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NEW YORK — Advertising mascots can not only make a brand stand out but also provoke an emotional response in audiences, increasing the chance that they become loyal customers. Animals are a popular motif in advertising, and perhaps none are more striking than those in motor oil and gas signs.
Highway and gas station signs of the 20th century did more than let drivers know where they could fuel up their vehicles. They helped brighten long road trips, figuratively and literally, with their bright logos and bold graphics and lettering. These signs used both obvious and subtle messages to tout the attributes of their products to consumers — reliability, speed, dependability, smoothness, and the like.
In the realm of petroliana, animal mascots are typically robust-looking and chosen to reflect the quality of the particular oil or gas. A Power-Lube Motor Oil double-sided porcelain sign that sold for $10,000 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2022 at Richmond Auctions was titled ‘Smooth as the Tread of a Tiger’ and prominently pictures a tiger in mid-step.
“Bright colors and animals in graphics are going to sell your product,” said John Mihovetz, department head and expert in automobilia and petroliana at Dan Morphy Auctions, based in Denver, Pennsylvania. Explaining how marketers probably realized the merits of animals as mascots, he said, “I think they were looking for eye-catch. When it’s just in a sea of advertising, animals are such a great way to show that.”
Animal-themed petroliana signs are highly collectible, and the market was lively even before the pandemic spurred a wave of nostalgia that drove collectibles markets to new heights in 2020. Petroliana markets have shown little signs of abating, and that definitely holds true for animal-themed petroliana signs. “I personally think it just comes down to eye appeal. If you look at some of the graphics that are on the signs and you look at what’s really bringing the money, it’s highly detailed graphics,” Mihovetz said. “And most of the time you’re dealing with a great animal graphic or Native American graphics. That’s really what’s going to push the price — that and condition.”
One fine example that had everything going for it was a Husky Gasoline & Motor Oils ‘Gets You Thru’ single-sided tin billboard sign emblazoned with the image of a Husky dog. Retaining its original wood frame, this 96-by-60in sign attained $390,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2022 at Dan Morphy Auctions. Most petroliana signs were made from porcelain, which usually withstood the punishments of the outdoors better than tin, but this one was in fine overall condition, considering its age, and it retained good color and gloss.
“It’s one of two known example examples and by far the highest-rated example — a centerpiece for a collection. You see it in person and it’s unbelievable, just a mesmerizing piece and so colorful and graphic,” Mihovetz added.
All manner of animals have served as petroliana advertising mascots, including the mythical and the extinct. Mobil has been a major player in the petroliana world dating back to when it was known as Standard Oil, and has embraced a beast from the former category. Its Pegasus mascot is instantly recognizable and has graced porcelain and neon signs alike, such as a large Pegasus porcelain and neon sign that rotates. The double-signed sign, standing 103in tall, made $80,000 plus the buyer’s premium in July 2023 at Richmond Auctions.
Leading the contingent of extinct animals is Sinclair’s beloved apatosaurus (formerly called a brontosaurus), known as Dino. This longtime advertising mascot was trademarked in 1932 and chosen by the company’s advertising writers to use in marketing two years earlier. The writers played off the company’s use of crude oil that dated to the time of dinosaurs, and came up with Dino as their friendly ambassador. He appeared in many ad campaigns and signs, including a Sinclair Pennsylvania Motor Oils porcelain curb sign that earned $40,000 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2022 at Dan Morphy Auctions.
Polar bears have been pressed into service as mascots for Coca-Cola and Polar Seltzer, which has an inflatable lifesize version topping its roadside headquarters in Worcester, Massachusetts. Petroliana answered with the polar bear mascot for Zerolene, which can be seen in a 24in-round Standard Oil Zerolene single-sided porcelain sign that realized $44,000 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2022 at Richmond Auctions.
An unusual choice for a motor oil product mascot is certainly the parrot that appears on an Atlantic NC Motor Oil ‘Stops Ford Chatter Instantly’ wood-framed sign, which sold for $18,000 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2022 at Matthews Auctions, LLC. This parrot has his beak muzzled to suggest that cars run quieter with Atlantic oil.
Collectors are especially fond of service station signs, and a particular favorite is a 1940 Frontier Gas ‘Rarin’ to Go’ example in porcelain. This double-sided oval sign features a gold horse and rider in the center above four stars with a unique script font; other similar Frontier signs lack stars and have a bifurcated red-and-white background. One such sign rode well past its $50,000-$100,000 estimate to bring $170,000 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2023 at Dan Morphy Auctions. Retaining brilliant color and gloss, the sign is cataloged as being in excellent condition and has a 60in diameter.
While the best examples of animal-motif petroliana will typically bring the best prices, Mihovetz explained, “There is always going to be a market for graphic advertising in any condition, especially something with an animal. But if it’s got an animal and it’s really high grade, that’s the stuff that we are seeing right now that is really pushing prices.”
This Frontier ‘Rarin’ to Go’ gasoline porcelain service station sign with a gold rider and horse graphic brought $170,000 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2023. Image courtesy of Dan Morphy Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.
The golden era for oil and gas signs with appealing graphics was between the 1920s and 1950s, he added. Even though these signs were mass-produced, few have survived in great condition. Those considered ‘new old stock,’ which likely languished for decades in warehouses, attic rafters, under floorboards, or in a closet, can easily attain six figures.
Mihovetz said the current market is “unbelievably strong”, and signs with images of animals are bringing huge money. Collectors tend to be mostly men ages 25 and up, but he went on to say “right now, I think it’s a really wide-open market. There are more new buyers entering this market than there were 30 years or more ago, when access to information was an entry barrier. We have seen a lot of sophisticated buyers coming up quickly with all the technology that is available to do research now.”
The best advice Mihovetz has for new collectors is advice he was given years earlier: try to buy the highest-quality piece at whatever price you can afford. “Fortunately, with gas and oil, there is a price point for just about everything,” he said. “There are great, phenomenal mint condition pieces in gas and oil that have graphics of animals that are $1,000, all the way up to the six-figure range, but you have to have patience and wait for a couple good buys here and there.”
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