Help me find this poster from the 1980s
July 1, 2017 4:55 PM Subscribe
I have this image in my head of a popular poster in girls' rooms in the '80s. It was a long, narrow poster of multiple scoops of ice cream on a cone.
I have a very vivid picture in my head of this poster (it may have also been depicted as a sticker). It was an illustration (not a photo) of an ice cream cone with maybe six scoops of ice cream stacked one on top of the other. Each was a different pastel or "pretty" color. I think the scoops may have dripped a little into one another. The bottom scoop definitely dripped onto the cone.
I have been searching for hours to no avail. Piles of rainbow scoops of ice cream were very popular in the '80s--this Lisa Frank sticker evokes the poster in my mind, but the one I'm thinking of was less psychedelic. The poster itself was probably 4 feet tall by 1.5 feet across. I can see it on the wall of friends' rooms circa 1984.
I have a very vivid picture in my head of this poster (it may have also been depicted as a sticker). It was an illustration (not a photo) of an ice cream cone with maybe six scoops of ice cream stacked one on top of the other. Each was a different pastel or "pretty" color. I think the scoops may have dripped a little into one another. The bottom scoop definitely dripped onto the cone.
I have been searching for hours to no avail. Piles of rainbow scoops of ice cream were very popular in the '80s--this Lisa Frank sticker evokes the poster in my mind, but the one I'm thinking of was less psychedelic. The poster itself was probably 4 feet tall by 1.5 feet across. I can see it on the wall of friends' rooms circa 1984.
I know EXACTLY what you're talking about--I think I remember seeing it at a Hallmark store in the 80s and regretting not buying it.Definitely a color illustration and not a photo. Unfortunately I've never seen it since...
posted by bookmammal at 5:08 PM on July 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by bookmammal at 5:08 PM on July 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
I was just talking about this the other day and I seem to remember that it was a centerfold of a teen or kids magazine. Grew up in Canada in the 80s.
posted by misseva at 5:44 PM on July 1, 2017
posted by misseva at 5:44 PM on July 1, 2017
Just did some googling and I think it might have been from Dynamite magazine.
posted by misseva at 5:47 PM on July 1, 2017
posted by misseva at 5:47 PM on July 1, 2017
Oh, wow. I remember that very, very clearly. I remember the moment when my mom and I were in a very hip store in LA and she declined to buy it for me. It was definitely everywhere for a hot minute in the early 80s. I don't think it came from a magazine -- it was too long, and available in shops.
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:14 PM on July 1, 2017
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:14 PM on July 1, 2017
I can't seem to find a source (just people re-posting the image on Pinterest) but could it be this? I found it by Googling "ice cream scoops illustration vintage" but I don't really know anything about it.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 12:29 AM on July 2, 2017
posted by Ursula Hitler at 12:29 AM on July 2, 2017
I don't know if this helps but Solano Frozen Yogurt & Ice Cream in Albany, CA has one of these on the wall. Not the one linked above, btw - no cherry on top. By the look of it it's been hanging there since the 80s...
posted by The Toad at 2:35 AM on July 2, 2017
posted by The Toad at 2:35 AM on July 2, 2017
Response by poster: The illustrations posted above are too artsy, if that makes sense. There is no evidence that a human hand drew the ice cream in the poster I remember. It had a gloss and perfection. Each scoop was full and round, aside from evidence of minimal shadow the scoops were uniform in color. It's heartening that others remember it. I figured it would come up quickly in a google search but no such luck.
It was the sort of poster that was in those files of poster frames in Hallmark-ish stores and you could clack clack clack rifling through each one.
posted by annabellee at 5:13 AM on July 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
It was the sort of poster that was in those files of poster frames in Hallmark-ish stores and you could clack clack clack rifling through each one.
posted by annabellee at 5:13 AM on July 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yeah, from what I remember it was an extremely realistic illustration--not cartoony or whimsical at all, but definitely not a photo either.
However, my memory is that the poster itself was long but very narrow--like maybe 4-6" across and maybe 3-4' long--which is different from the OP's memory.
I am inexplicably intrigued by this!!
posted by bookmammal at 5:34 AM on July 2, 2017
However, my memory is that the poster itself was long but very narrow--like maybe 4-6" across and maybe 3-4' long--which is different from the OP's memory.
I am inexplicably intrigued by this!!
posted by bookmammal at 5:34 AM on July 2, 2017
I...I had it too! I want to say it was a photo
posted by prize bull octorok at 8:54 PM on July 23, 2017
posted by prize bull octorok at 8:54 PM on July 23, 2017
I had a version of this poster that was close to MonkeyToes' but had more scoops and no cherry. I'm sure it was a photograph, but now you have me questioning whether it was a very lifelike illustration. My grandma had the same one in her house and very likely still has it because she still has everything. I may be able to look for it if nobody else comes up with an answer. This is close to what I had but I'm fairly sure it's not it because it's not photo-realistic enough to match my memory.
It may not help but I got it as a gift along with the Springbok puzzle "Do Yourself a Flavor" around 1985 and I'd guess both came from a Hallmark store based on the person who gave them to me.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 9:35 AM on July 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
It may not help but I got it as a gift along with the Springbok puzzle "Do Yourself a Flavor" around 1985 and I'd guess both came from a Hallmark store based on the person who gave them to me.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 9:35 AM on July 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
I believe my local ice-cream shop may have this poster still on their wall, though theirs may be a photograph rather than an illustration. Next time I go, I will take a picture of said poster and see...
posted by Chrischris at 8:40 AM on July 25, 2017
posted by Chrischris at 8:40 AM on July 25, 2017
I used to work for Portal Publications (Corte Madera, CA) back in the mid-to late 80's. Among other things, we did 6ft high posters of various things including expensive sports cars, and, I think we did this poster--I'm going to see if I still have some old catalogs that might have it and will report back. I know we did a fold-out card with ice cream scoops...
posted by agatha_magatha at 9:13 AM on July 25, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by agatha_magatha at 9:13 AM on July 25, 2017 [6 favorites]
So I checked and, unfortunately during the Purge of '13, I got rid of a lot of my old work-related items and the Portal catalogs went. But I do think this may have been a part of our "Big As Life" line of posters.
posted by agatha_magatha at 8:59 AM on July 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by agatha_magatha at 8:59 AM on July 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:03 PM on July 1, 2017 [1 favorite]