Advertising in the 70s & 80s was ‘interesting’. Here’s an Acme Boots ad printed in Marvel’s Tales to Astonish Starring the Sub-Mariner, Issue #8, published in 1980.
Johnny West, the quintessential hero of the day, who of course refers to himself in the third person, saves the day by scaring off a bully and handing a kid a pair of Acme boots. The next day the kid scares the bully off himself because of some exotic power that wearing Acme boots gives you.
Although this ad is several decades old, it demonstrates that some aspects of advertising are just as significant today even though we’re now well into the digital age. Aspiration, used in abundant measure by Acme (who wouldn’t want to be a mysterious cowboy who refers to himself in the third person and hands out free boots to kids he doesn’t know!?), still thrives today in the form of sponsorships and influencer marketing.
