Sunday, July 5, 2015

1938 Snow White Jingle Club - Contest Book

The 1938 Snow White Jingle Club was one of numerous advertising campaigns dreamed up by Disney's marketing team led by Kay Kamen. It was a promotional tie-in for primarily bread companies. When consumers visited their neighborhood grocery store, they'd see a large banner (earlier post) encouraging kids to join the Snow White Jingle Club.

To become a member, they had to mail in an application postcard with the child's name, address, age, birthday, and the grocer's info. Printed on the reverse side was the name and city of the local bread company sponsor; this particular one came from Wausau, Wisconsin. Card measures 5.5" x 3.5".



This one came from Beck's Bakery in Medford, Oregon.



Another example from the Atlanta Baking Company. Black & white graphics.



In return for sending in their postcards, children would receive a Jingle Club membership button (previous post) and a 16-page book. Full-color front cover, black and white illustrations inside. Measures 5.5" x 4".




Original mailing envelopes. This next one came from Olson's Bakery in Los Angeles.




On the back cover of the book, we learn about the Snow White Jingle Contest, plus the name of the local bakery sponsor.




This is how the contest worked: Inside the book are 24 illustrations (two per page). Each is accompanied by a four-line stanza but with the last verse left blank.





When parents brought home a loaf of Snow White bread from the store, inside the package would be a paper card (3.75" x 2") with an illustration identical to one found in the book, except it was in full-color. It also had the entire four-line jingle. See these cards in the next Archive entry.

To partake in the contest, the child was required to collect all 24 cards, then on the pages provided in the back of the book, fill in the last line to each jingle. The completed "last line page" could then be taken back to the store to win a Snow White prize.

A framed picture of a Snow White character (earlier post) appears to be the main prize that participants received for completing the Jingle Contest. Yet, other items like balloons, buttons, and masks were also available for use by the sponsoring bakery or laundry company. See more examples of these promotional materials in the Kay Kamen "Advertising and Merchandising" book (upcoming Archive entry).

2 comments:

  1. I have one of these Jingle Books and a handfull of the cards - only one card is printed with the Snow White Laundry blurb on the back. Snow White Laundry was located somewhere in Philadelphia, and I believe my paternal grandfather once worked there. The "Radcliff 5700" is actually the phone number to the laundry.
    If anyone is interested, I'd like to rehome my copy of this book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Denise, Thank you for commenting. The cards are really hard to come by. Would you be willing to send some hi-rez scans of them (front and back)? I would share them on the blog with credit going to you, of course. In return, I'd be happy to do a post on our facebook page letting folks know that you have the book for sale.

      If you're interested, email me at the address found on our profile page: https://www.blogger.com/profile/04715594290214114608

      Thanks. :)

      Delete