Mention the brand name of Burma-Shave to people today and some may recall that this product was advertised with roadside signs. A few others may know this particular name was used for a brushless shaving cream. And what may be overlooked is the fact that the distinctive method used to advertise Burma-Shave actually started on the highway between Clarks Grove and Albert Lea 82 years ago.

The advertising gimmick first used back in 1926 was to have five or six signs on posts in sequence along a rural roadway on the fence line about 100 to 200 feet apart. From one end to the other would be a poem or message to advertise this facial grooming product, The last sign always had the Burma-Shave logo.

Credit for creating the rhyming roadside jingles goes to Allen G. Odell. His father owned a small firm named Burma-Vita Co. in Minneapolis, makers of a bottled liniment. Allen’s idea was to use this sign method to advertise their newest product, Burma-Shave.

Proof that this area was the first to have the signs can be found on page 60 of the July/August 1994 issue of Reminisce Magazine. It said, “Allen made and put up the first two sets of signs himself in southern Minnesota – one along U.S. 61 near Red Wing and the other along U.S. 65 near Albert Lea.”

Further proof for this community’s part in the history of these signs can be found in the August 1953 issue of Advertising Requirements publication. This article reports in part:

“His father took the (sign) idea to a number of local advertising ‘experts.’ None offered the least encouragement, but young Allen was persistent and the company allotted him a modest $200 to prove his point.

“He selected Albert Lea (plus Red Wing) as a test market and invested the entire $200 in some scrap lumber, sign posts and paint. He cut the lumber into three foot by 10 inch lengths and on the boards painted: CHEER UP / FACE / THE WAR / IS / OVER! / BURMA-SHAVE.

“The signs were then placed 100 feet apart on U.S. Highway 65 leading into Albert Lea. The eight druggists in Albert Lea immediately began getting requests for Burma-Shave and the company was on its way.”

The war mentioned on this sign was World War I which ended eight years earlier.

Those first sets of signs were based strictly on promoting Burma-Shave. Then, within a few years, the concept of humor in verse form became the standard for these signs and added to their popularity. Many of those roadside messages were created by Odell and he became known as the “nation’s sign post poet.” In later years contests were held to acquire still more verses from the public.

It wasn’t long before the Burma-Vita plant in Minneapolis was devoting equal space to producing shaving cream and the making of signs. Those signs started out as white letters on red backgrounds in even years and yellow letters on black backgrounds in odd years. Within a few years the white on red design became the firm’s standard.

One of the newer series said: THE BEARDED LADY / TRIED A JAR / SHE’S NOW / A FAMOUS / MOVIE STAR. Another gem was: PITY ALL / THE MIGHTY CAESARS / THEY PULLED / EACH WHISKER OUT / WITH TWEEZERS. A less than romantic scenario was in this set: HE HAD THE RING / HE HAD THE FLAT / BUT SHE FELT HIS CHIN / AND THAT WAS THAT. To really enhance the romantic concept for clean shaven men was this creation: IN CUPID’S LITTLE / BAG OF TRICKS / HERE’S THE ONE / THAT CLICKS WITH CHICKS.

As people traveled from place to place on two-lane roadways in the era from 1930 to the mid-1960s, they became accustomed to looking for the Burma-Shave signs. The firm took advantage of this and started to use the sign sequences to promote their product and also as a public service with safety themes.

Two of the jingles were based on safety regarding school children. One series said: PAST SCHOOLHOUSES / TAKE IT / SLOW / LET THE LITTLE SHAVERS GROW. The other declared: AT SCHOOL ZONES / HEED INSTRUCTIONS / PROTECT / OUR LITTLE / TAX DEDUCTIONS.

Train crossings became themes for several Burma-Shave signs. One said: HE SAW/ THE TRAIN / AND TRIED TO DUCK IT/ KICKED FIRST THE GAS/ THEN THE BUCKET. Another declared: TRAIN APPROACHING / WHISTLE SQUEALING / PAUSE! / AVOID THAT / RUN-DOWN FEELING.

One of the oddest creations for these sign series was this sad pun: HER CHARIOT / RACED AT 80 PER / THEY HAULED / AWAY / WHAT HAD / BEN HUR.

In time, about 7,000 sets of these always humorous signs, many with safety slogans, were along the roadways in 43 states. An estimated 600 different themes and topics are known to have been used for these roadway signs. In fact, several books and many articles have been written about the Burma-Shave advertising signs.

After the Korean War, the Burma-Shave signs began to decline. They became more costly to set up and collectors started to steal the existing roadside sets. Also, the signs worked best with slower traffic speeds. The freeway system meant faster traveling and less chances to read roadside signs set up in sequences. Finally, in 1964, the Burma-Vita Co. became a part of Phillip Morris Inc., and the jolly little jingles on signs were officially discontinued.

There are two sequence series of signs which are still visible in the area. One series is attached to the fence of the Freeborn County Fairgrounds facing North Bridge Avenue as a seasonal promotion for the Eddie Cochran Weekend.

The other set is along County Road 46 to the east of Hayward near the KOA Kampground and Holiday Park Golf Course. This last set was installed by Reminisce Magazine as a reminder of the past about 1995.