Friday, December 13, 2013

4711 Eau de Cologne Advertising Art

The original Eau de Cologne (Cologne water) perfume was indeed developed in Cologne, Germany -- in 1709, as is explained here. The company associated with the early years of the product and still in existence is No. 4711 or simply 4711 Kölnisch Wasser (again, Cologne water, but auf deutsch); for more on this, read here.

Advertising 4711 for many years featured scenes of elegance that to me offer some false nostalgia for a departed time. Many of the examples I found on the Web were for pressed metal plaques similar to those found in the USA for old Coca-Cola poster art.

I make no claims for artistic merit, just thinking that you might enjoy viewing the illustrations.

Gallery
The headline proclaims it "The wonder water from Cologne."


"Always Spring fresh" where "spring" is the season, not the source.

Lady posing with the Cologne Cathedral.

An artist's model.


A product variation. This reminds me of the classic Revlon "Fire and Ice" ads of the 1950s.

And another.

"Their realm is the world" is the slogan for this Roaring Twenties scene.

1 comment:

Hels said...

Love it. The product I presume remained constant throughout the period, but the advertising changed according to whether it was Roaring Twenties, Art Deco, post-WW2 etc. The 1950s women, for example, were sooooo cool!