Our Trick is your treat

[alt text]

An image of an ad with four donuts, on tope of three donuts are Halloween figures including a scarecrow, pumpkin, and a man with a mustache. The ad includes the title ‘No trick to this treat’ and another title beneath that stating ‘Oven-fresh donuts for when the goblins come to call.’ There is a picture of a man next to the slogan ‘With Morton you’ve got it made!’ and is accompanied by a text with the title ‘WORTH 7cz.’ There is another image of donuts and floating around four corners are ‘7c’ borders. Beneath the image of the donuts there is a statement that states ‘STORE COUPON.’ 

[transcription]

#Our trick is your treat

Pretty tricky to offer Morton Sugar ‘n Spice Donuts as a trick-or-treaters’ delight. Even trickier to tie in a 7c coupon for the 31,000,000 readers of October 21 issues of LOOK. 

Well, our trick is your treat. Your eyes will light up like a jack-o-lantern when you see the extra action. One word of caution: Those out-of-stock goblins will get you if you don’t watch out. Be ready-plan now to have plenty of Morton Donuts on hand. 

##With Morton You’ve got it made!

[additional notes]

• morphing the ad to fit the context of the consumer 

• trick: a clever way to ensure that the sales of donuts rise: feeding into the consumerism tactics of this era 

• snack foods=consumerism 

• the ‘need’ to have more than the average person

• to take advantage of opportunities that wouldn’t necessarily be open continuously 

• there seems to be a recurring extent in which the ad pokes at the possibility that the consumer will not be able to partake in the ‘action’

• having a lack of action-seen as a problem 

• impending sense of others ‘winning’ against you in the food industry 

• is this necessarily true? 

• Goblins: imaginative character 

• using the Halloween holiday-event where food/sweets is a ‘necessity’

• encouraging greed?

• the ad deviates from handmade donuts towards the frozen foods surpassing such 

• artificiality works quicker than the human hand

How important were holidays during this era and did this lead to the rise in selling more fatty foods?

• the idea of togetherness and family 

• sharing a meal in order to feel a sense of love/home 

• the consideration of a ‘treat’ versus a meal 

• something to grab quickly 

• indulgence 

What is the importance of donuts in the 60s?

• symbol of affordability 

• any sweet that those in the workforce can lay hands on in conveneince stores 

• did convenience stores enocurage fatty foods as well?

• indulging in low costs

Themes: cleverness, advantage, sense of action, snacking foods, consumerism