Poster
ca. 1903 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
This poster is a colour lithograph, made by printing from a flat surface (traditionally stone, now often a metal plate), on which the artist draws or paints the original design with a greasy substance like chalk. The surface is next prepared, moistened and inked; the greasy printing ink adheres to the design, which is then printed onto a sheet of paper. To make a colour lithograph, a separate printing surface is required for each colour.
Subjects Depicted
Humour was one of the keys to success in the early marketing campaigns for the beef extract Bovril.
Trading
The name Bovril is derived from two words: bos, Latin for 'bull' or 'ox', and vril, a fictional word for an energising juice in Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel The Coming Race (1871). Sales of Bovril were first recorded in Britain in 1886, at the Colonial and Continental Exhibition at South Kensington. But when Samuel Herbert Benson - a former employee of Bovril Ltd - took over as the firm's advertising agent in the 1890s, business started to boom. His poster strategy, with designers working in close collaboration with copywriters, made Bovril a household name. The name was so recognisable that political cartoonists sometimes adapted the poster imagery in their work; a 1929 election campaign poster for the Conservative Party featured Liberal leader David Lloyd George and Labour leader James Ramsay MacDonald with horns along with the caption 'I hear they want more - Baldwin'.
This poster is a colour lithograph, made by printing from a flat surface (traditionally stone, now often a metal plate), on which the artist draws or paints the original design with a greasy substance like chalk. The surface is next prepared, moistened and inked; the greasy printing ink adheres to the design, which is then printed onto a sheet of paper. To make a colour lithograph, a separate printing surface is required for each colour.
Subjects Depicted
Humour was one of the keys to success in the early marketing campaigns for the beef extract Bovril.
Trading
The name Bovril is derived from two words: bos, Latin for 'bull' or 'ox', and vril, a fictional word for an energising juice in Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel The Coming Race (1871). Sales of Bovril were first recorded in Britain in 1886, at the Colonial and Continental Exhibition at South Kensington. But when Samuel Herbert Benson - a former employee of Bovril Ltd - took over as the firm's advertising agent in the 1890s, business started to boom. His poster strategy, with designers working in close collaboration with copywriters, made Bovril a household name. The name was so recognisable that political cartoonists sometimes adapted the poster imagery in their work; a 1929 election campaign poster for the Conservative Party featured Liberal leader David Lloyd George and Labour leader James Ramsay MacDonald with horns along with the caption 'I hear they want more - Baldwin'.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Colour lithograph, inks on paper |
| Brief description | 'I Hear They Want More Bovril', poster, colour lithograph, issued by S.H. Benson; British, ca. 1903. |
| Physical description | Poster showing two bulls facing each other, one black and one brown, against a yellow-orange background. The text 'I hear they want more' is also in brown at the top. Bovril is prominently in blue block capitals at the bottom. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | I hear they want more / BOVRIL |
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
‘I HEAR THEY WANT MORE BOVRIL’
About 1903
Bovril was the first client of Samuel Herbert Benson, who established a pioneering advertising agency in 1893. Benson’s poster strategy, involving designers working closely with copywriters, made Bovril a household name. Humour was a key to the success of the early campaigns.
Colour lithograph, inks on paper
Issued by S.H. Benson (advertising agent), London; printed by Nathaniel Lloyd & Co., London
Given by Ogilvy Benson & Mather Ltd
Museum no. E.46-1973(12/2012) |
| Credit line | Given by Ogilvy Benson & Mather Ltd |
| Object history | Design elements of this poster were reused in the 1929 election campaign poster for the Conservative Party, in which Liberal leader David Lloyd George and Labour leader James Ramsay MacDonald are shown adopting the same position as the two oxen and sporting horns, along with the caption 'I hear they want more - Baldwin'. This poster is also in the V&A Collection. |
| Summary | Object Type This poster is a colour lithograph, made by printing from a flat surface (traditionally stone, now often a metal plate), on which the artist draws or paints the original design with a greasy substance like chalk. The surface is next prepared, moistened and inked; the greasy printing ink adheres to the design, which is then printed onto a sheet of paper. To make a colour lithograph, a separate printing surface is required for each colour. Subjects Depicted Humour was one of the keys to success in the early marketing campaigns for the beef extract Bovril. Trading The name Bovril is derived from two words: bos, Latin for 'bull' or 'ox', and vril, a fictional word for an energising juice in Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel The Coming Race (1871). Sales of Bovril were first recorded in Britain in 1886, at the Colonial and Continental Exhibition at South Kensington. But when Samuel Herbert Benson - a former employee of Bovril Ltd - took over as the firm's advertising agent in the 1890s, business started to boom. His poster strategy, with designers working in close collaboration with copywriters, made Bovril a household name. The name was so recognisable that political cartoonists sometimes adapted the poster imagery in their work; a 1929 election campaign poster for the Conservative Party featured Liberal leader David Lloyd George and Labour leader James Ramsay MacDonald with horns along with the caption 'I hear they want more - Baldwin'. |
| Associated object | |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.46-1973 |
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| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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