Bet ya can’t guess what this smiling bride and groom are advertising. This charming pair could be used to sell just about anything, and it would get our attention. The illustration represents the iconic mid-century look used by advertisers to sell their products.
I find it interesting to see how the look changed throughout the decade of the 1950’s. In gathering images for this month’s “28 Days of Love” theme, I observed that the illustrations were simpler in the first part of the decade. They became less-kitschy as the 1960’s approached. This one was from May 1956.
The ideal man/woman look almost always had a blonde woman and dark-haired man. Big eyes, long eyelashes, and bright white teeth completed the look.
In this case, the attractive couple seen here was used to sell cosmetics from the Gillette Company. The ad was for a line of lipstick called Viv.
… and from this day forward, ever-lovin Viv – The lipstick that stays married to your lips
Viv Regular – $1.10 or Viv 24 hour soft touch $1.25
It is unusual to see the illustrator’s signature in ads. I have not been able to figure out the name in the signature, so I can’t site the talented illustrator. If you can identify the illustrator, please let me know.
The ad came from the May 1956 edition of Charm magazine. Charm’s tagline was “The magazine for women who work”. The magazine was delightful to flip through. I use a lot of images from this magazine for my midcenturypage.com posts. I’m guessing that the magazine’s reader base was a single, fashionable woman who had a bit of extra income. It is likely no coincidence that the advertiser used a wedding image for this May issue.
Here’s the cover and table of contents for the magazine.
Mid-Century Page 
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