Initially, images of George Eastman or his company’s trademark, KODAK, were highlighted in advertisements for his cameras and film.  But, Eastman didn’t like his image being used,  “I don’t care about seeing so much of my likeness,” he said.  So he invented the Kodak Girl.  He felt  a photograph of a pretty girl would sell more cameras.

 

And he was right.  His KODAK Girl advertisements were one of the most lasting and successful marketing campaigns in advertising history.

 

Holding a camera, the KODAK Girls were wholesome looking outdoor types wearing fashionable dresses. They were featured in newspaper and magazine advertising, on six-foot cardboard cutouts in stores, and often did personal appearances.  They enticed women to buy Kodak cameras and use them to capture the important events in their families lives.  Hence, snapshots became the rage!

 

(Note:  Quote from George Eastman:  A Biography by Elizabeth Brayer and photographs from the Library of Congress)