Proven Steps Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLow Cost / No Cost Marketing 123: 3 Steps to Effective Marketing with Little or No Money Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBoomer Brand Winners & Losers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWater's Edge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Doomsday Virus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLet's Make Money, Honey: The Couple's Guide to Starting a Service Business Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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Boomer Brands - Barry Silverstein
Boomer Brands
Iconic Brands that Shaped Our Childhood
Barry Silverstein
Copyright 2019 Barry Silverstein
Published by GuideWords Publishing at Smashwords
ISBN 978-0-9965760-4-8
Cover Design by Charala
Cover illustration licensed under Creative Commons CCO 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication
All rights reserved. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Links to webpages in this book were correct as of the publication date but may have changed. The publisher takes no responsibility for accuracy of links or the material on linked pages from other sources.
No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher except in cases of fair use. Contact the publisher for permissions use. The author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this publication is correct; however, neither authors nor publisher will accept any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author.
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
The Buzz About Boomer Brands
When was the last time you had your memory tickled over a long-forgotten but prized product that shaped your childhood? You’ll find a lot of those Oh, yeah, I remember
moments in Barry Silverstein’s wonderful wander down Memory Lane. Try it, you’ll like it.
Ron Schon, Retired Advertising Agency Executive and OLLI Instructor, The History of Advertising
Boomer Brands is a delightful book filled with fun facts about our favorite childhood brands and memories. If you're over 50, you're sure to enjoy this nostalgic, entertaining and informative stroll down Memory Lane.
Nancy Collamer, Career/Retirement Coach and Author,Second-Act Careers
If you remember watching Saturday morning TV while slurping down a bowl of Frosted Flakes, or perhaps begged your parents to visit Disneyland after watching Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday night, you’ll want to read Boomer Brands. This enjoyable, easy read is chock full of fun facts about what made the brands we grew up with iconic.
Anne Holmes, Boomer in Chief,
National Association of Baby Boomer Women
Barry Silverstein offers a fun walk down Memory Lane for boomers, describing what made some of their favorite childhood brands so treasured then and now.
Richard Eisenberg, Managing Editor, https://www.nextavenue.org/
Table of Contents
Introduction: Boomer Brands and You
View Tube
Bowled Over
Soda Pop-ular
Snack Attack
Faster Foods
Playtime
The Dazzle of Disney
Lookin’ Good, Feelin’ Good
On the Road Again
Orange You Hungry?
Burgers Galore and More
Reelin’ and Rockin’
Politics and Protest
Green Scene
Ten Boomer Era Brands with Lasting Legacies
Birth of the Modern Brand
Appendix: The Boomer Era, Year by Year
Boomer Brands Index
About the Author
Introduction: Boomer Brands and You
First, a word from our sponsor…
Not a real sponsor, but a fictional one called Brand.
Brand
is a much-used, often-maligned marketing term that is revered by product companies and their agencies but, at times, reviled by consumers overwhelmed with brand choice. To put it into the simplest terms, a brand is any distinct product with a name and a set of attributes that distinguishes it from other products, particularly those that compete in the same category. As brands have matured, so too has the way in which they are marketed. Perhaps the most significant thing for you to comprehend about the brand, as a Boomer consumer, is that it can take on a personality and, just like a person or a favorite pet, a brand can be beloved. Yes, that’s right, beloved.
The key to effectively marketing a brand is not so much appealing to the rational mind as it is capturing the emotional heart. While there are always rational reasons to purchase a brand, it is the emotional connection a brand develops with a consumer that makes it irresistible. Think about a brand you really, really like – or even love – and you are likely to feel something strongly positive about it.
I’ll go out on a limb here and suggest to you that, even after all these years, you still feel an emotional connection to certain Boomer Brands
– brands that tunneled their way into your consciousness when you were a kid. You may not even think about them much anymore, but you still feel something when you hear their names today. Remarkably, many of those brands still exist today, 40, 50, or even 60 years after your childhood memories of them. That’s the power of Brand.
We now return to our regularly scheduled Introduction…
As one of the earlier Baby Boomers
(I was born in 1948), I grew up, as did most of us, watching television. It was this magic box that brought the world into our living rooms, first in black-and-white and then, more incredibly, in color. I was an avid fan of The Lone Ranger, Rin Tin Tin and Superman in black-and-white. When color TV arrived, I was enchanted by The Wonderful World of Disney. But seeing Superman’s vivid attire when that show was eventually broadcast in living color– well, that was pretty special!
While television permanently changed media consumption in our country in the 50s and 60s, it also emerged as a primary gateway for brands to be foisted upon the children of America. As kids, we were unwittingly exposed to all sorts of product pitches, some of them voiced by our favorite television stars. Those pitches that appeared on children’s TV shows were intentionally designed to influence our young minds. As just one example of the impact of the product pitch, every time mom took kids like you and me to the grocery store, we were sure to call out the names of our favorite cereals until she gave in and tossed one or more boxes into the shopping cart. In fact, it is likely that many of the packaged products that ended up on our breakfast, lunch, and dinner tables back then first appeared in television commercials.
Television shaped the way brands were marketed during the Boomer era. Behind the scenes, though, television was just an emerging advertising medium. Brand marketing was the real story. Consumer behemoth Procter & Gamble is credited with pioneering brand management
as early as the 1930s. This notion essentially focuses entire teams of brand specialists on marketing individual products.
In the 50s and 60s, the advertising industry pushed brand management to new heights, creating a raft of well-researched, well-marketed strong brands, many of which remained resilient for decades. Agencies began to target Boomers, because by the mid-60s, nearly half the population of the United States was under the age of 25. Advertising agencies embraced creativity and innovation – and sometimes irreverence and brashness. This was a new generation for brands.
Boomer Brands
largely influenced what we pressed our parents to purchase, and what we ourselves craved as kids.
Later on, of course, other things became more important; after all, as we grew up, we became the generation that eschewed commercialism, turned on, tuned in, dropped out, promoted free love, and marched for civil rights, women’s equality, and an end to the war in Vietnam.
Still, those Boomer Brands claim a cherished position in our memory banks. How can we forget the brands we grew up with? Chances are, we can’t, and we haven’t. That’s the reason I decided to write this book.
For most of us, our Boomer childhood was a simpler time of riding Schwinn bikes down our streets, watching The Ed Sullivan Show on CBS Sunday nights together with our families, and imagining Tony the Tiger sitting right next to us as we ate our Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes for breakfast. So join with me now as I take a comforting stroll down memory lane for a nostalgic look at some of the iconic brands that shaped our childhood.
How to Savor This Book
Each chapter of this book begins with a story about a product category or area of life during the Boomer childhood years, pre-dominantly the 50s and 60s. These stories are written to give some historical context to the category or area, but they are intended to be anything but boring.
Every story is followed by a section that talks about why we loved the brands in that category or area of life. Included in that section is a related list of some of the relevant Boomer era brands. You’ll be amazed at how many brands you remember. Each chapter concludes with Boomer Brand Cameos,
brief accounts of specific brands. Cameos focus on brands that have interesting or unique stories to tell. The final chapter