What a Character!: Twentieth-Century American Advertising Icons

What a Character!: Twentieth-Century American Advertising Icons is a visual and historical survey of the fictional figures that sold American products throughout the twentieth century. This digital edition arrives as a PDF and is available for instant download.

The book brings together authors Warren Dotz and Jim Morton, with photography by John William Lund, to trace advertising characters from early packaging to television.

Book Overview

What a Character! explores the roles played by human, animal, and literal characters in American advertising. It follows a modified historical arrangement, grouping characters by the style or type they best illustrate and by when they first appeared. The opening chapters look at realistic human and animal figures, later chapters connect advertising design with European art movements, and the final chapters examine the rise of television advertising.

The volume is illustrated with photographs of packaging and advertising artifacts. It includes an introduction, a rarity guide, and an index.

What You’ll Discover Inside

• Early human and animal advertising characters, including the Quaker Oats Man, Aunt Jemima, Orville Redenbacher, and Colonel Sanders.
• Literal characters and the influence of European art movements on advertising design.
• Television-era personalities such as Speedy Alka-Seltzer.
• Photographs of packaging and advertising artifacts from private collections.
• A rarity guide for collectors of advertising character memorabilia.

Why This Book Matters

What a Character! documents a distinctly American commercial art form and shows how brand characters helped build consumer culture. It connects advertising design to broader art history and to the growth of television. The book remains a useful reference for collectors, designers, students, and anyone interested in twentieth-century popular culture.

Book Details

Device Compatibility

This is a digital download, so no physical item will be shipped. You can access the PDF after purchase and read it with Kindle apps, tablets, desktop reading software, and mobile readers.

The PDF format is widely supported, and no additional reader is required beyond a standard PDF application.

FAQ

When will I receive access? You get instant access after purchase. The download link is available immediately.

Is there a physical copy? No, this is a digital PDF download. Nothing will be mailed.

What devices can I use? The PDF works with Kindle apps, tablets, desktop computers, and mobile reading apps.

Download this illustrated history today and enjoy a walk through America’s advertising character collection.

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