Written 1-5-16
The first of the year is a fun time to revisit this idea(l). Over a hundred years ago, farmers began to find more and more opportunities to sell their fruits and vegetables to other portions of the country or the world. The simply crated them up and shipped them to increase their sales. Some began to use luscious labels on their crates to help persuade potential customers that their fruits and vegetables were truly fresh, or supreme, or worth some additional monies.
This is where my fascination begins. Before most of radio, or television, computers, internet, video games and special effects cinema, these crate labels reflected our societies’ popular evolving understanding of high ideals, golden moments, or sexy folklore.
These crate labels were all about testimonials, or analogies. A=B, B=C, A=C.
A= the fruits or vegetables;
B = the magic word, idea, or ideal that would elevate the appreciation of the products
C = the Promised Land with a new higher appreciation of the products A.
So, the constant evolution of B would include, in part, subjects such as:
NATURE – Desert Bloom, Ocean View, Pine Cone, Bountiful, Morning Glory, Wildflower
SOCIETY – Campus, College Heights, Starlet, Flying Colors, Windy City, Masterpiece, Words, News Item, News Boy, Romance, Nob Hill, Mulholland Drive, Mansion
SPORTS – Safe Hit, Maggio, Umpire, Varsity
SEX – Pinup, Naked Truth, Blushing, Hubba Hubba, Oo-La-La, Buxom, Plenty Grand, Bikini
INDUSTRY – Broadcast, Canal, Progress, Dominator, Dive, Air Flow, Airmail, Overpass
TRANSPORTATION – Covered Wagon, Schooner, Dirigible, Carrier, Airline, Flyer, Clipper, Airship, Happy Landing, Highway, Transcontinental, Rocket, Orbit
Of course, no one is making any new crate labels these days but if they did, what new words would be used to elevate fruits and vegetables? I’ve added a few below, what words would you add?
MODERN ACTION WORDS – Internet, Bluetooth, Video Games, Reality Stars, Anime, Gene Splicing, Smart Phones, Computers, Warp Speed, Anti-Aging
Bring back graphic crate labels!
I have a collection of these evolving graphics here:
Cache of Communiqués 