Playful mural takes spelling liberties with a number of familiar brands
London's Museum of Brands is a great walk down memory lane, past labels and names and products that call up memories from long ago (and from short ago, too), but it's also a neatly-packed social history of the past century and a half, reflecting changes in how people have lived.
Some still-familiar brands have been around almost since the beginning...
Not all people, of course. It's heavy on British brands, although many will also be familiar to Americans. And, I'll admit that as a senior citizen I've seen more brands of more products than most people fifty years younger—but all the younger people I saw and heard seemed to be having a good time, too.
Yes, the Colman's of the corn flour is the same Colman's who are still putting on the mustard...
The museum, now in a permanent home in Notting Hill, developed from the collections of Robert Opie, whose quest to "understand how life in Britain has developed and changed over time" led him to start, at age 16, keeping the packaging that would otherwise be tossed. Ultimately, he became what he called a "supermarket archaeologist."
From Victoria to Charles III, and with Georges and Edwards between, the Royal Family is a recognizable brand, too. Packaging changes made the box part of the brand for many products, including chocolate, which became a gift item.
In the end, his collection grew to over 500,000 items and was the basis for a number of exhibitions including at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Some American icons became familiar to Britons as well, although it took the mouse longer to arrive than the dog and the Brownie. GeorgeG recognized the Victor dog as our One-Clue Mystery this week.
Branding is an interesting way of looking at social history, the story of ordinary life and its changes, because it mirrors other changes. Before the 19th century, most products were locally made and sold, or were 'commodities,'—crackers, not Ritz Crackers, as it were.
Cleaning-product packaging changes, but the category has always been big, and has many representatives in the display of UK 100 top grocery brands
But the industrial revolution meant mass production, improved shipping and the invention of railroads meant more widespread distribution, and the need to make one's product more recognizable or desirable than another's. All that, and the development of mass media, also made it possible to advertise and focus products on particular audiences.
World War I brought a variety of games and products (above) aimed at developing patriotism as well as saving important materials. Below, similar materials from the second World War—and an ad for a wartime substitute.
The exhibits reflect technology changes, too: The phonograph came first, but radio and later television made bigger changes in everyday life, reflected in brands and ads.
As seen in the top picture above, by the early 1930s, 'radio' had not only reached most households, it had become a brand name for dozens of products. Later, new appliances and new food technologies had their say.
Often, from the advertising art, both on packages and in media, we can see changes in the roles and ideas of men and women, of class aspirations, even of attitudes toward other countries and cultures, especially during times of war.
Branding in travel came fairly early in the Victorian era with the first appearance of a name that's still familiar today. Some of the best advertising art has been posters 'branding' vacation destinations.
Above, and below, a selection from the as-ever too many pictures I made. I've only loosely followed the museum's 'Time Tunnel' format, which moves decade by decade from the beginning of the Victorian era.
The Museum of Brands was the most intriguing new discovery for me on my most recent visit to London; it's high on my recommendation list for anyone.
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