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!"
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