Vintage UWM Post Ads: 1970s
No need to waste your time studying when for just ten dollars you can become an ordained doctor of divinity through the Missionaries of the New Truth. This ad, listing the many benefits of joining the cloth, ran in the Post on April 21, 1970. Famed journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson was one of the many “faithful” ordained by the Church of the New Truth. But the movement stalled in Milwaukee. After this ad ran, it would not appear in the paper again until 1974.
Fast food in the 1970s was not like it is today. Case in point is this Taco Bell ad from September 1978, inciting college kids to area locations with the promise of authentic fossils for 35 cents each with purchase. Also, note that these locations are offering the “Bell Burger” - a short-lived menu item that put taco meat on a hamburger bun.
“Gus” was a character created for a series of ads promoting use of the UWM UBus service - billed here as a way to beat high gas prices, parking, and (evidently) having your car stripped for parts as you sit in class. This installment ran in November 1978.
When this ad ran in October 1973, the worlds of arthouse and adult cinema often overlapped. This documentary, while rated X and with plenty of adult content, was still considered to be a legitimate enough art film to play at the Times Theater, a long-standing venue for high-brow pictures.
A venue for rock and blues acts since the early 1970s, downtown’s Stone Toad hosted dozens of famed national acts. Here is one of their earlier big-name events - John Lee Hooker playing a Holloween night show in 1971. Note that the cover charge for guys is fifty cents more than it is for girls, although both were presumably able to enjoy the “man-size” drinks.
