Missile Marketing: A Collection of Cold War Rocket Ads

U.S. military rockets aren't really the kind of thing you'd expect to be sold through advertising. (I mean, don't they really only have one buyer?) So it's worth taking a look at Retronaut's collection of rocket ads from 1947 to 1974. Admittedly, the ads aren't actually meant to sell rockets. Most are just corporate propaganda for military contractors like Northrop, proudly hailed as "builders of the first intercontinental guided missile." My personal favorite is a 1960 ad, shown below, by the Association of American Railroads, promoting the idea of railcar-mounted missile launchers.