Dr. Peterson Toothpaste
1897
Eugène Ogé’s 1897 masterpiece turns a mundane dental ad into a theatrical courtroom drama. A cheeky young boy, dressed in the heavy black robes and velvet cap of a learned judge or professor, stands before a gallery of top-hatted Parisians shouting 'OUI!!!' He isn't delivering a verdict, but rather enthusiastically endorsing Dr. Peterson's toothpaste and mouthwash as 'the best and the cheapest.' It’s a clever visual pun for the Belle Époque: using a child dressed as a 'Doctor' to lend humorous authority to the product, proving that aggressive marketing is nothing new.
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