Scanning Around With Gene: Matchbook Wisdom on Traffic Safety

I suspect it wasn’t easy coming up with artwork for matchbooks, which represent a very small palette. And you only have a small chance of making an impact.

I don’t know if they served alcohol at Wayne’s, but I’m guessing they did. I noticed none of the messages speak to the problem of drinking and driving, which was likely the number one cause of traffic accidents back when these were given out.

It’s hard to know if public safety messages like these on the back of matchbooks have any real impact, but I guess they couldn’t hurt. We learn from a variety of sources and somehow some of these messages must have gotten through.

I’m not sorry that matchbooks have gone out of favor – an indication of not only the switch to disposable lighters, but a decrease in smoking, which is a good thing. But I am sorry that the art form has disappeared – it was fun to see what artists and copy writers would come up with for such a small space.

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