Distinguishing one brand of gasoline from another in the public's eye is one of those challenges that fall to the marketing industry. In the 1930's, well before the interstate highway system came into being, a Shell advertising campaign contended that four miles of every five were driven in stop-and-go traffic. The best gasoline for that situation was said to be Super-Shell, specially formulated to be "motor-digestible."
Motor-digestible? With advertising copy of that caliber, it's such a thrill to see William Steig's inspiring artwork for the campaign. A 1937 black-and-white print ad, under the banner "In the good old summertime"—the same as the name of the 1902 song—has one of the most pleasant depictions of stalled motor vehicle traffic imaginable. Characters indistinguishable from those of Steig's popular "Small Fry" series in The New Yorker cross the street with the traffic light on their way to play baseball. Even the waiting motorist is delighted. Surely it's enough to persuade readers to fill up the tank with some "high energy content," "motor-digestible" gas.
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| William Steig 1937 Shell advertisement |
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