Esso | 1959
“Esso research creates wonders from oil.” In 1959, a puppy chews on a red plastic truck held by a child's hand, under the promise of “new toys that last longer”, with bright colours that are part of the material itself.
Esso was the German arm of Standard Oil. Founded in 1890 as the Deutsch-Amerikanische Petroleum-Gesellschaft, it took the name Esso AG in 1950: the sound of the letters S and O, for Standard Oil.
The ad shows how plastics entered everyday life in the 1950s, from toys to household goods, as a symbol of modern progress.
Today the durability the ad praised is also the problem: plastic takes a very long time to break down in nature.
Text in the ad
ESSO-FORSCHUNG schafft Wunderdinge aus Öl
Neues Spielzeug, das länger hält
Spielzeug aus modernen Kunststoffen ist besonders widerstandsfähig; es behält auch mit Sicherheit seine schönen leuchtenden Farben, weil diese ein Bestandteil des Materials selbst sind. Wesentliche Elemente dieser neuen Kunststoffe werden aus Mineralöl gewonnen. – Bei vielen Dingen, die unser tägliches Leben verschönern, ist Mineralöl im Spiel. Darum bemüht sich die ESSO-FORSCHUNG unablässig, immer bessere Produkte für Sie zu entwickeln.
Esso
Translation:
ESSO RESEARCH creates wonders from oil
New toys that last longer
Toys made of modern plastics are particularly hard-wearing; they also reliably keep their lovely bright colours, because these are part of the material itself. Essential elements of these new plastics are obtained from mineral oil. – Mineral oil plays a part in many of the things that make our daily lives more beautiful. That is why ESSO RESEARCH works tirelessly to develop ever better products for you.
Esso
- Brand
- Esso
- Year
- 1959
- Decade
- 1950s
- Country
- Germany
- Medium
- Magazine
- Themes
- Technology, Childhood
- Original publication
- Revue, Nr. 31, 1. August 1959
