To put it into historical context, George A. Hormel was born in Buffalo, worked in the Chicago slaughter houses before settling in Austin where he started his company in 1891. By 1941, Hormel had $75 million sales. The company helped the war effort and by 1945, 65% of sales were to the U.S. federal government.
Looking at the products shown in the ad, SPAM currently has 24 varieties. Ham and chicken, as well as turkey white meat, are available in smaller tins, what I call "tuna fish" size. Chili comes in 20 varieties. There are now individual serving soup cups in five varieties. There are many additional products in the Hormel line, few rely on packaging in cans.
At this point, I was going to pronounce, with smugness, that I can't remember the last time that I bought a Hormel product. But in truth, I regularly buy the Natural Choice pepperoni to put on my home made pizzas.
This morning, after all my research yesterday, I have a Hormel banner ad, with a coupon invitation, on my National Geographic Society photo of the day.
So I invite you to contemplate how process foods and advertising have changed in 74 years.
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