In yesterday's post, we saw a single cartoon copper tray featuring a drawing by New Yorker cartoonist William Steig to promote the National Shoe Institute in 1951. So far as we know, that was his sole contribution to the advertising campaign. But it was not his final venture into the world of shoe marketing.
In 1967, Steig made at least two drawings for a print ad campaign for the Portage Shoe Company's line of Porto-Ped shoes. That year comes from paper sellers who reveal as little as possible about the magazines from which they removed their ads. Thus titles and publication dates are not included. For what it's worth, I have not found these ads in The New Yorker.
The copy reads "If everyone's walk were a little peculiar, we wouldn't have to make such good shoes." The good shoes are priced at $19.95 to $34.95 in both ads. Inflation in the ensuing decades has since driven up prices by an average of 3.98% annually, or about 900% total, putting the shoes' retail cost at $199.45 to $349.41 in today's dollars. No wonder they could afford William Steig.
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| William Steig "If everyone's walk weren't a little peculiar, we wouldn't have to make such good shoes." 1967 advertisement for Portage Porto-Ped Shoes |
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| William Steig "If everyone's walk weren't a little peculiar, we wouldn't have to make such good shoes." 1967 advertisement for Portage Porto-Ped Shoes |
Note: I would love to see other examples, if there are any to be seen, from this advertising campaign with art by William Steig.
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