Hokus Pokus.

I grew up in a small town in the south-eastern United States. I used to walk to the drug store to buy ยข25 candy bars, or get donuts at the donut shop across the street from my Grandparents’ house and then sit all day in the air-conditioned Paramount movie theater to watch showings of ‘The Blob’ looped over and over. On main street, there was this great neon sign that held an incredible fascination for me. It was a giant sign that read: “Hokus Pokus Liquor”. I wasn’t really sure about the liquor part, but I did know that hokus pokus was somehow related to magic! At night, the ghost on the sign danced from left to right and all the lights blinked in an entrancing show that really was magical!

Years later, I drove thru my home town and the sign was still there. Unfortunately, the lights didn’t work anymore and I’m not sure if today the sign still hangs. But what a great memory of being hypnotized as a kid by the Hokus Pokus light show, as I would ride past in the back seat of my aunt’s station wagon!
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Retro Ads.

Hey, cool ICECUBES readers, here’s a new feature I’m including for 2012! Retro ads. They often have great illustrations, funny copy and hilarious tag lines. They are so cool I thought we could feature them in the ‘Cool Pix’ section of the ‘Icebox’. If you didn’t know it already, the ‘Icebox’ is the blog section of ICECUBES. Take a look here and explore more than 120 pages of random coolness! Thanks and tell me what you think! ๐Ÿ™‚

Leroy Brown
1947
Here’s our first entry. It’s a Bendix washing machine ad from 1947 featuring a great cartoony illustration by ‘Pony’. If anyone knows who that is please share it with us. Note the machine is also available in Canada and Mexico! ๐Ÿ˜‰