Cannon Towel Ads 1943 - 1944

Believe it or not these Cannon Towel ads were produced for LIFE Magazine and ran in 1943 & 1944. During World War II certain companies used the majority of their factory output to supply the war effort; which meant that what was left over for domestic use often had to be rationed. These homoerotic ads were used to explain to desperate housewives during the war why stores only carried towels in a limited selection of styles and colors. What?!  No Cannon Towels in fuchsia, salmon or teal? War is hell.

Did you ever have to put a net across your bathtub - and share it with a crocodile? Sometimes, according to this medical corps captain, you have to do that for a bath - in the South Pacific Islands. Since "crocks" have finicky palates, with a marked partiality for legs, the kids put two nets across a stream and weigh them down. Thereafter the "crocks" are on the outside - looking in!

You might not enjoy the bathing facilities of our boys in the service, but you'd heartily approve of their towels. For in many of the service packs are those same husky, durable Cannons you're so proud to use in your own home... You know how welcome a bath and a good towel are after a trying day. You can imagine how welcome to our men after long stints of marching or combat!

“We came across this Buna village,” says a private in the army, “and down on the beach was a canoe that the natives had no use for. It was full of rainwater and we were dirty. The natives thought we were wacky --- but whatta bath, brother, whatta bath!” A fresh-water bath is a welcome novelty sometimes to our men who are battle-hot and swamp-dirty. But they do have towels --- and they’re grateful for em! Good towels, too. Many are Cannons ---- brisk, efficient, hard-working --- the kind you’re proud to own as standard home equipment. We all need towels --- but they need them more. That’s why there aren’t as many at home. The best reason in the world for us to take especial care of those we have!

Maybe this Roman Bath was built for a conquering Caesar. Well, today it’s being used by Joe Doughboy. Whoever built it, “ye olde swimmin’ hole,” is giving the boys a Roman holiday, American style. “Holy mackerel,” said one Yank from Michigan, “it’s medicinal!” “Yeah,” said a little fellow from Brooklyn, “it’s good for what ails ya!” And when “what ails ya” is Mediterranean heat and fight fatigue and pestering flies, a swim is welcome! Welcome, too, is a brisk rubdown with a good towel.

Down in Colombo, Ceylon, according to this American Sailor, there's a Hindu who lives near a river and owns an elephant. When the hot season comes, he'll sell our shore-going sailors a shower-bath for less than a rupee (You furnish your own towel.) "Me and me mates tried it," said the sailor, "and 'twasn't bad!"

Maybe this is a sailor's yarn - but the point is, whether our men use elephant showers and rivers or G.I. running hot and cold, they're certainly glad to have the same brisk, efficient towels you take for granted. In fact, many are those durable Cannons used so proudly in your own home.

Because they need them more than we do, there are fewer towels at home... the best reason in the world for us to take good care of the towels we have.