These are all the ads I could find on Saturday Evening Posts published between January 1948 and December 1949. Again, it seems Willys-Overland’s advertising was an exercise in experimentation. Some notes:

1. City-And-City Campaign: The first obvious item is that Willys-Overland ran its wagon city-and-city campaign in 1948, but did not run all the ads produced in the Saturday Evening Posts (as documented here). Collier’s Magazine also got a few as did Life Magazine.
2. W-O Graphic: In a November 11, 1946 (see 1946-1947 ads here), ad Willys-Overland used script for Willys Overland Motors. In December 21, 1946, the script was accompanied by the graphical representation of Willys-Overland in the form of an yellow “O”, colored red on the inside, with a yellow “W” atop that design.
   
   The scipt disappeared in January on 1947, leaving only the W-O logo. In February and March of 1947 the W-O logo was absent from ads, but then in April of 1947 it made a brief return, before disappearing again.
   
   In Febrary of 1948, the W-O logo reappeared, this time with the ‘Jeep’ logo hovering above it. That combo was used through May of 1948.
   
   In June of 1948, the ‘Jeep’ was dropped in favor of just the W-O logo. By July, the W-O logo disappeared for 1948 and 1949.
3. CJ-2A Barely Advertised: Trucks and wagons dominate the advertising. There’s only one ad in two years for the CJ-2A and none for the CJ-3A. One reason for this is that Willys-Overland expanded their advertising to other magazines. The Farming magazines (Farm Journal, Country Gentleman, and others) were more CJ-ad oriented.
4. ‘Jeep’ Product Badge: Through 1948 and most of 1949 Willys-Overland was advertising ‘Jeep’ Trucks and ‘Jeep’ Station Wagons. However, in late 1949 the company began a switch to WILLYS ‘Jeep’ Station Wagons (see October 15, 1949 ad), then the ‘Jeep’ name was relegated in December 1949 to a small (new) badge, while WILLYS became the more prominent branding once again. Here’s how the badge looked.
   
   In January of 1950, the company shortened WILLYS ‘Jeep’ Station Wagons to Willys Station Wagons, dropping the ‘Jeep’ entirely.
   

   January 07, 1950 Willys -Overland ad in the Sat Evening Post, page 86. Note the use of the ‘Jeep’ badge and the return of WILLYS as the primary brand.

5. From ‘Jeep’ to WILLYS: After February 1950, Willys-Overland dropped the ‘Jeep’ badge and the ‘Jeep’ branding of the wagon as a ‘Jeep’. Instead, the company went full WILLYS branding, as seen in the September ad below. This seems incredibly strange, given the company had finally won the Trademark for JEEP that year  (June 13, 1950 Awarded JEEP registered trademark).
   

   September 23, 1950, Willys-Overland ad in the Sat evening Post, page 57. Note that ‘Jeep’ has disappeared completely from the advertising.

   Why did Willys-Overland drop ‘Jeep’? I have no idea. But, it’s no wonder the average person is/was confused about whether a wagon is a ‘Jeep’ wagon or a Willys wagon!

6. In October of 1946, Willys-Overland introduced the phrase, “Makers of America’s Most Useful Vehicles” within its ads. That phrase would accompany ads into the 1950s. However, in December of 1949, Willys-Overland introduced a new phrase, “World’s Largest Maker of 4-Wheel-Drive Vehicles”. This phrase was only used once in 1949, but a variation of that phrase would eventually grace Willys-Overland ads (or Willys Motors) in the form of  “World’s largest manufacturer of 4-Wheel-Drive Vehicles”. I don’t have dates for when the former was dropped and the latter adopted … yet.

Below are the 1948-1949 ads from the Saturday Evening Journal:

UPDATE: Maury pointed out that a porcelain sign of this badge sold in 2017 (see bottom).

In the April of 1946 issue of the Saturday Evening Post (same month in Colliers, too), Willys-Overland introduced a new advertising badge for the Willys engine.

As you can see in the introduction ad (A New Chapter), it was matched with the announcement of the Willys-Overland Jeep Station Wagon, though the ad hides the wagon in anticipation of its summer of 1946 launch.

The badge made a second appearance within the release-announcement of the station wagon in the August 18, 1946, issue of the Saturday Evening Post.

The next month, in September of 1946, the badge appears for a third time, again associated with the wagon.

As quickly as the badge appeared, it disappeared with the same speed. For the October 1946 ad, which included a wagon in it, the Saturday Evening Post seemingly replaced the engine badge with a smaller badge, one with a “W” over the “O”. It’s the earliest jeep ad I can find with that badge (if anyone knows of another, earlier ad, please let me know).

At some point, there was a porcelain version of the sign. One sold on eBay in 2017:

Below is an aggregation of Saturday Evening Post Ads for the period January 1946 – December 1947.

As mentioned in the post above, there was an engine badge that appeared briefly. Another curiosity is the shift in March 1947 to black and white ads for the CJ-2A. Perhaps that was done to further differentiate them from the wagon and truck ads?

UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $100.

Might interest someone.

“Front axle from a 1957 Willys CJ5, has the original Dualmatic locking hubs manufactured in Longmont, CO.”

UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.

This single sheet is inexpensive, which seems to be rare these days on eBay.

“ORIGINAL RARE 1960 Roper Diggers to fit JEEP Fact Spec Sheet Folder Brochure, 8-1/2′ x 11″, four page folder”

UPDATE: Still Available. but expensive.

(This unusual spec sheet compares the M-38A1 with the M-274 and the XM443E1. The M-38A1D image press photo is available currently on eBay.

This December 1949 Ad published in the Saturday Evening Post is interesting in that WILLYS is printed larger than the term ‘Jeep’, the latter being regulated to a small badge near the wagon image.

The price seems nuts, but it’s a neat little item.

View all the information on eBay

“Shows signs of age. Doesn’t look like original pain on the very outsides of frame. Was probably painted when wall it was hanging on was painted. Measures roughly 13″ x 3.75″”

Borg-Warner had this March 19, 1949, ad published in the Saturday Evening Post, page 49. Looks more like a Jeepster ad than a BW ad.

This August of 1957 ‘Jeep’ Vehicles Help fight Disease! brochure was another one I hadn’t seen. It amazes me how many little known brochures are still out there. It’s an export form, with form number MFS-8-57-X

The next three pages unfold into a single page. But, I’ve separated them for easier reading:

Continue reading →

I like this Trophy Fish Holes ad for the Willys Station Wagon published in the May 1953 issue of Field and Stream, page 69.

Maury spotted this sign on eBay. The neon has been removed, but still a neat sign. The seller believe this was a temporary sign created just after WWII, but given the post WWII signs I’ve seen, I’d guess early 1950s or later would be more likely.

View all the information on eBay

“Vintage Jeep Willys Sales Service Auto Dealer Neon Sign 1940s 1950s USA . Condition is Used. This is a truly authentic, post-war Willys Jeep dealership sign that was was created fresh after the end of WWII. This sign is hand painted, not porcelain and was more than likely used for the dealership here in St. Joseph for a short time right after the war as a ‘fill-in’ then shortly retired. I say this because the paint is remarkably bright and not faded.
Continue reading →

This 2-page Car for all the People ad was featured in the Saturday Evening Post on December 21, 1946, pages 56 and 57. You’ll notice the ad has “Makers of America’s Most Useful Vehicles” phrase (the prequel phrase to “The World’s Most useful Vehicles”). it also has a Willys-Overland badge. I’m working on documenting when that bade comes and goes.

On the cover the magazine was a Main Street Christmas scene that included, at the bottom right, a tree tied to the top of a jeep.