We all remember the golden eld of 1977 - 1982 , when Hostess head for the hills ad for their food in laughable books : asthis exhaustive site order it , “ five years of awful super beings tossing food to maniac . ” For innovative readers , Captain America and Batman throwing Hostess Fruit Pies and Twinkie to supervillains to distract them remain the iconic use of superheroes in advertising .
But as an older contemporaries of comical book readers could enjoin you , the golden age of superhero spokesmen took spot not in the late seventies , but in the forties . Here are 10 of the weirdest advertising superheroes from the Greatest Generation .
10 . The Kooba Kid . In 1940 , Victor Fox , publisher of Fox Syndicate comics , decided that he would cash in on the washing soda pop craze ( Coke and Pepsi both being passing popular at this prison term ) by write advertising for “ Kooba Cola ” in his comedian . There was no such colon , but Fox think he could drum up interestingness , then sell the license for Kooba Cola to one of the major soft boozing companies . replete write up [ http://atocom.blogspot.com/2010/03/kooba-cola-drink-that-never-was.html ] here
9 . The Pepsi Cola Cop . In 1946 and 1947 Pepsi was falling behind Coke in the colon warfare . Coke was distributed far more widely than Pepsi , and G.I.s had pass around the taste for Coke to many more countries than Pepsi . So Pepsi put on a merchandising blitz , hoping to persist in the success it had in 1940 with its advertizing doggerel ( and eventual hit disk ) “ Nickel Nickel . ” Part of this merchandising blitz was Pepsi the Pepsi Cola Cop .
8 . Thom McAn . These day ’s men ’s casual footgear is usually sneak , a trend that lead off in the early 1980s , but for decades before that leather shoes were standard for men , and one of the most popular producers of leather shoes for Man was Thom McAn . For over 10 long time their advertizement Cuban sandwich was youthful Thom McAn , who as you may see here had some vigorous adventures .
7 . Bubbles and Yanks . Super Duper Yanks house of cards Gum did n’t outlast the 1940s , and Bubbles and Yanks only appear in 1947 , but they deserve inclusion here for the cunning role of bubble gum to facilitate save America ’s atomic secrets .
6 . Smith Brothers . I ’m not sure what disturb me more about this one : the kids alone in the cave , or the babble out logotype on the Smith Brothers box .
5 . R.C. and Quickie . As well I can reveal , Donald O’Connor never teamed up with R.C. and Quickie , but perhaps future research will prove me wrong .
4 . Volto from Mars . Volto only had a two - year runnel ( 1945 - 1946 ) but he ’s worth call up as one of the two most overtly superheroic of the advertizing superheroes . He did Grape Nuts Flakes proud with his magnetic power , and Marvel and DC could do worse than to rescue Volto from obscurity .
3 . Captain Tootsie . Tootsie Rolls ! dear chewy chocolate dainty of our childhood and of whoremonger - or - negotiant everywhere . One of the most successful of the advertizement superheroes here , Captain Tootsie appeared from 1943 to 1953 and evengot his own comic al-Qur’an .
2 . Sam Spade . The most famous screen depiction of Sam Spade is of course Humphrey Bogart , in the 1941 Maltese Falcon . But that was only the third film version , previous ones having appear in 1931 and 1936 . In 1943 and 1946 Bogart played Spade on stagecoach , and in 1946 a radio show , The Adventures of Sam Spade commence .
Much more light - hearted than Bogart ’s version , the radio Sam Spade was ironic and comedic . To support the radio show , the image of Sam Spade was sell to licensors for habit in advert . One of those licensors wasWildroot Cream Oil , which would later use Fearless Fosdick , from the comic airstrip Lil Abner , in similar advertising . Wildroot is still made today .
1 . Peter Wheat . Far and away the most successful of the advertizing heroes , Peter Wheat was produce and string by Walt Kelly , substantially known for “ Pogo . ” Kelly create the character and the cartoon strip for Peter Wheat Bread ( prepackaged bread ) and Bakers Associates , and the comic book The Adventures of Peter Wheat was sold in bakehouse and stores , which had their names printed on the cover . The Adventures of Peter Wheat , a fantasy involving a young boy , his animal acquaintance , and the distasteful creatures they vanquish , ran for eight years and 66 issues .
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