The advertising thermometer is a relic from the past, when companies realized that coupling their brand name with an everyday utilitarian item could make their advertisement stick around at a cafe, gas station or five-and-dime longer than an ordinary sign. These old wall-hanging tools can be quite beautiful and serve as a link to an era of advertising styles and consumer culture, so they are often sought after by collectors.
Thermometers are made of metals like tin or porcelain enamel and feature the logos of various businesses, products or services. They can be shaped as clocks or in shapes that resemble items like soda bottles, and they may have other decorative elements such as borders or elaborate lettering. Many of these devices also include a standard mercury thermometer, making them functional as well as a decorative piece.
In the early 1900s, America was a largely rural nation where people rarely saw advertisements outside of the local diner or general store. Traveling salesmen figured out that they could advertise their products more effectively to these consumers by giving them beautiful tin or porcelain signs for the local cafe, gas station or five-and-dime to hang in the window. These thermometers were designed by a variety of manufacturers, including beverage and food companies, agricultural products, automotive and farm equipment manufacturers, and even some rare local brands.
Some of the thermometers are quite elaborate, with artwork that depicts a serene or bucolic scene. Some are even designed to take the viewer inside, such as this circa 1940s thermometer for “Lawrence Brown Prime Meat Market,” which features a Tudor-style house with a fireplace and a living room set up for entertaining.
Other designs are more utilitarian, with the wording of the business or product prominently displayed. Some thermometers are simply designed to catch the eye, such as this one for a hardware store, which includes a wavy banner that reads “Hurry Down” at the bottom.
Other companies use their thermometers to monitor the health of consumers. The San Francisco-based company Kinsa, for example, puts its thermometers into 500,000 American households to learn when people are getting sick. The information is aggregated and anonymized before being passed on to other companies. Clorox, for example, has used the data to direct more ads to certain ZIP codes where it sees a spike in fevers, assuming those households need disinfecting wipes.