I’m fairly conversant in mid-Twentieth Century advertising and popular culture, but there’s always so much more to learn!

According to the Museum of Broadcast Communications The Flintstones started out as a Primetime show, it wasn’t considered “children’s programming” when it debuted. Even knowing that, this weirded me out:

The Flintstones sell us Winston Cigarettes.

Also on the Museum of Broadcast Communications site was this tidbit, doubly interesting in this context:

The Flintstones also launched a multi-million dollar merchandising business with hundreds of toys and novelties placed on the market. Perhaps the most enduring product developed in this ancillary line was Flintstones vitamins, also used as a sponsor for the program. Citing the difficulties children might have in distinguishing cartoon characters from the products made in their likenesses, critics attacked the practice of advertising vitamins to children, and such ads were withdrawn in 1972.

Granted, they dumped Winston as a sponsor long before the vitamins fracas, but in hindsight it just seems so quaint that marketing vitamins to kids would be threatening (not that I disagree).

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