New to the Morbious Fod collection II: Electric Boogaloo

[SODAPOPBOB]

Morb ~

Thanks a lot. That's a really cool looking bottle. Paper labels have always interested me, even though I only have a couple of them in my collection.

Regarding the funny looking Orange Crush "guy," ... is there an interesting story behind that?

Thanks again,

SPB

 

[sodapops]

Very nice "Orange Crush" display. Maybe you could bring them to the Tulsa show and show it off?[]

 

[morbious_fod]

ORIGINAL: SODAPOPBOB

Morb ~

Thanks a lot. That's a really cool looking bottle. Paper labels have always interested me, even though I only have a couple of them in my collection.

Regarding the funny looking Orange Crush "guy," ... is there an interesting story behind that?

Thanks again,

SPB

Crushy is the name and pimpin' Orange Crush is his game. The version of Crushy that I used for my display is the early version of the mascot trademarked in 1928. He would start showing up on the bottles and nearly everything else associated with the brand around that time.

In 1941 the orange crushing small headed Crushy is replaced by the big headed non orange molesting version of the mascot that would exist through the 1950's.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Morb ~

I was looking at some old signs, etc. of Mr. Crushy and found the photo below.You might have seen it before, but if not I thought you might enjoy it. It said it was from some kind of "show" (perhaps a county fair or something). The only date associated with it said it was from the 1920s. It reminded of your display, and I thought you might like to try and duplicate it for your next showing. Heaven knows you probably have everything shown here ... and then some. []

SPB

 

[morbious_fod]

Oh no it's that picture of that poor dumpy looking woman at the Orange Crush booth at what appears to be some kind of industry fair. This is also the picture that I realized that some Orange Crush bottlers were using Bob-O-Link bottles to bottle Good Grape, which may be the way it was bottled in Marion, VA. Actually some quick googling places this bottling works in Washington, DC.

What's really awesome about this picture is the way the old flashes would explode, evidenced by the weird flash that looks like picture damage.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

I'm hav'n fun here, so I hope you don't mind another photo. I wasn't going to post this one until you mentioned exploding flashes. It kind of looks like what happened with this one. But I thought it was a cool image of Mr. Crushy anyway, and worth sharing. There were a lot of these little mascot guys ... like Coca Cola's "Sprite." And I forget what they called the "Squirt Kid," but he was another one. Cool stuff.

SPB

P.S. I wasn't going to mention this either, but decided it was only appropriate to tell you that the woman in the black and white photo is my aunt. But that's okay, because my uncle thinks she's as ugly as homemade soap too. Lol []

 

[morbious_fod]

Cute. That photo is from the mid 1920's, and she looks to be at least in her thirties, how old did you say you were again? LOL! BTW the Squirt Kid is named Squirt. LOL!

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Actually, I have two aunts still with us. One is 96, and the other is 90. Born 1914 and 1920. So maybe the lady in the photo is my "great" aunt. I'm not sure. [] So with nothing more to say to keep from putting my foot in my mouth, here's a photo of your Mr. Crushy guy taking it out on some innocent oranges.

SPB

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Actually, I have two aunts still with us. One is 96 and born in 1914, and the other is 90 and born in 1920. So I guess the lovely looking lady in the photo is my "great" aunt. I think her name is Gurtrude. Anyway, I better quit while I'm ahead, and finish off with this photo of your Mr. Crushy guy taking it out on some innocent oranges. BTW; I'm 58 and born in 1952. I'm a "Howdy Doody" boy. And I know who "Nellebelle" is, and what it took to make her brakes work. Lol []

SPB

 

[morbious_fod]

Of course it was that picture of Crushy that I took my design from. With all the outrage leveled at Uncle Ben, Aunt Jamima, and the Cream O' Wheat guy, by the racial groups who feel they represent, and rightly so, an old school racist mindset in advertising. I'm amazed that Crushy is never brought up. He is clearly a racial minstrel show black face stereotype used as a mascot for Orange Crush. Maybe it has more to do with the fact that most of the time when he is portrayed on the bottles this aspect never translates, and he ends up colorless on the embossed bottles, and white on the acls, which are the more public face of Crushy. Think this early racism was only in the south folks, Orange Crush was created in Chicago, Ill., and so was Crushy.