Git Yer GRIT!

August 1979

Shogun Warriors #7

This is my favorite of the GRIT ads I’ve featured, since it’s actually in the form of a comic. It’s so much more colorful and entertaining than the others. Here we have the story of Chris, a prematurely gray-haired kid who doesn’t have enough money to go have fun with his friends. But then he discovers GRIT! And his whole life is made better because of it!

I noticed the artist’s signature of either “N. Rosate” or “H. Rosate” in the third panel. I looked it up, hoping to find some info about the artist, but couldn’t find anything. However, just the fact that this art made it into an ad actually published in a comic book is a huge accomplishment – I’m sure tons of hopeful comic artists never get to see their work in print at all. So, Mr. (or Ms.) Rosate, I salute you for actually living the dream and getting your work published – even if it is just in an ad!

GRIT and Bear It!

December 1983

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi #3

So this is our fourth installment of GRIT, with the previous ones being from 1963, 1972, and 1980. This one is actually pretty stripped down compared to the others, without very much text at all, and this is the first ad of theirs I’ve seen where they’ve used a cartoony character rather than a photo or realistic drawing.

Also significant on this ad’s order form – “Signature of Parent or Guardian” – this is the first time the kids are supposed to actually get their parents’ permission to sell GRIT!

Everyone Can Sell – Unlike Those Snobs at GRIT!

September 1963

X-Men #1

Well, this is it – the final ad from X-Men #1! Here’s a great opportunity for you to earn money by selling Christmas cards!

Just based on this ad, I like Wallace Brown better than GRIT – they actually encourage everyone to participate in this – not just boys! If I’d been a kid in the ’60s who wanted to earn money, this seems like a better (and somewhat more legitimate) option than a lot of the other choices out there.

 

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GRITty Persistence

September 1963

X-Men #1

We now have examples of GRIT ads from three different decades! Today’s is from the ’60s, then we’ve got this one from the ’70s and this one from the ’80s.

Wow, just look at how happy that kid is with his sack full of cash! (Is that in pennies?) In this ad the papers sell for 15¢ and you get to keep 5¢, but nine years later the papers sell for 20¢ and you only get to keep 7¢ – I guess that’s inflation for you!

I find it kind of funny that the fact that sellers need to be boys isn’t stressed as highly in this one as in the 1972 ad – maybe at this point they hadn’t even considered that girls might want to sell papers, so didn’t think it was really necessary.

Supplying the Never-Ending Need for Greeting Cards

December 1972

Jungle Action #2

Here’s yet another ad trying to tempt kids with fantastic prizes in exchange for hocking stuff to their friends and family.

The thing that strikes me the most about this is the over-contoured faces of the kids – really, artist, I think you’ve got plenty of detail there!

Classifieds – Helping You Become a Tall, Fat Accountant

December 1972

Jungle Action #2

So when I first read “Rover and men on the Moon,” I took “Rover” to be a dog’s name, and assumed that the book would be something insanely awesome and/or cheesy. Alas, I now realize that they probably mean the type of vehicle instead, which is still cool, but not nearly as odd/exciting for me.

And I’m curious to know the secret behind “BE TALLER!” – unless they’re selling platform shoes, I kind of doubt the validity of their claim.

I also like the fact that there’s a classified ad that is advertising methods for writing classified ads – it’s so meta!

True GRIT

December 1972

Jungle Action #2

GRIT has longtime been a standard in comics. We’ve already seen an example from 1980, but here’s one from eight years earlier.

In the ad from 1980, it seems like they’re begrudgingly accepting of girls (“I guess we’ll let them sell papers too if we have to…”), but here they’re 100% clear that this is a boys’ club! They make reference to the sellers’ maleness eight times! I guess girls just had to miss out on that 7¢ profit.

 

Do you enjoy reading Comic Book Ads? If so, please consider supporting me by clicking here for my Amazon link – I’ll get a percentage from everything you order! Thanks!

Can it Really Be Considered a Prize if You’re Earning It?

April 1980

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century #7

Ah, to be young – so much stuff you want, but so few options for getting the money for that stuff. Well, Olympic Sales Club is here to help! Just look at all the fabulous prizes you could earn by selling cards and gifts!

So pretty much everything on here is stuff that would appeal to kids/teenagers… except possibly the crock-pot. I mean, really, what kid would choose a crock-pot over toys or video games??

And just for the record, I had a Coleco Telstar as a kid (and still have it, in fact!) – I think getting it for a few bucks at a rummage sale is a much better deal than having to sell 19 boxes of greeting cards!

The Nitty GRITty Side of Comic Book Ads

April 1980

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century #7

Here’s something you don’t see anymore – ads trying to get kids to sell stuff. GRIT, a newspaper, was probably the most well known (and most widely advertised) of these.

I love how this one plays on kids’ disappointment over having no money – somehow I don’t think that selling a handful of newspapers to family and neighbors (who are only buying it because they feel sorry for you, because really, why would someone buy GRIT when they could just buy their own local newspaper?) is going to make a big financial impact.

And another thing – why do you have to indicate gender when signing up for this? Does is have an effect on how you sell newspapers? Do they send the girls copies of MS. GRIT to sell??

(And if you want to see another example of GRIT, check out this ad from 1972!)

This same as was also found in The Secret Society of Super-Villains #12, January 1978.

 

Do you enjoy reading Comic Book Ads? If so, please consider supporting me by clicking here for my Amazon link – I’ll get a percentage from everything you order! Thanks!