The Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design

As long as there have been products and services to sell, there has been advertising.

The medium has transformed significantly throughout the years and is an enormous part of our popular culture.

Until I reached college and began studying communications, advertisements were nothing more to me than annoyances that interrupted my TV watching or filled way too many of the pages of my favorite magazines.

But as I've learned over the years how advertising works and why it is so vital in impacting our purchasing decisions, encouraging competition, and acting as entertainment and a unifying medium in many ways, I've become fascinated and also very much more aware of the advertisements around me.

The topic of advertising can surely spark an unlimited number of conversations and questions. For example, when we're already subjected to literally thousands of advertising images every single day, when does it finally get to be too much? Are advertisers responsible for kids incessantly bugging their parents to buy them certain foods or toys? Is marketing cigarettes and alcohol wrong? Does advertising objectify women?

Finally, can we even imagine living in a world where advertising didn't exist?

Since I've become so much more interested in advertising as of late, I was very eager to visit the Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design, a museum I've passed by many times while in Milwaukee's Third Ward.

Dave and I finally paid a visit to the museum yesterday afternoon. Located at Water and Chicago St., the Eisner Museum was unveiled in 2000 by Elaine Eisner, the widow of William F. Eisner, a heavy-hitter in the Milwaukee advertising industry who died suddenly in 1990.

The museum is the only one of its kind in the United States and its mission is to honor past achievements in advertising and design, foster public awareness of the influential role of advertising in our society, and to serve as an educational resource for advertising and design students and professionals.

We walked through the glass doors and up a few stairs and were greeted with the faint sounds of radio and TV ads playing from different parts of the museum. Other than that, though, it was really quiet, and we didn't see many people inside.

We proceeded to pay our $4.50 each at the desk while the young guy behind it explained that there were a few displays in the basement, and that the majority of the art and exhibits were on this main level and up on the second level.

The space, with its spotlights and wood floors and stairs, was sleek, and the wide-open concept allowed us to see up to the second floor and through to the various rooms. On the floor were conversation bubbles filled with some of the most popular catch phrases in advertising like "Got Milk?" and "Where's the beef?"

A history of advertising since the 1940's lined the walls on the main floor, with text on the bottom telling what was happening in the country at the time and the adjoining photos showing some of the most popular ads of the time, including Rosie the Riveter in the 1940's and a Calvin Klein underwear model in the 1990's.

We hit the basement first and viewed photos and work of some prominent designers who've done ads for some of America's most well-know companies.

The main floor featured an oversized newspaper, TV, radio, and computer that all contained dials that allowed users to choose an era and then view ads from those particular years. I spent a lot of time looking at print ads from the 50's, 60's and 70's, and then we sat down and watched TV commercials from those earlier decades, too. We had a few laughs and exchanged many a sidelong glance, thinking "is this for real?"

Dave commented that TV advertisers didn't have a lot of creativity back in those days, and I responded that they didn't really have to since it was such a new medium and no one had anything to compare to. We really got a kick out of the Muriel's cigar commercial with the female cigar inviting men to smoke her sometime; and when we finally got up, I had the 1950's Pepsodent jingle in my head for at least 20 minutes. "You'll won-der where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pep-so-dent."

The radio ads didn't interest me much, and the oversized computer apparently wasn’t working. In addition, when we went into the Eisner Radio Studio and I put the headphones on, prepared to record my own commercial, we discovered that it wasn't working, either. So that was disappointing.

The main floor also featured the Trek "Designing the Ride" exhibit, which was really extensive and illustrated the process of designing a bicycle, from initial sketch all the way to final product. The amount of information was a bit overwhelming, and we only spent a few minutes in there before moving on; though I can see how the exhibit would hold great interest for design professionals.

We walked upstairs to find a huge open room with a slew of art spanning the walls. The Eisner Museum is available to rent for weddings and other parties, and I assume that this is where those events take place.

We looked more closely at some of the art and realized that it all contained some hilarious, dark humor, and since there was no sign describing it except for a small one announcing its designer, we were a bit confused about its purpose. Nonetheless, we spent more time looking at all of this than we did at anything else. Dave commented that it was like reading a long issue of The Onion.

The last exhibit we looked at was situated along another wall of the second floor and was entitled "Peace Begins Here." It was filled with advertisements promoting small ways to make the world a better place. At the end of the wall was a large notepad asking guests to record their own suggestions for peace. I of course couldn't pass that by and I made a few contributions before we headed back downstairs and out the doors.

As we walked the block to the Milwaukee Public Market, I reflected on our visit to the museum. I had been disappointed by the things that weren't functioning properly, but otherwise I found the museum to be pretty interesting.

I don't think one should go in expecting to leave feeling profoundly changed in any way; instead, I think we need to take it for what it is and appreciate it. It's an aesthetically-pleasing place to go that allows guests to reminisce, have a few laughs, and see what advertising was like years ago and how it's changed through the decades.

While it's not somewhere I could see returning unless there was a particular exhibit coming that was of great interest to me, I think it's a worthwhile venue to check out once - and for just $4.50 a person, you won't feel too guilty if you decide you just want to explore a bit and then hit the road again. 

Comments

[bluesphee]

I've seen that place a bunch of times too and never really had enough interest to check it out. Interesting to finally hear what it's like. Unfortunately, it doesn't strike me as very fun.

Check out this Folgers ad from the 50s that I posted awhile back for a laugh:

http://mirrworld.blogspot.com/2006/11/remember-good-ol-days.html

[Erin]

That is hilarious! Like that's all women had to worry about back then - whether or not they could make a good cup of coffee for their husbands. If Dave didn't like the cup of coffee I made him, I'd tell him to screw off and make his own!

And that article from Good Housekeeping has actually been on our fridge since we moved in together - reminds me every day how to be a good wife. :)

[Farrah]

I visited the Eisner when they first opened. I was an ad major at the time, so I thought it was the coolest thing. My second visit wasn't until last spring. I think it definitely helps if you have some interest in advertising. I don't know if it's quite a destination as much as it is part of a day in the Third Ward since you only need about an hour to go through it. Visit the Eisner, get food at the market, annoy a few boutique owners when you don't buy anything, and drool on the cool furnishings at Rubin's -- all that and you get some exercise and fresh air!

And thanks a lot for quoting the Pepsodent jingle -- now it's stuck in my head! My mom grew up in the 50's, and she used to sing it to me all the time when I was a little girl :o)

[Mandy]

The first story I ever wrote, in my very young journalistic life, was about an exhibit at that museum. I'm glad you checked it out.

[Derek]

I like the Eisner. Kirsten and I went there on our first date! Seems so long ago now. It was pretty cool because they had a Harley Davidson exhibit at the time.

[Dave]

That would've been way more interesting than the Trek exhibit.