Advertisement Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Get Tiger Power!

Posted on Wednesday, January 18th, 2023 by John Wood

Another great exerciser gizmo ad from out of the back of a comic book, circa, 1943. I mean who wouldn’t want to save up their paper route money to get some Tiger Power?

Mighty Muscles!

Posted on Thursday, November 17th, 2022 by John Wood

Gotta love those old muscle building course ads from the back of the comic books. Who wouldn’t want to send in their paper route money for the secrets to big muscles? By the way, the course that you would have received if you had done so is posted in The Iron League.

The Bullworker!

Posted on Friday, June 11th, 2021 by John Wood

Here’s a rather impressive Bullworker advertisement from a South African magazine from 1976. Although the Bullworker literally came out of the back of a comic book, it was one strength gizmo that lived up to the hype. They were also surprisingly well made, you can still find Bullworkers made forty or fifty years ago that are still just as stout.

Cafe Des Indes

Posted on Tuesday, June 8th, 2021 by John Wood

Images of strength have been used for marketing purposes for years. Here’s a French advertisement for Indian Coffee that dates to 1901. This strong fellow — evidently named Mr. Lefort — is hefting a globe dumbbell and some French blockweights. Needless to say, their coffee was similarly STRONG. Beware of imitators!

1932 Jowett Arm Course Advertisement

Posted on Tuesday, June 8th, 2021 by John Wood

Check out this excellent 1932 advertisement for the George F. Jowett ‘Molding a Mighty Arm’ course — which was excellent. Fortunately, even many decades later, you can still gain from George F. Jowett’s training methods. We will soon also have Jowett’s Strongman Library booklets available as Online Courses.

Farmer Burns School of Wrestling Advertisement

Posted on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021 by John Wood

Farmer Burns established his school of wrestling in Omaha, Nebraska in 1911 but for those who could not make the trip and study in person, he also had his mail-order training course. (Which, by the way, we are in the process of posting The Iron League.) This outstanding advertisement for Farmer Burns’ School is from 1924. By the way, when actor in inflation, $15 in 1924 equals over $229 in today’s money so an Iron League membership is a steal.

Get Bursting Strength Fast!

Posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2021 by John Wood

Get Bursting strength Fast! — How about this awesome advertisement for a big batch of strength “stuff” from out of the back of a 1947 comic book? I mean, if you were a young lad interested in strength training, how could you turn the page without so much as considering cracking open your piggy bank? Quite interestingly, similar equipment is still being sold today for big bucks. Of course if you are in the marketing game, this ad copy contain many secrets of success, but only if you are paying close attention.

Big Muscles Quick!

Posted on Thursday, May 30th, 2019 by John Wood

Gotta love those great old ads. If you saved up your paper route money, you could send away for this 12-in-1 Muscle Building outfit which contained a wall exerciser, high tension hand grips, head strap, cable set, foot attachment, a jump rope, rowing machine, wall charts, jui-jitsu course, and some other educational material. Though perhaps crude by today’s standards, such a rig certainly provided a large number of training options.

Joe Bonomo’s Comic Advertisement

Posted on Thursday, January 10th, 2019 by John Wood

Most people remember the Charles Atlas “Insult That Made a Man out of Mac” comic ad from the back of thousands of comic books — and it is indeed one of the best and most effective advertisements of all time. However, Atlas was not the first or the only strongman to use comic advertisements. Here we have a Joe Bonomo ad, circa 1943 and if the possibility of getting your hands on the Vibro-Pressure, Tonic Relaxation, Psycho-Power, Rhythmic Progression course isn’t enough to get you to part with your paper route money, I don’t know what would.

Nautilus Bulletin No. 1 Iron Man Ad

Posted on Friday, December 28th, 2018 by John Wood

Thought you might like to see this — an advertisement for Nautilus Bulletin No. 1 from the pages of the May, 1972 issue of Iron Man Magazine. If the ad looks interesting, imagine reading the whole book… You can get your hands on all three Nautilus Bulletins on Kindle at this link or as a member of The Iron League.