32 • MAY 2026 • PPAI A decorative plate featuring the many similarities between Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy (courtesy of Bankers Advertising). printing became cheaper, political expression became fashionable with students able to create whatever designs they wanted in the comfort of their garages. • During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Information Agency asked PPAI for “civil action gifts” to distribute in remote agricultural areas of the Southeast Asian country. The Agency believed gifts such as pencils, sewing kits and vegetable slicers could bolster morale in villages under attack by the Vietcong. Following the Vietnam War, President Gerald Ford was trying to get prices and wages under control. In announcing his anti-inflation campaign, Ford badged his lapel with a “WIN” button, an acronym for “Whip Inflation Now.” Within a month, Adcraft Manufacturing alone sold 5 million WIN buttons. Celebrating Americana As the ’60s came to a close, patriotic merch was inspired by another shining moment: American astronaut Neil Armstrong becoming the first person to walk on the moon. Kaeser & Blair capitalized on the moon landing to market its “space age” advertising specialty package. “Technology has certainly increased since 1969, and that remains an important focus at Kaeser & Blair,” Kaeser says. Bill Bywater, chairman emeritus of Bankers Advertising – a 130-year-old distributor in Iowa City, Iowa – remembers the anticipation of the historic event. “We had a salesman in Wapakoneta, Ohio, which was the hometown of Neil Armstrong,” says Bywater, who has been with Bankers for more than 60 years. “The city commissioned us to do a plate with a very nice design of Armstrong. It was so exciting. I took my family and we went to a resort in Missouri to make sure we could watch it because the landing was scheduled to take place in the middle of the night.” The nation threw its biggest celebration to date just seven years later, with the U.S. Bicentennial marking a massive surge in patriotic merch. Red, white and blue apparel was all the rage, and companies incorporated traditional American symbols into their branding strategies, offering planners, calendars, glassware and even custom vinyl products. “Probably the most significant thing I remember in this business was the bicentennial,” says Bywater, a PPAI Hall of Famer. “The McCleery-Cumming Company, which was known as the Washington line right here in Washington, Iowa, came out with a bicentennial calendar with custom art depicting the founding of our country and it sold very, very well.” Congress established the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration that would, among other things, establish an official emblem to promote the occasion. Because ARBA was picky about who could obtain a license, PPAI petitioned for allowing anyone to use the seal instead of restricting it to a chosen few. Although ARBA eventually relented and authorized licenses for commercial purposes, the Association wasn’t taking any chances – it had its own U.S. Bicentennial logo designed. A Bicentennial Information Resource Kit, containing the reproducible logo, directory of services and Kaeser & Blair ad from 1969. Armstrong Plate As the ’60s came to a close, patriotic merch was inspired by another shining moment: American astronaut Neil Armstrong becoming the first person to walk on the moon Must Read | America Was Branded From The Start
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