Search This Site

31 October 2011

Museum of Brands and Advertising

I recently paid another visit to Robert Opie's wonderful museum in Notting Hill.
A labyrinth of rooms are jam-packed with various ephemera showing how packaging, labelling, branding and advertising have changed over the past century. Toys, signs, foodstuffs, cosmetics, bottles... too many things to mention here.
I especially like one of the rooms towards the end that shows how some brands' packaging and logos have evolved; chronological rows perfectly illustrate the changes that have happened from a product's first outing to the present day; differing sizes and shapes of containers, altered logos and new colours and typefaces. No surprise to hear that I think today's packaging just isn't as charming as the designs from earlier decades.
Go see for yourself... and enjoy the nostalgia trip.
Old brands and advertising on London streets today:
Bovril: Brixton / Hovis: Angel / Pepsi & Coca-Cola: Fulham Broadway / Peterkin: Clapham
Gillette: Spitalfields / R.Whites & Martini: Hackney / Brymay: Fulham
Craven 'A": Camden / Haig: Denmark Hill / Nestlé: New Cross Gate / Ogden's Guinea Gold (tobacco): Homerton

1 comment:

  1. The Museum of Brands and Advertising is a fabulous place and I heartily second Jane's recommendation!

    It's well worth the walk through Notting Hill to get there...don't let the fact that it's not around other "attractions" put you off!

    ReplyDelete

Please note that comments are vetted by me personally to check for relevant content before they are published, so don't panic when your feedback isn't immediately visible.
If you write anything perceived to be an ad, spam or self promotion, your comment will be deleted and/or marked as spam/blocked.
Thanks, Jane