ON THE MOOVE....
THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICA'S FIRST COW
1936: Borden Company introduces Elsie the spokescow, who appears mainly in medical-journal ads, promoting Borden's "terribly strict" milk standards.
1938: Elsie appears in radio ads. I'm so excited I can hardly chew," she gushes at the prospect of sending her milk to Borden.
1939-40: The "real, live" Elsie - a fawn-colored Jersey cow originally named Lobelia - is the hit of Borden's exhibit at the New York World's Fair, outdrawing every other attraction.
1940: During the fair, RKO offers Elsie a co-starring role in the film "Little Men." Lacking a bovine star for its exhibit, Borden takes the bull by the horns and invests Elmer, Elsie's "husband."
1940's: The "Elsie Train" tours the nation. Elsie and her new calf Beulah travel in a specially built freight car. Elsie is credited with selling $10 million in U.S. War Bonds.
1941: Elsie's caricature is further humanized. For the first time, she wears clothes.
1947: : A contest to name Elsie's new male calf draws nearly 1 million entires. "Beauregard" joins the Elsie clan. By this time, Elsie has an ever sleeker look in her print ads.
1948: On the eve of the presidential election, a survey shows that 88 percent of the American public know who Elsie was, compared to 84 percent for Republican candidate Thomas Dewey. President Truman, however, does outpoll Elsie, scoring 93 percent.
1951: Returning from the bullpen, a rather bellicose-looking Elmer becomes the spokesman for Cascorez, renamed "Elmer's Glue-All" within a year. Elmer's headquarters is Borden's Glue Works in Bainbridge, NY.
1957: In Borden's centennial year, Elsie has twins. A name-the-calves contest draws 3 million entries.
1950's-1960s: Elsie is put out to pasture as Borden decreases the use of its popular spokescow.
1970: The Comeback Tour. Elsie returns in ads and personal appearances.
1971: The 15th live Elsie opens the Borden Ice Cream parlor at Walt Disney World. By now, the caricature has acquired the "classic Elsie" look, surrounded by a flower sunburst.
1993: Elsie gets a horn job and loses her cowlick in her latest incarnation. The new caricature is unveiled in a Times Square promotion.
This article was copied with permission from The National Association of Milk Bottle Collectors. This article appeared in the monthly newsletter "The Milk Route", Volume 152, May-1993, and was written by Dean Muellerleile. If you enjoyed this article you should really consider joining this group so you can enjoy articles such as this one. Here is a link to The National Association of Milk Bottle Collectors.
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