vintage toronto telegram ad of the day

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Vintage Ad #1,147: BP Helps Your Child Understand Nature

While this giveaway may have helped children discover nature, its lessons didn't sink in for executives at BP. My jaw dropped when I stumbled upon this ad while doing research at the Toronto Reference Library last night. In light of the disaster unleashed by BP in the Gulf of Mexico, this product seems like a sick joke.

I may have owned a copy of this album when I was a kid. It resembles one I dimly remember leafing through at my grandparents in Toronto—the cover was green, the "pictures" were stamps you licked and pressed onto the pages with care. Since I wouldn't have touched the album until a decade after today's ad appeared, my guess is either a family member stockpiled stickers for future use or BP felt an educational impulse more than once.

Source: The Toronto Telegram, October 29, 1970. - JB

Comments

Amy said…
I remember that book! However, I don't think it contained any oil-slicked pelicans. :(
11:50 AM
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