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For Immediate Release
For over 75 years tattoos have been used in advertising to promote and sell a variety of products, with companies as diverse as Pillsbury, Consolidated Papers, Castle Films, Kleenex, American Express, the Coca-Cola Company, Kohler Plumbing, General Distillers, Grace Line Cruises, and the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
The oldest example in the Archive’s collection is from the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898. This ad is for Phenol Sodique, a product that was guaranteed to stop bleeding and heal all wounds. It shows tattooed sailors on the deck of the warship Olympia having breakfast. As the battle rages in the background they smile as they drink their morning coffee because they have Phenol Sodique!
Possibly the first large American company to use tattoos in their advertising was The Coca-Cola Company featuring an Army Sergeant showing off his eagle chest piece to a tattooed Maori chief while they both enjoyed a Coke.
This exhibition begins July 1 and runs through September 30, 2008.
Tattoo Archive
618 West 4th Street
Winston Salem, NC 27101
336-722-4422Hours
Monday thru Saturday
Noon to 8pm
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