After an extensive Internet search, I’ve concluded that I may be
in possession of the only extant copy of the Warner & Swasey Company’s remarkable collection of American Business Ads, published 40 years ago under the title:
“1776-1976 What has really changed?”
These 92 examples, culled from the 1000 or so ads that Warner & Swasey ran between 1940 and 1976, offer an instructive glimpse into the history of their corporate branding. More significantly perhaps, they constitute a primer of sorts on the virtues of free enterprise, honest labor, responsible management, and unabashed love of country. As I read through them again, I’m deeply impressed by what Warner & Swasey stood for.
Let me illustrate with one of my favorites:
Bold headline, evocative story, thought-provoking lesson…and it’s as much about us, as individuals and Americans, as it is about the company and its products. You probably have no use for a turret lathe with numerical control and program editor (small blurp in the lower right-hand corner), but you’re still moved by the message. “If I don’t go, I don’t get.”
In a nutshell, everything we need to know about business, economics, prosperity, and self-respect – then and now.
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Rod Schwartz's radio advertising blog 
Rod, I thoroughly love ads and/or stories, like this one, that go along with them. They are sometimes so simple but yet hold so much knowledge in those few chosen words. Thank you for posting!
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As J. Peterman on Seinfeld said to Jerry’s dad. “Morty, my stories are what sell these clothes.
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We in the modern age who make the spewing forth of copy appear to easy have much to learn from the golden age of advertising.
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Keep’em coming! There is a lot to learn from timeless ADages.
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