No, this is NOT the MAD magazine mascot, Alfred E. Neuman. And no, it’s not George W. Bush, either. This is a character that has existed in advertising and popular culture since before the turn of the century—that’s the LAST century. This image dates before 1900, and it goes back even further than that.
In the early 1950s, when Harvey Kurtzman and William Gaines started up MAD, this silly image was actually on a postcard tacked to Kurtzman’s office wall among lots of other crap. Eventually it drifted into the magazine as a joke image. Before too long, it got a name, a purpose and a brand. This little goofball IS MAD Magazine. This is a LOGO.
Strangely, it first popped up not in the magazine itself, but on the cover of an early compilation paperback called The MAD Reader (November 1954). The first time it turned up in the magazine was actually in an ad for a rubber mask. It was soon seen in the little fake National Geographic-style border treatment on the cover that was used for a while.
It began to pop up regularly inside the magazine in adverts and parodies. That’s when it was first given a name.
The first time he showed up full-bore on the cover of MAD was issue 30. Norman Mingo’s classic version of the face is the one that became the standard and is the one we all know today. Prior to that Mingo image, the face sometimes had slick hair or no freckles, or a different goofier, wider grin or a flatter forehead. Mingo gave him the official BRAND-style appearance that has been used ever since.
Of course, they still had to fight to keep him. Whenever you appropriate an old traditional image of any kind, there is somebody out there who will always jump up and say “IT’S MINE!! I’M GONNA SUE!!” In this case it was a little old lady who claimed she invented the face. MAD built a huge collection of these old images and in the process of defending themselves (to prove it long predated the old lady) actually preserved the true history of this face. Its origins are lost to history, but it has been a part of popular culture for centuries. It even was the inspiration of the goofy face of the very first comic strip character—“The Yellow Kid”! Needless to say, they squished that old lady like a bug in court.
The visage of “Alfred E. Neuman” is now so solidly imprinted in our collective cultural memories as the very persona of the MAD brand, that we instantly think of him even when we look at faces like George W. Bush. Personally, I think that was Bush’s greatest asset—his face. He looked like such an idiot we were so familiar with (Alfred) that he posed no threat to us. We could laugh at him and continue to have a good time. The fact that behind that face lurked the mind (some say “minds,” plural) of insidious evil was a total surprise. We STILL think of him as a moron.
One of my favorite stories about how effective of a brand this goofy face actually became dates back to the 1960s. In the letters section of an issue of MAD, they reproduced a fan letter they received in the mail. All it had on the envelope was a cut-out and glued-on face of Alfred E. Neuman (and a stamp). Despite no other sort of identification or address, it still arrived at their offices—and promptly, with no delays. That is a remarkable feat for a logo, isn’t it? The only other face that could do that is Santa Claus!
Contrary to popular belief and especially contrary to what the design and academic professionals try to “sell” you, ALL great logos and brands evolve into what they are over TIME. No one is ever smart enough or visionary enough to actually predict success or failure of a logo. It’s the populace—the shared culture—that actually creates the BRAND, not some college-educated design marketing professional. That’s hogwash. We need to wise up.
