Procter & Gamble Co., It Floats

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1917 Print Report A Problem

This black-and-white illustrated campaign, which appeared in National Geographic and elsewhere, seems to be an inspiration for today's Abercrombie & Fitch catalogs, shot by photographer Bruce Weber. The artist, J.C. Leyendecker, created the Arrow Collar Man (later Arrow Shirts), illustrated hundreds of Saturday Evening Post covers, and was considered to be gay.

Though nudity and men showering or bathing together was a common Ivory ad theme during the time period, this particular ad set in the locker room shower appears to suggest the men have wandering eyes.

Company

Procter & Gamble Co.

Brand

Ivory Soap

Industry

Personal Products

Media Outlet

Country

United States

Region

North America

Agency

unknown

AdRespect Themes

User Comments

Bruce Joffe

I'm pretty sure the illustrator is the great J.C. Leyendecker, who also created the (in)famous Arrow Man!

Robert

Leyendecker was gay, his favorite model, and his lover for most of the Arrow Shirt ads.

Michael

This is really amazing for its time. And as for the naked guy who's standing up, pardon my observation, but is that a patch of pubic hair? How times have changed since then (and back again, with A&F ads).

Phil

This is a GREAT ad. I am not so certain it is as incredible for its time as we think -- our mores have gotten stricter in some sense.
Personally, I always thought the darker patch on the guy standing up was his missing right hand. They are standing uncomfortably close together to just be showering, and drying. Does anyone have a clue who the illustrator might be?

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