Now I bring you some actual advertisements for companies and/or products new and old! All of these have something to do with ancient Greece or Rome whether it be an artifact, a mythological character, or just something involving their culture. While depicting ancient heritage, they are also promoting a modern product or company.
Ovaltine: The Roman Years - 1934
This is an old ad that I found, promoting Ovaltine hot chocolate mix. I actually wasn't even aware that Ovaltine has been around that long so I learned something new in the process! Ovaltine had made many different advertisements over the year with different themes like this. This one is based on "The Roman Years". It has a battle scene of sorts in the picture above the brand name where there is a roman warrior riding a chariot towards the viewer. I'm not totally sure what this has to do with the product but it goes to show how people use Roman inspiration for their ads.
Spartan Aircraft - 1936
Spartan Aircraft must of been the name of just a small private airplane company I assume, due to the size of the plane in their ad. Not only was the name named after the Spartans, but they have a small logo at the bottom right that is of a battle helmet. It is a very simple ad and to the point.
Centaur Cologne -1967
I came across this ad on google images and thought that it was just hilarious. I have never heard of this cologne in my life but apparently it existed at one time and this was the ad used for it. There is a scene of a Greek man and woman in their stylish togas relaxing. The woman must be in lust over the scent of the Centaur cologne because she is giving him what looks to be a nice back massage. This is an example of how people today depict/depicted how the ancient Greeks dressed and acted in their time. We don't exactly know if this is the way they did things but this is how we assume it to be due to pictures like this.
Absolut Vodka - 1985-90
The all knowing Absolust Vodka ads! I'm sure all of you have seen an ad like this one at one time or another where the vodka bottle is depicted as image of something other than the bottle itself. This one was so clever to me and was perfect for my topic, so I had to include it. It is the bottle depicted by a column of presumably the Parthenon or really just any ancient building in Athens with columns.
Disney's Hercules - 1997
This sort of goes along with my movie post as well, but it is a good example of how ancient mythological heroes and creatures have been drawn out to children. This movie came out when I was 7 years old so I grew up learning who Hercules was in a "Disney sense". It wasn't bad because it educated children and helped them learn about mythology in a fun simplified way. I personally love this movie, it is one of my all time favorite Disney classics.
This sort of goes along with my movie post as well, but it is a good example of how ancient mythological heroes and creatures have been drawn out to children. This movie came out when I was 7 years old so I grew up learning who Hercules was in a "Disney sense". It wasn't bad because it educated children and helped them learn about mythology in a fun simplified way. I personally love this movie, it is one of my all time favorite Disney classics.
Pepsi - 2005
Pepsi came out with a commercial in about 2005 including the artists Pink, Brittany Spears, Beyonce and Enrique Englesias, which showed what an amphitheater may have looked like in ancient times. By the way that the crowd is dressed and the very little battle clothing the women have on, it looks like it was supposed to be in Rome in the Colosseum, echoing what the inside area would have looked like back then. They even include a tiger entering the battle area at the end which is true to the fact that there were men vs animal battles.
Pepsi came out with a commercial in about 2005 including the artists Pink, Brittany Spears, Beyonce and Enrique Englesias, which showed what an amphitheater may have looked like in ancient times. By the way that the crowd is dressed and the very little battle clothing the women have on, it looks like it was supposed to be in Rome in the Colosseum, echoing what the inside area would have looked like back then. They even include a tiger entering the battle area at the end which is true to the fact that there were men vs animal battles.
Pizza Planet - 2010-11
This is an ad that I came across that is for a pizza company called Pizza Planet. There is not much to it except that have of the man is dressed in a Roman battle outfit. This is because on of their pizza types is called the Roman and so they must of wanted to push the Roman aspect with a humorous visual.
This is an ad that I came across that is for a pizza company called Pizza Planet. There is not much to it except that have of the man is dressed in a Roman battle outfit. This is because on of their pizza types is called the Roman and so they must of wanted to push the Roman aspect with a humorous visual.
FIFA 2010 World Cup - 2010
This ad depicts the national Geek soccer team in an ancient ship as Theofanis Gekas (a payer) is the winged man leading the way. Even the coach in the back left is wearing a toga over his nice suit which really emphasizes the ancient aspect. I think its very funny because there were so many sculptures and artifacts that had a winged figure representing someone great which in this case would be the leading player.
Overall, all of these ads have a little bit of fact, a little bit of myth and a little bit of humor. Each one does have something that relates to ancient Greek or Roman history in one way or another but its very modernized as I mentioned before. I enjoyed finding these ads and I'm positive that there are many more on this subject that I haven't been able to find but I hope you enjoyed these!
This ad depicts the national Geek soccer team in an ancient ship as Theofanis Gekas (a payer) is the winged man leading the way. Even the coach in the back left is wearing a toga over his nice suit which really emphasizes the ancient aspect. I think its very funny because there were so many sculptures and artifacts that had a winged figure representing someone great which in this case would be the leading player.
Overall, all of these ads have a little bit of fact, a little bit of myth and a little bit of humor. Each one does have something that relates to ancient Greek or Roman history in one way or another but its very modernized as I mentioned before. I enjoyed finding these ads and I'm positive that there are many more on this subject that I haven't been able to find but I hope you enjoyed these!
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