Sex Sells a Shirt

Advertising men grow grey looking for new ideas, fresh approaches, clever gimmicks for selling their clients' products. The American public is subjected to such an unending barrage of advertising in every conceivable form, every waking hour of the day, it takes a really sensational gimmick to get very much attention. That was the problem that faced the Carson-Roberts Agency a year ago as they searched for a way to publicize a shirt manufacturer named Hartog. The gimmick they came up with was sensational to say the least.

Hartog is just one of hundreds of west coast shirt makers. They had never done any advertising before and didn't have a lot to spend. They wanted trade recognition and acceptance for their brand name so that their salesmen would have an easier time interesting retailers in their line. Through their agency, Carson-Roberts, Hartog scheduled a series of full page ads in the trade publication Men's Wear. The big problem was what sort of ads could Hartog run that would gain immediate attention in such a competitive field.

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Hartog president Hank Daniels gave the agency a few general ideas about what he had in mind. He didn't want to show his shirts or his prices. He did want "Class" ads that would appeal to men, with major emphasis on the Hartog name. Mr. Daniels wanted greater trade acceptance that would help the company expand its distribution. What he got was the hottest advertising campaign of the year and the biggest sales in Hartog history.

Most west coast shirt manufacturers plug the "made in California" idea. Carson-Roberts searched for something different — something as attention getting as Hathaway's eye-patch had been the year before. They hit on sex as the most natural approach for an ad aimed at men, but decided that sex given a high fashion treatment would be the real stopper in a masculine magazine.

The first photo for the series had to be right — it would set the precedent for the ads to follow. Carson-Roberts' art director Jack Roberts huddled with Hartog's Hank Daniels and fashion photographer Hal Adams, then they called in the model and got down to business.

Model Joanne Arnold was selected as the first Hartog Girl. She stripped for action and photographer Hal Adams began experimenting with various poses and props. It was decided the pictures should be shot in a high key to give them a high fashion look.

After Joanne had peeled and Adams had taken a few shots of her in nothing but a pair of verytransparent panties, he had her try some poses wearing toreador trousers; Jack Roberts added his pipe to the picture as a masculine touch. The toreador trousers appeared in several of the later ads — the pipe in all of them.

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The first Hartog ad showed model Joanne Arnold pulling off her shirt and carried the single line, "Keep Your Shirt On Till You See Hartog." It appeared in the February issue of Men's Wear magazine. Each of the ads that followed included a different, equally beautiful, bosomy young lady, with a similar catch line. For Father's Day, "My Hartog Belongs To Daddy"; with a U. S. tax form, "There's No Withholding From Hartog"; on a scale, "You Can't Lose With Hartog"; with a rabbit, "Multiply Your Profits With Hartog."

The response was immediate. In the issue after the series began, the editor of Men's Wear ran a picture of himself pulling off his shirt in a burlesque of the Hartog Girl and national magazines like Pageant and People Today published stories on the ads. When Hank Daniels went to New York, a trade paper announced simply, "The man with the ad is in town."

No name, company, or ad was identified, but Daniels' New York phone rang for two days with calls from buyers and retailers.

At times the mail resulting from the ads has required a fulltime girl, and the requests for extra copies has been so large that next year Hartog plans to reproduce them as a calendar.

From shirts to soap and Simoniz, there's no salesman like sex.

Model Joanne Arnold arrives at Hal Adams' studio to pose for the first Hartog ad.

Joanne steps out of the dressing room minus her sweater and skirt, and ready to begin posing. At this point Adams had only a vague idea what finished ad would look like.

Joanne Arnold smokes a cigarette as photographer Hal Adams contemplates suitable poses. In an earlier discussion with Carson-Roberts' Art Director, Jack Roberts and Hartog President, Hank Daniels, it had been agreed the photos should be given a very high fashion treatment with plenty of sex appeal.

Above, left to right, Hartog's Hank Daniels, photographer Hal Adams, and Carson-Roberts' Jack Roberts discussing a preliminary pose.

Above, left to right, Hartog's Hank Daniels, photographer Hal Adams, and Carson-Roberts' Jack Roberts discussing a preliminary pose.

Right, photographer Adams finds mussing hair gives model a casual charm.

Joanne peels off brassiere, slip, and stockings and Adams tries several shots of her entirely nude except for trans-parent panties. All agree that these will make very nice poses for somebody's collection, but they aren't different enough for the ad. Jack Roberts suggests the shirt gimmick that becomes the basis for the first of the series. Broad pulls broadcloth over her head and advertisement carries the line "Keep Your Shirt On Till You See Hartog."

Joanne peels off brassiere, slip, and stockings and Adams tries several shots of her entirely nude except for trans-parent panties. All agree that these will make very nice poses for somebody's collection, but they aren't different enough for the ad. Jack Roberts suggests the shirt gimmick that becomes the basis for the first of the series. Broad pulls broadcloth over her head and advertisement carries the line "Keep Your Shirt On Till You See Hartog."

Joanne peels off brassiere, slip, and stockings and Adams tries several shots of her entirely nude except for trans-parent panties. All agree that these will make very nice poses for somebody's collection, but they aren't different enough for the ad. Jack Roberts suggests the shirt gimmick that becomes the basis for the first of the series. Broad pulls broadcloth over her head and advertisement carries the line "Keep Your Shirt On Till You See Hartog."

Roberts and Adams can't be as bored as they look. They agree that the shirt and panties have plenty of sex appeal but not enough sophistication.

The toreador trousers are introduced to give the picture the needed high fashion tone. Jack Roberts also adds his pipe to the setting for a masculine touch. Toreador trousers are used in several later ads; pipe in all of them.

The toreador trousers are introduced to give the picture the needed high fashion tone. Jack Roberts also adds his pipe to the setting for a masculine touch. Toreador trousers are used in several later ads; pipe in all of them.

The toreador trousers are introduced to give the picture the needed high fashion tone. Jack Roberts also adds his pipe to the setting for a masculine touch. Toreador trousers are used in several later ads; pipe in all of them.

The toreador trousers are introduced to give the picture the needed high fashion tone. Jack Roberts also adds his pipe to the setting for a masculine touch. Toreador trousers are used in several later ads; pipe in all of them.

The toreador trousers are introduced to give the picture the needed high fashion tone. Jack Roberts also adds his pipe to the setting for a masculine touch. Toreador trousers are used in several later ads; pipe in all of them.

The toreador trousers are introduced to give the picture the needed high fashion tone. Jack Roberts also adds his pipe to the setting for a masculine touch. Toreador trousers are used in several later ads; pipe in all of them.

A different bosom is bared each month, but the theme of the advertisements remains the same.

The toreador pants give the picture the sophisticated flavor Hartog is looking for. Hal Adams shoots a number of poses and the best is used as the first Hartog ad (right).