Advertising Facts

In 1984, a Canadian farmer named Murray Chicken began renting ad space on his cows, pioneering a bizarre form of outdoor advertising.

The first banner advertising was used in 1994.

For beer commercials, they add liquid detergent to the beer to make it foam more.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was invented for Montgomery Ward's Christmas promotion in 1939.

There are only 14 blimps in the world.

The typical image we have of Santa Claus dressed in red clothes with white fur trim, is an amalgamation of cultural input over many years. Some people claim the image of Santa we know today is from Coca-cola advertising, but this simply isn't true. The st

The first Ronald McDonald was Willard Scott in 1963.

U-Haul is the world's largest advertiser in the Yellow Pages.

Dunkin' Donuts rigged buses across Seoul with hidden scent atomizers. Every time the Dunkin' jingle played on the radio, the bus filled with the smell of fresh coffee, and print ads waited for riders at the stop. Visits to Dunkin' Donuts grew 16%. Sales at outlets near those bus stops jumped 29%.

In the mid-90’s, Coca Cola recalled an advertising poster due to a hidden sexual image.

As part of an advertising campaign, Molson, a Canadian beer company, strategically placed 'beer fridges' around Europe that only Canadian passports could unlock.

It costs around 2.75 million dollars to make an episode of The Walking Dead, and it pulls in 11 million in commercial revenues for a profit of 8 million an episode

Pepsi ran a commercial showing a Harrier jet for 7 million Pepsi Points. A business student named John Leonard did the math, raised $700,000, and mailed Pepsi a check demanding the jet. Pepsi said no. He sued. A judge ruled "no objective person could reasonably have concluded" the offer was real. Pepsi re-aired the ad with the price changed to 700 million points and a "Just Kidding" disclaimer.

Pharrell Williams was fired from three different McDonald's locations. His reason: "I was eating the chicken nuggets." Years later, McDonald's hired him to produce "I'm Lovin' It" — the most successful fast food jingle in history.

UC Davis engineer David Phillips spotted a Healthy Choice promotion offering airline miles for pudding barcodes. He bought 12,150 cups for $3,140, earned 1.25 million frequent flyer miles, donated all the pudding to the Salvation Army, and claimed an $815 tax deduction. Adam Sandler's Punch-Drunk Love was based on him.

In 1936, Carl Mayer talked his uncle Oscar into a giant hot dog on wheels. A Chicago shop called General Body Company made it real. It was 13 feet long and cruised Chicago advertising Oscar Mayer wieners. Ninety years later, six Wienermobiles still roam the country year-round. Two recent college grads called Hotdoggers drive each one. Spotting one on the highway is still a family event.