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DUTCH BOY packaging has progressed through the fcaro from the oak keg to the steel keg (pio neered by National Lead bo.) and taally to the colorful consumer line, of which the new Wonaover Interior paint is a typical example. For 42 years the Dutch Boy has been the identifying feature of all of National Lead Co.'s paints. * On the strength of the great fame and success of its trademark, the Dutch Boy package was a unanimous nominee for this Hall of Fame series. But beyond that, the principle of uniting diverse brands under a single powerful trademark is as good today as it was in 1907; the conditions which led to this solution are conditions still frequently encountered and the detailed story of Dutch Boy is full of valuable tips for today's packagers. How it began Incorporated in 1891, the National Lead Co. found itself by 1907 marketing 21 different brands of white lead--all substantially the same product. Each of 3T - EARLIEST EXAMPLE of the Dutch Boy trademark la this 190a oak keg, holding 100 the. of white lead. The masterful portrait by George Car michael Earle (see cover illustra tion) was painted for the purpose In that year and the first labet was a metal plate on the wood keg abovel CONCEPTION of the now-famous . trademark is found in these rough' sketches done in 1904 to 1906. Framed sketch at right was actually adopted as trademark and used in~advertising in^l906; it served as the ""basis Tor the oil painting by Earte in 1907. 0 0 0 7-SWP-000008775 these brands was popular is some section of the coun- dominant trademark which would be common to all 21 - try, but none was sold nationally. * Brands without lo~of their individual trade names and The dawn of the twentieth century bad marked a distinguishing features, distinct trend to national marketing, backed by national The Dutch Bov was adopted primarily because at th advertising. The basic purpose of the National Lead *_ time of his conception as a trademark, most white Co.'s formation was to unify and extend the marketing lead was manufactured by a Dutch process which had of white lead. Indus A. Cole, second president of the been standard for centuries. The PutcIT were famous . company (1896-1910), saw the possibilities of national - for the quality of their paints amTfor the spic-and-epan advertising, hut was handicapped by the profusion of whiteness' ot their buildiSjsI Holland was acquaint, . brand names be'had to promote. To advertise each _ romantic country and pictures of the wooden-shoed ' *- V separately in the locality where it was'marketed was ' natives fasanated school children then as they do today. both costly and inefficient. To advertise all 21 brand Putting the boy, with his wooden keg and brush, in the - 'names together, nationally, would be unwieldy and - attitude of a bouse painter, gave animation to the sub might only lead to confusion in consumers' minds. To ' ject, tied him up with the product and suggested that ' drop the local brands precipitately, in favor of a single the quality df the paint was so good that even a child national brand, was unthinkable, because it would : could use it. . Finally--what may or may not have been sacrifice the prestige built up individually by'each foreseen at the time--a character in quaint, traditional brand--*ome going back over 100 years'at that time. dress could survive unchanged for generations,'whereas President Cole and his long-time famous advertising. a more topical figure would have to be changed fre- manager, 0. C. Harn, thereupon conceived the idea of a quently to keep in step with styles. : -*i ilt-* BLUE AND WHITE LABEL, with promi nent full-color figure of the boy, disting uishes the new consumer line of exterior and interior paints, which were introduced late in 1941. Despite the familiarity of the trademark, Dutch Bojr paints had not pre viously been merchandised direct to con sumers. The. quart, gallon and five-gallon cans with paper labels were a new departure and Designer Georges Wilmet was retained to do a thoroughly modern job for them. \; 0007 - SWP-000008776 ORANGE AND BLACK colon, lithographed ' in meet cure directly on the'metal eon-.. retainers,havesinesMM parked themuter-' ' painter products. .Not aa showy as the ' ' I consumer.packages, these containers never-' . ' thelea* provide' excellent brand ideati- . Section- The steal keg for white lead,..'which National Lead Co. pioneered, was a - notable packaging development of 1909. L f %XK :* Air. IIam gave specifications of his idea to a Dutch artist named Rudolph Yook, an employee of the George * Batten Co., advertising agency, who drew some pencil sketches used at first only as ad illustrations several years prior to 1907. One of Mr. Yook's sketches was actually formulated into a trademark which, adopted by the board of directors in 1906, was never actually used on a package. This sketch (shown in an accom panying illustration) was comparatively crude, but it - did show a Dutch boy in exactly the same pose and much the same costume as today. Mr. Cole suggested that this sketch be turned into really fine art as a permanent trademark for all National Lead products'. He authorized Mr. Ham to commission the finest por trait painter available and the job' was turned over to Lawrence Carmichael Earle. Details of the painting's execution were disclosed by chance, long after Mr. Earle's death in 1921, when the " Dutch Boy" model--who turned out to be a New Jer sey Irish lad named Michael Brady--was discovered working as a cartoonist for the Brooklyn Eagle. Mr. Brady told bow, as a boy of 9, he was playing near his home in Montclair, N. J., when Mr. Earle passed by, studied him, talked with him and employed him as a model. Twenty-four years later, when a photograph of Mr. Brady in his 30s was reproduced in The Dutch Boy Painter, National Lead house organ, his .resem blance to the painting was still striking--an expressive face suggesting a combination of mischievousness and seriousness of purpose, which, as that of the Dutch Boy, has endeared itself.to millions.- -1. . Legend has it that Artist Earle paid off his model in ice cream sodas, but Mr. Brady (now dead), insisted that be was paid every day at the rate of %2 an hour, which he promptly'spent on candy.and soda--resulting, before the painting was finished--in a Gargantuan stomach ache. Mr. Earle worked in the studio of bis friend, George Inness, not far.from the Brady borne in Montclair.. Meticulous as to detail, Mr. Earle bought young Brady wooden sboes/blue overalls and cap, and had him wear them for several days at play so they would acquire a "lived in" look. ... An amusing sidelight on the story came to light last year in a letter written from Los Gatos, Calif., by Lawrence H. Earle, son of the artist, requesting an enlargement of the original Dutch Boy and saying: "My father painted the Dutch Boy in..Montclair, N. J., when I was a kid and'when the little local news boy he used for a model quit the job I took over, donned the sabots, the wig and the costume and posed, at 50 cents a sitting, while' my buddies were out playing sandlot baseball so that Dad could finish the commis sion. I therefore have a claim to bring the original Dutch Boy ... The wooden shoes I wore tsabots) were brought to me from Sweden by our old cook, Christine, on her return from a visit to her old home and I used to wear them to school, much to the delight of my schoolmates and the distress of my teachers. "As 1 remember it, it was in mid-summer when I posed, hot as Hades, and I was most uncomfortable, but THREE CHOICES were offered by designer when consumer label was introduced in 1941. Center version was chosen as the most effective and workable arrangement of various elements. the 50 cents was a potent inducement and I stuck it out." . .. The gay, lovable personality of the boy that Mr. Earle's talented brush reproduced on canvas--and that lithographers, engravers and printers subsequently reproduced in advertising and on labels--immediately caught the public's fancy. Although at first used on packages merely as an adjunct to the local brand name, popular fancy and the power of national advertising soon put the prestige of the Dutch Boy trademark in tbe.ascendancy over the various local trademarks. As soon as this was obvious, steps were'taken to subor dinate the local brands to tbe Dutch Boy. Local trademarks were relegated to the lids of white lead kegs and the Dutch Boy name and illustration were used prominently on the sides of tlie kegs. Today the Dutch Boy has completely replaced all local paint brands aDd has made_secure his place as one of America's most ac ceptable trademarks. In fact, as National Lead Co. has grown and ex panded into metals and many diverse products, the Dutch Boy has become a symbol for many products en tirely unrelated to paint. His familiar figure and the company name are virtually inseparable. It was soon discovered that the facial expression and quaint costume of the Dutch Boy so impressed them selves on the public that he could be readily recognized in postures other than the. familiar trademark position, with paint brush at work. Unlike most trademarks, he has over the years been usetTin advertising and pro- motion u> hundreds--perhaps thousands--of different p6s5j Whether painting a bouse, waving his cap, playing baseball or standing on bis head, be is instantly identifiable as tbe National Lead Co. trademark and his warjn, honest personality inspires confidence in bis wares. History of packaging It is a tribute to National Lead Co.'s advertising and promotion that, although polls for years have shown the Dutch. Boy to be among the trademarks best known to 0 0 0 7 -SWP-000008777 consumer! In every walk of life, be bad never appeared solution of another packaging problem on which it had as a dominant figure on a consumer package until a* long been working: the first successful metal white few years ago, when the company introduced nationally lead keg. Metal packages had been attempted by rival Ibefirst inits lineofready-mixed paints in sizes designed companies for some time and painters were clamoring for direct consumer purchase. Mixed paints have for the improvement, but the early versions were ex been marketed on (be West Coast by National Lead pensive and had a bad habit of splitting at the seams Co.'s Pacific Coast branch for about 20 years. when filled with 50 or 100 lbs. of white lead. In fact, until about 10 years ago, he'had never ap National Lead Co. engineers worked out a process peared in full color on a paper label, on a nationally of drawing seamless containers from a single' sheet of distributed product, for the larger sizes of bulk paints steel, and built and equipped their own factcft-y to . and paint products supplied to master painters---which supply them--at no extra cost. The new steel kegs previously comprised the company's entire paint came in sizes to hold 12l/t, 25, SO and 100 lbs. of lead. line--do not lend themselves to that type of labeling. The smaller sizes had sloping sides and were fitted with Until 1941, the intensive consumer advertising and bails. The 100-lb. size, designed to be moved by roll- promotion of Dutch Boy painting materials bad been , ing, had parallel sides. , ` aimed principally at building prestige for the name and The steeLcontainers (still referred to in the paint in influencing consumers to specify the brand when con dustry as "kegs'9 were finished in a dull, gunmeta] tracting for painting work. When National Lead de black. On the side of the keg was found the new Dutch cided to move into the house-paint market nationally, Boy trademark and under it an oblong label guaran its trademark was ready-made and its acceptance as teeing purity and full net weight of contents. sured. . ' The steel kegs were a great improvement and an Although white lead kegs are usually not thought of instant bit. They kept the white lead in perfect con as a merchandising package. National Lead has repeat dition (with ho soaking of ofl into wood and conse edly shown originality and a strong merchandising quent hardening of the lead paste around the edges), sense in their handling. Up until 1909 the punt allowed every bit of the pigment to be removed, were package had been much the same as it was in the Middle smaller and fighter and made excellent paint pails. Ages: - a stout oaken keg, such as the Dutch Boy These packages remained essentially the same until carries in the trademark illustration. In fact, the new 1916, when the company realized that it needed better trademark, shortly after its adoption in 1907, was first brand identification. If the small trademark happened applied by National Lead branches to just such a tqjbe turned away from the viewer, the package was not r wooden keg. : distinguishable from that of any other brand. There In 1909, however, coincident with early promotion fore, pioneering a thoroughly modem principle. National of the new trademark. National Lead announced the . Lead applied orange stripesj top and bottom, all around the container and, in addition to the trademark on the face, put the words "Dutch Boy White Lead" in two lines of bold orange block letters on two'sides. The April, 1916, issue of The Dutch Buy Painter demon strated topaintershow, in addition to having distinctive orange and Mack colors, this package could be recog nized by its lettering when viewed from any angle. No further baric change was required until 1943, . when, like all paint manufacturers. National Lead was forced to find a wartime substitute for steeL The containing of heavy, penetrative white lead was one of ' the toughest assignments for wartime paper packaging. National Lead Co. worked it out--with a heavy, all- fibre drum.holding up to 100 lbs. of lead. The product, however, has sow been switched hack to the ail-metal container. . . .. With the recent introduction of the consumer line of 0 0 0 7 -SWP-000008778 blended, ready-to-use paints, the Dutch Boy paint packages now comprise two distinct groups. The master painters' products (white and red lead, linseed oil, driers, colors and other paint materials) still follow the simple orange and black color scheme adopted in 1916, although with modernization of de tails. Paper labels are not ordinarily used in this group; tJie labeling is generally lithographed directly on the metal containers which,'in 25-, 50-, and 100-lb. sizes, are still produced in the company's own plant. Introduction of the consumer line (1-qt. to 5-gaL ^ However;,as far back as 1909, top-notch consumer sizes) required more complete end more colorful label magazines appeared on the advertising schedule. A ing end the company therefore turned to conventional 1909 issue of The Dutch Boy Painter reproduces a paper-labeled cans and pails. . The blue and white label . double-truck from the Saturday Evening Pori, which, it which distinguishes this line was designed by Georges says, "has received much favorable comment." Wilmet. From three sketches presented by Air. WD- In addition to national advertising, the company has met, the present label (see cover) was chosen as giving ' consistently supported dealers* local advertising. Bat the most straightforward presentation of the priceless the really unusual and effective media of Dutch Boy - trademark and name, the type of paint and white space V promotion have been: ^ ~ far imprinting of number and color. " . /-V yy 1. Supplying of samples, souvenirs, costumes, atat- ' Success of the new label is attested to by the fact that ' uettes, signs, calendars, window displays and every it has been retained, with a mere change of wording,' as other conceivable means ofpopularizing the Dutch Boy. the consumer line has expanded from straight house 2. Continuous publication for 41 years of The Dutch paint to include sash and trim, porch arid deck and Boy Painter (one of industry's oldest bouse organs), - primer types.. It is used also for the new " Wonsover," constantly exhorting the trade to the most effective use 1. a single-coat, oil wall paint which marks Dutch Boy's of this promotion of the trademark: . .. entry into the interior-paint field on a national bans. Nobody knows how many millions of lithographed reproductions of the Earle painting have been passed Advertising and promotion out; at one rime the framed picture was as familiar in the parlor aa "God Bless' Our Home." Thousands of Behind every successful product and package lies an ' homes and offices still have souvenir figures in the form advertising and promotion story. The lesson is par- of paperweights, statuettes, etc. ticularly clear in the case of Dutch Boy products which, ' The appeal was particularly strong to children and without intensive and continuous efforts to popularize the company has never overlooked the opportunity to the trademark figure among the general public, could . plant the trademark image in young and receptive scarcely have attained anything like the volume they . minds. One of the most successful promotions far represent today.. * -*V. many years was a children's paint book containingpaper Yet, judging from available figures, the direct adver chips of paint from which the pictures (including, of tising expenditure on Dutch Boy has not .been excep course several Dutch Boys) could be colored. A tional. Tables compiled frotn American.-Newspaper coupon in the book' invited parents to write in for a Publishers Assn, figures show that from 1939 to 1947, booklet on house painting. inclusive, national advertising of this brand In mags- . The company still wifi loan a Dutch Boy costume-- zines, newspapers and radio totaled only $1,694,944-- cap, wig, shirt, overalls .and wooden shoes--to any an average of $166,105 a year. The bulk of this was* person who writes in and asks for it for any reasonable * spent in magazines.' .* */-.{-7.. purpose, and the little painter has graced thousands of Naturally with products Istrgely sdapted to master parades and masquerades. painterVuse/an important part of Dutch Boy adver- , National Lead Co. has given the world a lesson in rising was also directed, to trade papers. Even now, trademark^development and prestige bufidine. and the despite a fine of paint products which appeal to con 'msdom of its conception is a oontributing-factor to the sumers as well as painiera, a large portion of National continuous growth of-net sales--from $80,000,000 in Lead Co.'* advertising goes to trade publications. 1939 to more than $320,000,000 in 1948. i 0007-SWP-000008779 la 19*7, Theodore Roosevelt was President and some of the most popular U.S. advertising trademarks were the Gold Dust Twins, Phoebe Snow, the Zulu Clown and Walter Baker's Chocolate Girl. That same year the "Dutch Boy" trademark and picture mark were bom. The historic illustrations above--from infancy (upper left) to the present (lower right)--attest to the durability, popularity and ultimate success of the "Dutch Boy" marks. The wholesome, lovable "Dutch Boy" picture mark was adopted in 1907 from a well-known oil portrait by famed Lawrence Carmichael Earl. As can be seen, the "Dutch Boy" picture mark, !* with its special appeal to children, has appeared in literally thousands of promotional poses over the yean. The picture at the lower right shows the "Dutch Boy" picture mark on a new line of coveralls and jeans, as well as on the T-shirts worn by the outstanding University of Southern California swim team during a 1977 goodwill trip to lapaa sponsored by Dutch Boy, Inc. 0007-SWP-000008780