Sunday 22 July 2007

Marilyn Monroe


Today’s treat is a trip down the road of celebrity endorsement in the glamorous company of twentieth century icon, Marilyn Monroe. Avoiding the inducements of the tobacco industry, Monroe gave her blessing to the rather more innocuous products of Westmore Hollywood Cosmetics. Dating from 1952 and 1954, the ads are tied in to forthcoming films, “Niagara” and “River of No Return”. These are among the earlier appearances of an image that would in the future become one of the most widely appropriated in human history. In design terms they are undistinguished but they mark the transition in representation from cheerful curvaceous blonde in 1952 to amorous temptress with parted lips two years later. To explore the world of celebrity endorsement in more detail there’s no better place than the Visual Telling of Stories where Chris Mullen presides over an abundance of extraordinary imagery.

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