In 1902, The New York Harold published a cartoon strip named “Buster Brown” it was created by Richard F Outcault and it followed the story of a group of mischievous children, the main character being Buster Brown, his dog, Tige and his sister Mary Jane.
By 1904, Outcault's creations were a hit and he traveled to the St. Louis World Fair with the intention of cashing in on his own creations and he allowed 200 manufactures the license to use his characters as brand names, one of these was the Brown Shoe Company.
Buster Brown helped build the Brown Shoe Company it is today (with an annual turn over of $2 Billion). The company's success is in part due to licensing deal, which at the time, was to create a pioneering marketing campaign.
From 1904 onwards, a roadshow America visiting shoe and department stores featuring characters from the cartoon strip. Thousands of children persuaded their parents to buy into the brand name. This is an early example of cartoon merchandising that pre-dated Walt Disney him self.
Mary Jane, was immortalized when he name was applied to the single-strap children's shoe in 1909.
Bibliography:
Vintage Shoes, text by Caroline Cox and foreword by Christian Louboutin 2008. First published in Australia in 2008 by Cameron House, an imprint of Bookwise Internationally Pty Ltd.
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