Adams chewing gum ad, The Sphinx 1920
American University in Cairo, Rare Books and Special Collections Library. The Sphinx. RBSCL believes this item is in the public domain.
The pattern
This still is filed under Headline · visual lockup.
Define
Headline and picture are one sentence. Remove either half and the claim disappears.
Mechanism
Lockup. The line names what the image will not. The image shows what the line cannot. They are not redundant.
Verdict
We have a picture that completes a short line: wit, contrast, or a second meaning.
Why it works
A couple on the left stare up at an aeroplane drawn overhead, beside the words At the height of fame, so the joke on height ties the gum to the most modern thing in the 1920 sky. The subline good for you, and the children too answers the parent who worries about chewing gum, and the price of one piastre keeps the decision small.
The big idea
A couple gazing up at a biplane beside the words at the height of fame puns on height, so a one-piastre gum borrows the glamour of flight.
The offer
Adams Pure Chewing Gum, sold everywhere at one piastre a packet.
Lines from the ad
ADAMS PURE CHEWING GUMAT THE HEIGHT OF FAMEGOOD FOR YOU, AND THE CHILDREN TOO!Steal this when
Use it when a playful line and a topical picture can make a humble product feel current, and one reassurance can remove the parent's objection.
The emotion
Written to Amusement. It makes the Avoid mistake.
The height of fame pun rides on a biplane overhead and says nothing about the gum, so the joke would suit any brand; the product point, good for the children too, waits in the subline.
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