WRIGHT & MCGILL ADVERTISING IN THE LATE 1940’S
Wright & McGill began to advertise their newly-acquired Granger Rods beginning in August of 1947. This first Ad (Outdoor Life) states that rods will be “SOON AVAILABLE in Limited Quantities”. Evidence suggests that rods were finally available in “late 1947” corresponding with the release of the 1947 W&M Granger Rods Catalog.
This was followed in September 1947 (Field & Stream) with the tagline: “The ONE ROD Most Fishermen Aspire to Own”.
Both 1947 Ads show the W&M address as Forest Drive at Grant, Denver Colorado.
We believe that in 1948, Wright & McGill chose to spend it’s advertising dollars on Eagle Claw Hooks and W&M Lures as we have yet to discover any specific ads for Granger Rods.
1949 saw the reemergence of advertising dedicated specifically to Granger Rods with tall, 2-color tower ads. The 1949 W&M Catalog (“booklet”) is pictured on the bottom featuring actor Dennis Morgan. The W&M address is now changed to Capital Hill Station, Denver, Colorado.
All ads shown here were scanned directly from their original publications.
WRIGHT & MCGILL ADVERTISING IN THE EARLY 1950’S
In the early 50’s, Wright & McGill changed the style of their advertising to reflect the more diversified product portfolio. They also began to tell a story of the Granger heritage with the slogan, “for 40 years the World’s Best!”
The first ad in 1950 follows the same format as the 1950 W&M Catalog where each grade was listed along with the available lengths and prices (although the Stream & Lake grade was left out.)
Later in 1950, Wright & McGill created a large number of skyscraper ads in the same format so they could occupy a consistent space in a wide variety of sporting publications.
Advertising for 1951 followed a similar skyscraper format with the addition of the 1951 Catalog pictured along the bottom.
Interestingly, there was a single ad from 1951 that saw the return of actor Dennis Morgan as a spokesperson for W&M Fishing Tackle. Mr. Morgan graced the cover of earlier Granger Rods catalogs from 1947, 1948 and 1949.
All 1950 & 1951 ads show the W&M address as Capitol Hill Station, Denver Colo.