Aeronautics: Air Ads

If you want to insert an advertising card in a New York subway or a San Francisco surface car you must see Barron Collier. Thus far, such advertisements have not appeared in the planes of U. S. airlines. But when they do, it may some day be necessary to “see” Air Ads, Inc., which opened offices last week in Manhattan. Already Air Ads has completed negotiations with famed old Brooks Brothers, clothiers, with Poland Water and with Literary Digest to place their advertising in planes of Ludington Line (New York, Philadelphia & Washington), has several other territories under negotiation.

Enterprising founder of Air Ads is Sumner Sewall, onetime general traffic manager of Colonial Airways System (now part of American Airways, Inc.). With him is associated Clinton Elliott, whose father as president of Eastern Advertising Co. developed the rapid transit advertising field in New England. Adman Sewall is grandson of the late great Arthur Sewall, shipbuilder of Bath, Maine, and a cousin of beauteous Camilla Sewall Edge, wife of the U. S. Ambassador to France. He flew with the celebrated 95th Pursuit Squadron, was officially credited with bringing down seven enemy planes in the St. Mihiel and Argonne offensives, for which he was decorated by the U. S., French and Belgian governments. Before joining Colonial Airways in 1926 to help pioneer the first mail and passenger service in the East, he operated oil wells in Mexico, planted sugar in Cuba, banked in Spain.

In approaching the operators, Air Ads claims that the advertisements will not only bring in extra revenue, but also: 1) advertising cards, properly framed above the windows, will brighten the cabins; 2) the sight of such cards, with commonplace slogans, will help impress the passenger with the commonplaceness of air travel, relieve him of his first nervousness and his subsequent boredom.*

Taxi-Ads. In Manhattan last fortnight Adman John H. Livingston Jr. announcedthat 1,000 taxicabs will soon be equipped with a device to flash a quick-changing series of 22 floodlighted advertising cards before the passenger.

* Imperial Airways, Ltd. carry advertisements of liquor and cigarets in the plane’s bar.