I am looking for a Johnson and Johnson magazine ad that was printed
sometime during 1930-31. I believe it to be in a Ladie's Home Journal
Magazine.

The ad is for baby powder, and there is a picture with a baby that
might have a bottle with a huge nipple. I believe that only one baby
has a diaper on in the picture, and the picture was likely taken on a
sandy shoreline. The photo is black and white, and was also used as a
Johnson and Johnson commercial. Sorry for all the "mights" but I am
not 100% sure.

I need to know what magazine, title, year, month, etc is this ad in.

Also if you can tell me where I can purchase the ad or the magazine
that the ad is in, I would be very grateful (and a tip to show!)

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Request for Question Clarification by darrel-ga on 30 May 2003 17:29 PDT

Hello dpb--

Do you happen to know what the brand of baby powder was in this advertisement?

Thank you,

darrel-ga

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Clarification of Question by dpb-ga on 31 May 2003 10:09 PDT

This is a Johnson and Johnson Baby Powder Ad.

Thank you for taking a look for this!

DPB -

I think that the Johnson's Baby Powder ad you're seeking was in the
October, 1930 Ladies' Home Journal on p. 101.  Pictured are a baby
between 2 pillows, with a bottle and the largest nipple that I've ever
seen on a nursing bottle!  Though it's hard to tell if it was shot at
the seashore, it clearly was shot in bright sunshine because of the
shadows around the baby's eyes.  The ad is black-and-white.

The title to the ad is: "Just before the bottle, Mother!"  (There's a
free sample offer at the bottom of the ad for powder, soap and cream.)

The search strategy for this hunt was to go to the Everett, WA Public
Library, which has a generally excellent archive of old popular
publications.  There are some dates missing from 1930 and 1931 - and
several pages of J & J ads are missing too.  But I did take down a
complete list of Baby Powder ads for that period (Johnson & Johnson
also advertised Modess pads, Red Cross cotton, Lysol,  adhesive
plasters and bandages in that period).

Your baby was almost certainly in the 1930 ads because the entire 1931
series of ads (there were at least 6) all had TWO babies in them.

I'll list the 1930 ads from Ladies' Home Journal:
FEBRUARY: baby on undetermined background; no props.  Title: "What
every young baby should know."
MARCH: page missing from archive copy
APRIL: page missing from archive copy
MAY: page missing from archive copy
JUNE: baby on flowered sheets.  Title" "Ladies and babies -- take my
advice!"
JULY: no magazine
AUGUST: baby on same flowered sheets as June with toy.  Title: "You've
made a better baby of me!"
SEPTEMBER: no magazine available
NOVEMBER: no ad for baby powder
DECEMBER: no ad for baby powder

I've taken a photocopy of the half-page ad but am hesitant to post a
picture of it online due to copyright issues.  I'll query the Google
Answers editors to see if there's a convenient way to get a fax or
mail copy to you.

If not, I'd suggest finding an area library with archived Ladies' Home
Journals.  Usually a major library will have them; often university
libraries have them available.  A call to the reference librarians
will be helpful in tracking them down.

Google search strategy:
drive to library.  Use the bound volumes of LHJ.

Of course researchers are always curious why people are seeking old
articles like these. . .

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

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Clarification of Answer by omnivorous-ga on 17 Jun 2003 14:31 PDT

DPB --

The editors have given me permission to post this scan of a photocopy
of the ad here:
http://www.mooneyevents.com/images/jj1.jpg

Please note the following:
*  this is a scan of a photocopy, so loses some crispness in the copy
*  it also gains some information in the form of bleed-through from
the headlines on the reverse page
*  this picture will stay posted for only about a week, so please grab
a copy if it's the advertisement you're seeking

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

Sorry for the delay, I was waiting for my client to tell me if this is
the correct ad AND IT IS!!!

This is actually my client's grandfather and she has been looking for
this ad for years and I have been trying to help her for the past few
months.

Thank you for your great searching!

DPB --

It seemed to match but there were so many missing from the 1930 series
of ads in the local magazine archive that I was worried.

I don't know how readily available those old Ladies Home Journals are
from collectors but it would make a stunning gift.

Thank you for the kind rating and the extra sum!  

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA