The Eisner Museum of Advertising & Design is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is appropriate since that is where William F. Eisner started his first advertising agency at the age of 33.

The five online exhibits available to visitors on the museum's website include The Art of the Album Cover, which features work from artist Alex Steinweiss, who in 1939 forever changed the way record modern albums were marketed. Visitors can learn about the power of advertising through the Burma-Shave signs exhibit, as it was one of the most successful advertising campaigns in history.

The New Set of Wheels exhibit, contains print, radio, and television ads for some of the most popular cars of the 1920s-1960s, and teaches visitors how "advertising efforts of this time came to influence automotive consumer behavior as much as automotive engineering":

"As a nation roared into an era where horse-powered buggies gave way to the horsepower under the hood of a shiny new automobile, a new form of class distinction was created. Chrome reflected social status. Upward pointing fins mirrored the rise in affluence. And the image that an automobile's advertising projected had as much to do with people's preferences as the latest technological and design innovations. Take a trip through this exhibit and explore the social impact of automobile advertising and design."

Stroll through the current exhibits in a virtual tour and discover more about the man for which the museum was named:

William Eisner was a graduate of both the Layton School of Art (predecessor to the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design) and Marquette University, Eisner was both an innovator and an entrepreneur. By 1969, he had built a complex that housed several of his own companies, including an advertising agency, printing company, photography studio, recording studio, graphic design house, public relations firm and a Christian communications company. Through the years, Eisner's clients represented a mix of Wisconsin's top companies as well as nationally recognized brands in healthcare, food service and agriculture.

He led the National Federation of Advertising Agencies as president, shared his insights as mentor and teacher for students at Marquette University's School of Journalism, and was active in the Milwaukee Advertising Club.

Elaine Eisner began to formulate the idea of a museum after her husband's sudden death in 1990. About a year later, Elaine approached Terrence Coffman, president of MIAD, with her dream. Her idea is now a reality.

Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2011.  and additonal text from the Eisner site.

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