She's all I can think about, and I've been researching her for several days. It's high time we talk about Elsie, the Borden Cow. @elsieborden this post’s for you!
Elsie was spokescow for Borden, a dairy company that at one point was udderly massive. She debuted in 1937 as a series of ads in medical journals, but soon appeared in real life at the 1939 New York World's Fair.
Millions came to see "You'll Do, Lobelia" who had donned the stage name "Elsie" as would a select number of cows in the future. This real life Elsie was by all accounts a ham and a sweetheart.
While the real Elsie attended debutante balls and many charity appearances, her anthropomorphic cartoon persona began to appear in magazine ads starting around 1941. This is how she would be best remembered, along with her little calf Beulah and husband Elmer.
Her popularity was enormous, and I've even come across apocryphal accounts of Elsie being used as a pinup girl on nose art and servicemen's lockers during World War 2. I can see why!
Some of you may not be aware, but Elsie's husband Elmer is the bull on the bottle of Elmer's Glue! (And, by the way, the glue was made from milk, and is now synthetic; so don't go making any untoward insinuations). Isn't he handsome?
Notably, Elmer had a bit of a temper - one supposes that was normal for the 1940s. Here, luckily, Elmer was 'only' raring to shoot war-time price scalpers.
These full-text magazine ads would appear in publications such as Life or The Saturday Evening Posts, and proved to be immensely popular. Walter Oehrle (spelled often as 'Early') did the beautiful art. Elmer can't get enough cake!
When Elsie had a baby in 1947 (a little boy) a contest to name him garnered 1,000,000 entries, more than any contest up to that time. She later had twins in 1957, Larabee and Lobelia (a callback!) and the contest for naming them also set a record for entries.
Elsie helped sell more than $10,000,000 in U.S. War Bonds, was given three honorary doctorates, and held keys to over 200 cities. Along with countless other awards, she was Queen of Dairyland, and a lovely queen at that.
In the 50s, 70s, 90s and even recently, Elsie has appeared in commercials. The earliest commercials were still images, and only later did she become animated. She was voiced by Hope Emerson, a professional strongwoman and vaudeville actress.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv893KlMZFU
A commercial from the 1970s...
And recently! Why, yes, Elsie must be bilingual!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoebiSjCy1w
Elsie and family appeared in a radio show, Happy Island, in the 1940s. Ed Wynn (the voice of The Mad Hatter in Disney's Alice in Wonderland) starred in the show. Elsie herself even appeared in the 1940 film "Little Men." You can still see a real Elsie at the Texas State Fair!
Why yes, Elsie did have her own comic book series!
Complete with the sickest burn of all time.
A survey done in the 1940s showed that 98 percent of Americans recognized Elsie - more than among others, Mickey Mouse presidential candidates of the time. In 2000, Advertising Age named Elsie as one of the top 10 advertising icons of all time.
Even though the Borden name was bought out in 1995, Elsie remains a mascot on many products including milk through Dean Foods and cheese through the Dairy Farmers of America.
Full disclosure: while researching her I ran out to buy some Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk and Borden American Cheese - all I could get out here in California. The former made a dreamy pitcher of milk tea (w/ Earl Grey) and I'm still making grilled cheese with the latter!
My final two cents? Elsie was an is an icon: cool as a cucumber and smart as a whip. Oh, and I have an absolute crush on her. How could I not?
More old Elsie ads: http://gogd.tjs-labs.com/gallery-view?keyword=ELSIE*THE*COW
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