Milk Mustache Database

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Historical Precursor

Carnation “Magic Crystals” — John Eimen / Red-Jacket Boy

Release year:1959
Category:Historical precursor / milk-mustache early example
Collections:Historical Precursors
Times published:2
Type:Carnation Instant Nonfat Dry Milk advertisement
Relationship:Early example, before the campaign

Notes

A key historical precursor. The March 23, 1959 Life placement is directly tied to the surviving red-jacket ad. John Eimen separately remembered a Feb. 2, 1959 Life placement and described his Carnation ad as the earliest milk-mustache model example he knew.

Ad text

“This is the Instant that’s delicious for drinking! Carnation ‘Magic Crystals’ burst into fresh flavor nonfat milk instantly — for as little as 8¢ a quart!” Boy in a red patterned shirt holding a glass with a milk mustache; three Carnation packages at lower left. Body: Mixes Instantly! New Carnation ‘Magic Crystals’ mix instantly and completely in ice-cold water; Chocolate-flavor Instant nonfat dry milk too.

Main image

1959 Carnation red-jacket boy / John Eimen milk-mustache ad

Surviving original tear sheet explicitly tied to Life, March 23, 1959. John Eimen’s own retrospective account supplies an additional Feb. 2, 1959 Life placement lead.

source / image pagedirect image

Related ads

Related: Carnation “Magic Crystals” — Milk-Mustache BoyRelated: Carnation “Magic Crystals” — Milk-Mustache Girl

Where it was published

PublicationIssue/datePageFormatSourceNotes
LifeMar 23, 1959Full-page color print adsourceSeller explicitly identifies the surviving boy/red-jacket ad as taken from the March 23, 1959 issue of Life.
LifeFeb 2, 1959Full-page color print adsourceJohn Eimen recalled his classic Carnation Instant Milk ad appearing in Life on Feb. 2, 1959, and called it the earliest milk-mustache modeling example he knew of. The Feb. 2 issue page itself still needs capture for image-level comparison.

Additional surviving scan of this ad

Alternate surviving marketplace scan

Same John Eimen / red-haired-boy creative. Another scan of the same ad.