Interesting Survey Courtesy of DataLounge.com

[launderess]

Not one of our usual haunts in fact one had no idea the place even existed, however a friend sent the link so am sharing.

http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html?t=9441220#page:showThread,10702687,1

 

[frigilux]

I remember getting towels, glasses, etc., in boxes of detergent back in the day when I was a kid.  Towels were, of course, thin and cheap, as was the glassware.  But we used them!

 

Also remember getting bonuses from banks and grocery stores, usually in the form of a small appliance or dishes.  In fact, I still have a partial set of dishes that came from a Super Valu grocery store promotion back in the early 1970s.

 

My stepfather said movie theaters did the same sort of thing in the 1940s to keep customers coming back every week.

 

[launderess]

Yes, that is all very well

But as one poster commented on the DL site when the weight and volume of those free "gifts" are included in the packaging customers were getting less product than they otherwise would.

Those towels, glasses, etc... take up space inside that otherwise would be filled with powder. Far better value IMHO would have been to give the things away separately.

 

[frigilux]

It was a mindset leftover from the depression era when "giveaways" were a huge draw.  

 

[brib68]

For the longest time we had a set of stoneware dishes from SuperValu. In fact, my mom still has a few odd pieces left. When I was young, my grandparents owned a grocery store and they had all sorts of stuff in their house and their lake cottage that was leftover from giveaways: an inflatable boat from Vernor's, floaty toys from Wheaties, glasses and a Santa Claus from Pepsi.... The drinking glasses at the lake all had the monogram "N" even though no one in the family had that initial--either first name or last! Apparently none of their customers had that initial either the week the N's were available.

As for the movie theaters, I believe that was the 30's rather than the 40's. That's the Depression Glass that has become so collectible.

 

[launderess]

Well I Don't Know About Anyone Else

One had a ball last night with some bevvies and snacks reading the postings on DL. That forum is a hoot, that's what it is a hoot with a capital "H".