Andy Wegener
Mar 10, 2023
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Burma-Shave Marketing at Its Finest On Route 66
In the golden age of American road travel, particularly along the storied Route 66, a quirky phenomenon emerged, delighting travelers and changing the face of advertising forever. This was the era of Burma-Shave, a brand that ingeniously used humor and a series of roadside signs to etch its place in highway lore.
The Birth of a Roadside Sensation
Burma-Shave's journey began in the 1920s with the Burma-Vita company, a small player in the competitive world of personal grooming products. At a time when billboards were sparse and television was a distant dream, Allan Odell, armed with a creative spark and his father's shaving cream, set out to capture the imagination of the American motorist.
Clinton Odell and his father Robert liked experimenting with chemicals. One day, they concocted a liniment from oils and called it Burma-Vita. They came up with the name because one of the ingredients supposedly came from Burma and “Vita” meant “life.” It was intended as a salve for people who were sick and unfortunately, the product did not sell well.
Odell looked for something that would have wider appeal and could be used on a regular basis. From a drug wholesaler, he learned about a British product called Lloyd’s Euxesis. It was the first brushless shaving cream ever made, and Odell thought he could improve it and make a version for American men. Odell hired a local chemist to help him develop the brushless shaving cream. After extensive experimentation, they created a formula that Odell named Burma-Shave.
Odell's brainchild was a series of sequential signs, planted along highways, that told a whimsical, rhyming tale, culminating in the punchline and product name, "Burma-Shave." This novel approach turned heads, quite literally, as drivers began looking forward to these bursts of roadside entertainment.
Burma-Shave at Hackberry General Store
A Symphony of Signs
The signs themselves were a masterclass in brevity and wit. Each set consisted of five or six small, red and white signs that, when read in sequence, delivered a punchy, often humorous message. They were short poems, ditties that ranged from cheeky shaving advice to gentle reminders about safe driving.
For instance, "If hugging on highways / Is your sport / Trade in your car / For a davenport / Burma-Shave" or "She kissed the hairbrush / By mistake / She thought it was / Her husband Jake / Burma-Shave." The signs became cultural landmarks, as much a part of a road trip as the destinations themselves.
Route 66: The Perfect Stage
Route 66, the mother road stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles, offered the ideal canvas for Burma-Shave's advertising artistry. As families and adventurers traversed this iconic road, Burma-Shave signs added a layer of charm and whimsy to their journey. The signs became so popular that missing a sequence or a new set of signs became a talking point among travelers.
Beyond Laughter: Safety and Sales
While laughter was a key ingredient, the signs also served a more serious purpose. They promoted road safety in an era when highway travel was becoming increasingly common but remained perilous. Messages like "Don’t lose your head / To gain a minute / You need your head / Your brains are in it / Burma-Shave" were as much about safety as they were about sales.
The campaign was wildly successful, catapulting Burma-Shave from a struggling brand to a household name. The clever marketing strategy not only boosted sales but also ingrained the brand into American culture. Sales increased; at its peak, Burma-Shave was the second-highest-selling brushless shaving cream in the US.
Cultural Impact
A number of films and television shows set between the 1920s and 1950s have used the Burma-Shave roadside billboards to help set the scene. Examples include Bonnie and Clyde, A River Runs Through It, The World's Fastest Indian, Stand By Me, Tom and Jerry, Rat_Race_(film), M*A*S*H and the pilot episode ("Genesis") of Quantum Leap. The long-running series Hee Haw borrowed the style for program bumpers, transitioning from one show segment to the next or to commercials.
The Flintstones episode "Divided We Sail" has Barney Rubble reading messages on a series of buoys that say, "If You're Queasy riding on the wave, just open your mouth. Shout Terra Firma Shave."
The final episode of the popular television series M*A*S*H featured a series of road signs in Korea "Hawk was gone, now he's here. Dance til dawn, give a cheer. Burma-Shave".
The Sunset of an Era
However, the advent of the interstate highway system and the shift towards high-speed travel signaled a decline for the quaint Burma-Shave signs. They were not suited for the fast-paced travel of interstates, and as such, the last signs were taken down in 1963 after declining sales in the 50s, marking the end of a memorable chapter in American advertising and road trip culture. In 1963 the company was sold to Philip Morris.
Re-creations of Burma-Shave sign sets appear on Arizona State Highway 66, between Ash Fork, Arizona, and Kingman, Arizona, though they were not installed there by Burma-Shave during its original campaigns.
Legacy of Smiles and Whiskers
Today, the spirit of Burma-Shave lives on in museums, memorabilia, and the hearts of those who fondly recall the joy of reading those quirky red and white signs. The signs may have vanished, but the memories continue to evoke smiles, reminiscent of a time when a simple series of signs could add delight to the journey, making the vast and open roads a little more intimate and a lot more fun.
In the end, Burma-Shave did more than sell shaving cream; it captured the imagination of a nation on the move and became an enduring symbol of a bygone era of American road travel. As we reminisce about those clever signs dotting Route 66, we're reminded of a time when the journey was just as joyous as the destination, thanks to a little roadside wit and wisdom.
IF YOU DON'T KNOW
WHOSE SIGNS THESE ARE
YOU HAVEN'T DRIVEN
VERY FAR
Burma-Shave
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