When I think of Walt Disney and marketing, naturally my thoughts turn to Mickey Mouse watches and all the other untold bazillions of products emblazoned with the iconic faces of Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Goofy, and the rest of the Disney cast.
But Disney was no stranger to cross-marketing, either. The company might have wanted its characters on nearly every product under the sun, but they knew where to draw the line. But if they wisely chose not to start a chain of Goofy Gas Stations that sell Mickey's Motor Oil, hey, if someone else wanted to run with that ball and give them a taste of the gate, go for it.
And so in 1938-40 the Standard Oil Company of California (which I'm now told is distinct from the company that became Esso/Exxon, but still one of the conglomerate under control of old man Rockefeller) licensed the characters to appear on their advertising and on promotional materials at their stations. Disney provided some absolutely beutiful renderings of their characters for this marketing blitz, of which we have a small taste shown above (these were run in early 1940). I don't know if we have many Disney experts following along here at Stripper's Guide, but I bet some of those knowledgeable folk can even tell us the staff artist who created these lovely images.
Oops, I should have known better. Disney being so well documented, I actually found a post about this ad campaign at the Disney History Institute website. Over there they seem pretty convinced that the Standard Oil account was serviced mostly with the artwork of Hank Porter.
Here's a film introducing the campaign to Standard dealers and employees, ending with animation adapted from previous projects (and later repurposed to sell war bonds):
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBAj7nsSZag
These ads are for Standard Oil of California, which later changed its name to Chevron Corp.; it was Standard Oil of New Jersey that became Exxon, and for years carried the pre-breakup trade name of Esso.
ReplyDeleteAh, thanks for that EOCostello, I had no idea they were two separate companies. Post edited.
ReplyDelete