Amusing? Perhaps. But these print ads were the norm in the 1960s.

• Position: Marketing Edge - Brief Article

Let's take a little trip down nostalgia lane. In honor of this year's 90th anniversary of the ABA Marketing Network, let's examine a couple of old bank prints ads. The examples shown are taken from a collection of advertisements that appeared in the January 1969 issue of Bank Public Relations and Marketing Journal, which was the predecessor to ABA Bank Marketing magazine.

The first thing that these ads bring to mind is the fact that most bank print ads in the 1960s were printed in black and white. Today, this limitation causes the ads to look a little gray and dull. The widespread use of drawings instead of photographs also appears old-fashioned, rather than charming. The second thing you notice is that many of the ads are selling rates, and few are using a brand to differentiate themselves from other...