Sic’um, Tige, Cream of Wheat ad illustration
1913
Two boys urge their dog, Tige, to 'sic 'em' on a giant billboard in this lively 1913 advertisement for Cream of Wheat by Edward Vincent Brewer. The billboard features the brand's famous mascot, a caricature of a Black man known as Rastus, happily holding a bowl of cereal while a dog barks at his painted feet and a cat watches from the roof. The scene is full of motion and loose, painterly energy, capturing a moment of street mischief. However, looking closely reveals a darker history: this image relies on the racist 'Rastus' stereotype, a caricature that the brand used in marketing for decades to sell hot cereal.
Views: 1