The 11 Most Disturbing "Floating Head" Ads From The Mid-20 Century
You will be disturbed.
For about 20 years — late 1930s to late 1950s — disembodied living human heads ruled over American print advertising. For celebrity endorsements, it was a way to get famous faces up big in the layouts. I tried and failed to find the person or agency that started this creepy ad technique. But they most certainly deserve a place in the Advertising Hall Of Fame.
I’ve seen hundreds of these ads in the last 20 years. These are the most disturbing.
1.
On his way to becoming the 40th President, Reagan starred in”Bedtime For Bonzo”, a 1951 film where he tried to teach human morals to a chimpanzee. (If only he had stopped there.) Here he lends his head and right hand to help sell cigars.
2.
Bingo’s floating head (and floating bow tie!) “sings” for Star-Kist. Hard to sing without lungs. Exactly 60 years later a dead Crosby would be reanimated to beat box to “White Christmas” for the UK’s Argos.
3.
The HUGE fucking head of native Manhattanite Arthur Godfrey pushes TV tubes to the “ladies”.
4.
FEED YOUR HEAD, MODERN MOM. “Hard Coke” was (still is) “a grey, hard, and porous coal-based fuel with a high carbon content” (Wikipedia).
5.
The “Chase & Sanborn “Whoosh Where’s My Body, Whoosh Where’s My Body” (sing to “Whoomp There It Is”) Women, circa 1956.
6.
L—INNER cleanliness—LOL. Andrews was a, shh, laxative. “Hahahaha, I don’t have lungs so I can’t drown!” R—When he holds in his burps, they go out the bottom of his neck and his eyes go all googly.
7.
Mollé shaving cream. “Kiss my head, girls, KISS MY HEAD! (Um, could you clean off the lipstick, I don’t have hands.)”
8.
1943 GE ad pushing their appliances during wartime. Don’t worry Sweetheart, even if Hubby comes home in a body bag (heh), they’ll be plenty of other lonely GIs floating around.
9.
“Gee. No, GE” (their old tagline). GE advertises its electron microscope in 1943. The “100% healthy” girl (head) represents “a dream in the minds and hearts of mankind”. The girl donated her body to science. GE kept her perfectly preserved head (floating) in their lab for motivational purposes.
10.
FLOATING HEADSSSSSSSSSS. 1952 IBM ad featuring rows of floating enginerd heads and hands. “We only hire the best heads in science”.
11.
STAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(ad for Grey-Rock Brake Linings)
I have no doubts as to its authenticity, but I've never been able to find the original source of the "Hard Coke" image. I've read that it came from an ad in Better Homes and Gardens circa 1960, but have gone through several years of their back issues and no trace of it.