Esso Tiger - Orange
jungle cat with black stripes who represented Esso Oil in the mid-1960s
with his trademark catchphrase "Put a tiger in your tank"
(created by Chicago copywriter Emery Smith
at
McCann-Erickson, 1964). The Esso Tiger, first used by
Humble Oil, a division of Esso, was originally a friendly and lovable
feline akin to A. A. Milne's "Tigger." Later in the campaign,
however, the Esso tiger's amiable persona became more ferocious, and
energetic to reflect the power and punch of their gasoline products. The
success of the ad campaign prompted Time magazine to proclaim 1964
as "The Year of the Tiger along Madison Avenue."
The Esso Tiger was retired in the late 1960s but resurrected in
1972 when Esso changed its name to Exxon. Their ad slogan stated
"We're changing our name, but not our stripes!"
