Who is Van Heusen? (Part 3 of 3)

Or better yet… who WEARS van Heusen?

In the 1930’s and 1940’s, you would have seen Van Heusen advertisements regularly appearing in the Saturday Evening Post. It is a little-known fact that Van Heusen was one of the first companies to use celebrities to endorse its products in advertising. What we see everywhere we turn today was an unknown concept in the 1950’s until Van Heusen used a few famous faces to represent their dress shirts. Here are just a few:

Charlton Heston

Movie actor Charlton Heston did a few ads for Van Heusen dress shirts in the early 1950’s, selling their Century shirts and Moulin Rouge collections. 

He was in several movies during that time, including The President’s Lady and Arrowhead. (left)

Jerry Lewis

In 1957, comedian Jerry Lewis used his famous face for an ad for Van Heusen’s wrinkle free Century shirts – on sale for $4.00 each! (right)

Ronald Reagan

Actor and future President Ronald Reagan is perhaps the most recognizable face to grace a Van Heusen shirt ad. In 1953, he did a Christmas ad showing how durable the collars are, with a series of pictures with captions underneath each saying “you can twist it” “you can twirl it” “you can bend it” ad “you can curl it.” Artist Andy Warhol famously turned the ad into a painting in 1985, just two years before his death. This made the ad a must-have for collectors and made it one of the most sought-after and recognizable Van Heusen ad.

Celebrities in their prime were used consistently to endorse van Heusen shirts, and also included Jimmy Stewart, Tony Curtis and Bob Hope. They used celebrity lifestyle to sell their goods and saw a successful rise in sales in return.

Today is no different, with Van Heusen appealing to a mass market for both men and

women. In the past two years, Van Heusen has expanded its reach through sports marketing programs with the National Football League and the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame. Football legends Steve Young, Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders are the faces of the Van Heusen Institute of Style campaign, in which Steve, Jerry and Deion dispense fashion advice that helps men go “from schlub to swagger.”

60 years after starting the celebrity endorsement trend, Van Heusen is enjoying worldwide name recognition and is a top-selling brand around the world. To take advantage of our competitive prices and ad a little “swagger” to your wardrobe, visit our online store at www.garffshirts.com. We also offer a full selection of Calvin Klein dress shirts, IZOD polo shirts and more for both men and women.