As I've mentioned in past bLog-oMotives entries, I am a collector of a variety of items - enamel advertising signs, cowboy memorabilia, salt and pepper shakers, cookie jars, character teapots and more. However, my primary habit (requiring a regular fix on a semi-regular basis) is the collecting of advertising character figures. Over 200 of the ad icons have found a home in my design studio.
Being interested in the history of the imaginary advertising "spokes models," I often find myself doing a bit of online research for background information on various ad characters - or for characters I might ad to my collection.
I recently came across the website for the Advertising Icon Museum. The facility is set to open in Kansas City in the fall of 2008. The museum, founded by Robert Bernstein, is now under construction as part of the West Edge development on the west side of the city's fashionable Country Club Plaza district. The interior of the museum is being designed by Abbott Miller of Pentagram. Thousands of ad icon character items will remain on permanent display in the unique environment. Various temporary exhibits will be offered throughout the year as well as a complete range of educational programs, conferences and events.
The Advertising Icon Museum web presence has been coming together in recent months. More information can be found on the FAQ page. There's a fun, interactive, exhibit gallery page providing great information when clicking on character images. Links pages are provided to some of the enshrined icons.
The museum will also become the the permanent home of Advertising Week's Madison Avenue Walk of Fame, with plaques added for new honorees voted in by the public each year. (In fact, you may currently vote for your favorite, through September 24th, on the official voting webpage).
I'm sure that my ad character collection members (about 100 are shown above), who I refer to as my real imaginary friends, are thrilled that so many of their peers will find a permanent home in the new museum. I look forward to visiting the facility after it opens next year.
© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
1 comment:
That's cool! I'd love to see that place. I'm sure that as I went through, you'd hear the refrain "Oooh, I had that!" uttered from my direction many times. I'm sure if I kept all of them from childhood, it would have pushed Mrs. Dave over the edge. ;-) Let us know when you're going, maybe we can see ya there.
Dave
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