Enclosed Pay Phone Advertising
Recall the Ads that Promoted Phone Booths as They Fade into History
Phone booth ads of the 1950s and 1960s pay tribute to a product that may never be advertised again. They also provide comparisons and contrasts to today's advertising.
(Editor’s Note: Before reading this article, go to phonebooth.us to view a few Bell System ads that ran between 1954 and 1966, then return to this page to read the article. Notice that the 1966 ad, the newest of the group, is the only one that carried the AT&T logo. Until then, the Bell System logo was used on all the ads. Notice, too, that all the men and women in the ads were well dressed, even wearing hats, which was typical of the times.)
The Outdoor Phone Booths Never Closed
The ad also signaled the system’s early emphasis on convenience, boasting that they had phone directories, "an ample shelf for packages and handbags" and that the outdoor phone booths never closed. They didn’t have "24/7" to use in those days.
Later ads stressed the convenience offered by the widespread availability of both open and booth pay phones.
A 1957 ad featured a cartoon of two men passing by a phone booth in which a lady was talking. The headline said "telephones are ubiquitous." It then went on to define "ubiquitous" for those who might not know its meaning.
How many copy writers would do that these days?
The 1963 ad continued the availability message, saying "public phones are handy everywhere. We put them on streets and highways, corners and crossings, in parks, stores, stations, lobbies, terminals--wherever they're needed."
Two of the ads boasted of the system’s thousands of lighted phone booths. One pictured a man in a booth on a dark street, another featured a booth on a lonely road, comparing it to "a lighthouse on the highway."
The lighted booths were considered safe havens in those days. Those ads would probably not be used today, for the opposite reason.
The Phone Booth Ads Lacked Slogan Repetition
The Bell System tried several slogans during the period.
- "By bringing the telephone closer to you, we bring you closer to everybody."
- "Reminding you that someone, somewhere, would enjoy hearing your voice today."
- "Working together to bring people together."
- "They keep you in touch with your world, wherever you are."
Surprisingly, the system did not repeat any of the slogans in this particular group of ads. The lack of such repetition might be criticized by some of today’s product branding specialists.
But then maybe the phone company was waiting for someone to come up with "AT&T. Your world. Delivered."
AT&T is folding its pay phone business in 2008, but some of the BellSystem’s phone booth ads will probably be preserved as tributes to a safer and quieter era, and to a product that may never be advertised again.
The 1954 ad, the earliest of the group, shows a style and tone that was carried through more than a decade of phone booth ads. The text in the ads was usually brief, lighthearted or even humorous.
An enclosed phone booth was pictured in each of the ads. Women were shown in many of them, apparently to emphasize the conceived safety of the booths in those days.
Ads Focused on Phone Booth Convenience and Availability
None of the ads mentioned the cost of the calls or the technology of the phones. The series emphasized the convenience and the availability of the booths.
The 1954 ad introduced the Bell System’s new phone booths, which they called the Airlight Outdoor Telephone Booths. The name was intended to highlight the brightness and openness of the booth, but it never became a lasting household phrase.
