 |
Standee Sign Cardboard for
"The Shadow" radio drama series, an iconic old-time mystery show from the 1930s to 1950s. It was famously sponsored for over a decade by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Coal Company, who marketed their product as Blue Coal.
Program Details
Content: The program followed the character of Lamont Cranston, a wealthy socialite who, as the Shadow, fought crime using a "hypnotic power to cloud men's minds so that they cannot see him". The show's ominous opening lines, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!", are still widely recognized today.
Sponsorship: The use of "blue coal" as a brand name was a marketing ploy by the Glen Alden Coal Company (the product's originators) and later DL&W, who dyed their anthracite coal blue during the washing process to distinguish it from competitors. This long association made the two synonymous.
Legacy: Beyond the radio show, the character appeared in pulp magazines, comic books, serial films, and even offered a popular "Blue Coal" glow-in-the-dark ring as a mail-away premium to listeners. |
|
|
