Nostalgic for Burma Shave signs and other ads of the past? Look no further than the Eisner Museum of Advertising & Design, opening Oct. 20 under the auspices of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design.
Named after William F. Eisner, a MIAD trustee, the Milwaukee museum is for anyone interested in advertising, said curator Charles Sable.
“We want people to be enlightened, informed and entertained, whether they’re a copywriter from an ad agency, a graphic designer or just the general public,” he said, adding that the exhibits are about how advertising and design affect and are affected by culture.
The museum space will host five changing interactive exhibits at all times. First up are displays on Burma Shave signs, Guinness posters, automobile designs from the 1960s on, shopping-bag art and psychodemographic profiling. An exhibit on campaign advertising will also be shown this fall.
On permanent display is a gallery of TV commercials from the ’50s and ’60s and an interactive radio booth, where visitors can record their own commercials.
BRINGING BACK HISTORY
