"Force". The wheat-malt cereal

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Artist/Maker	American Lithographic Company (printers) Benson, S. H. (advertising agent)
Place of origin	America (printed)

This is a poster advertising the breakfast cereal ‘Force’. The brand character Sunny Jim was first conceived by Minnie Maud Hanff and Dorothy Ficken for the advertising agent Earnest Elmo Calkins. Brand characters on huge billboard posters were increasingly used in the years around 1900 to promote highly competitive mass-produced goods such as soap and cereals. Sunny Jim met with immediate success, becoming a well-known household character in the USA and UK. He reached the height of his popularity in the 1930s.

Object details

Categories	Prints Eating Posters SCRAN
Object type	Poster
Title	"Force". The wheat-malt cereal (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques	Colour lithograph on paper Printing Ink Printing
Brief description	Poster advertising "Force", the wheat-malt cereal, printed by the American Litho. Co. New York, ca. 1910.
Physical description	Poster
Dimensions	Height: 2115mm Width: 1032mm
Marks and inscriptions	'3 sht. Sunny Jim Black' (Lower left) 'Printed in America' (Lower centre) 'American Litho. Co. N.Y.' (Lower right) 'Vigor and Vim of course found "Sunny Jim" when he found "Force" the wheat-MALT cereal. Ready to Serve Eaten cold.' (Centre left)
Credit line	Given by Ogilvy Benson & Mather Ltd
Subjects depicted	Nutrition Advertisements Food
Summary	This is a poster advertising the breakfast cereal ‘Force’. The brand character Sunny Jim was first conceived by Minnie Maud Hanff and Dorothy Ficken for the advertising agent Earnest Elmo Calkins. Brand characters on huge billboard posters were increasingly used in the years around 1900 to promote highly competitive mass-produced goods such as soap and cereals. Sunny Jim met with immediate success, becoming a well-known household character in the USA and UK. He reached the height of his popularity in the 1930s.
Collection	Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number	E.56-1973

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Record created	February 13, 2003
Record URL	https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O74356/force-the-wheat-malt-cereal-poster-benson-s-h/

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