Pauline stories, or, how to get readers to read the ads

As early as 1903, Good Housekeeping was running advertising-related puzzles. Readers could win cash prizes and advertiser merchandise by solving the puzzles and finding the associated Good Housekeeping ads. Beginning in 1906, Good Housekeeping ran a series of advertising puzzle stories. The stories featured Pauline, as narrated by her husband, James, in a variety of domestic situations. Thornton Burgess wrote the stories. Here's an example from June 1906. (click to read it).

 Look through the ads before and after the Pauline story. Got the answer? No, it's not "Hand-I-Hold Babe Mits."

 Here is the answer, pretty simple in my opinion.  

The Pauline stories work in two ways. First, in an era of increasing advertising clutter (yes, this was a problem even 100 years ago), the contest was a way to focus attention on magazine ads. 

Second, this was essentially branded entertainment. While the stories are not strikingly original, they are well-written and lightly humorous. Good solid slice-of-life long copy ads, really. This was an era in which the relationships between media, advertisers, and readers were still being worked out. 

Next: Bedtime Story Personal Letters