Elsie the Cow is a

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

developed as a

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

for the Borden Dairy Company in 1936 to symbolize the "perfect dairy product". Since the demise of Borden in the mid-1990s, the character has continued to be used in the same capacity for the company's partial successors,

Eagle Family Foods Eagle Family Foods Group LLC, is an American food manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio. The company was established in 2015 by Paul Smucker Wagstaff after acquiring ownership of the Borden canned milk brands (Eagle Brand, Magnolia, Milnot, PET) ...

(owned by J.M. Smucker) and

Borden Dairy Borden Dairy Company is an American dairy processor and distributor headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Established in 2009,0thCentury by ''

Ad Age ''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in mul ...

'' in 2000, Elsie the Cow has been among the most recognizable product logos in the United States and Canada.

History

The cartoon Elsie was created in 1936 by a team headed by advertising creative director David William Reid. Elsie first appeared as one of four cartoon cows (with Mrs. Blossom, Bessie, and Clara) in a 1936 magazine advertisement series featured in medical journals. By 1939, she was featured in her own advertisement campaign that was voted "best of the year" by the Jury of the 1939 Annual Advertising Awards. Borden ad elsie cow 1940 ad

The first living Elsie was a registered

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

heifer Heifer may refer to: * Heifer (cow), a young cow before she has had her first calf * Frank Heifer (1854–1893), American outfielder and first baseman * '' The Heifer'' (''La vaquilla''), 1985 Spanish comedy film * Heifer International Heifer ...

selected while participating in Borden's

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...

"Rotolactor" exhibit (demonstrating the company's invention, the

rotary milking parlor The Rotolactor is the first invention for milking a large number of cows successively and largely automatically, using a rotating platform. It was developed by the Borden Company in 1930, and is known today in the dairy industry as the "rotary mil ...

). The most alert cow at the demonstration, she was born at Elm Hill Farm in Brookfield,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and named "You'll Do, Lobelia". After being purchased from her owners, family farmers from Connecticut, she spent the rest of the season on display twice each day dressed in an embroidered green blanket, and after the exhibit, she traveled around the country making public appearances. You'll Do, Lobelia is buried at her home in the Walker-Gordon Farm in Plainsboro,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Her tomb stone is marked with the fitting title of "one of the great Elsies of our time.'' Elsie had a fictional, cartoon mate, Elmer the Bull, who was created in 1940 and lent to Borden's then chemical-division as the mascot for

Elmer's Products Elmer's Products, or simply Elmer's is an American-based company that has a line of adhesive, craft, home repair, and office supply products. It is best known as the manufacturer of Elmer's Glue-All, a popular PVA-based synthetic glue, in ...

. The pair was given teenage offspring Beulah sometime before 1947, the year baby Beauregard arrived. Twins Larabee and Lobelia appeared in 1957. In 1940, the actual cow Elsie appeared in the film, ''

Little Men ''Little Men,'' or ''Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys,'' is a children's novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888), which was first published in 1871 by Roberts Brothers. The book reprises characters from her 1868–69 two-volume ...

'', as "Buttercup". For a time in the mid-1940s, the cartoon Elsie was voiced by

Hope Emerson Hope Emerson (October 29, 1897 – April 24, 1960;) was an American actress, vaudevillian, nightclub performer, and strongwoman. An imposing person physically, she weighed between and stood tall in her prime. Early life Emerson was born in ...

. Elsie and her cartoon calves were featured in Elsie's Boudoir at Freedomland U.S.A., a

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

depicting America's history located in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, from 1960 to 1963. A live cow representing Elsie appeared on stage at the Borden's exhibit in the Better Living Pavilion at the

1964 New York World's Fair The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...

, in a musical revue with a score by the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

composer

Kay Swift Katharine Faulkner "Kay" Swift (April 19, 1897 – January 28, 1993) was an American composer of popular and classical music, the first woman to score a hit musical completely. Written in 1930, the Broadway musical '' Fine and Dandy'' includes ...

. Elsie has been bestowed such tongue-in-cheek honorary university degrees as Doctor of Bovinity, Doctor of Human Kindness, and Doctor of Ecownomics. In

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, home of the Dairy Princess, Elsie was named Queen of Dairyland. The

Seneca people The Seneca () ( see, Onödowáʼga:, "Great Hill People") are a group of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their n ...

named her an honorary chief, and the City of

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

presented her with their

P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...

Award of Showmanship.

Living version

The success of the character encouraged Borden to promote a real life version of Elsie, with the name "You'll Do Lobelia", being her appearance in 1939. This version of Elsie became a celebrity, being more known than

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

, being noted as "the most famous icon in the U.S.", ranking above The Campbell Soup Kids, the Marlboro Man, and The Jolly Green Giant. Lobelia died in 1941 after a traffic accident, just two years after her rise to fame. Her tombstone is at Plainsboro, NJ.Tombstone of Elsie the Cow
at Roadside America.com Since then, other "Elsies" took her place as Borden's spokescow.Elsie the Cow – The Massachusetts Starlet Who Brought a Cartoon to Life
on the New England Historic Society

References

External links

Collection of mid-century Elsie the Cow advertising
at The Gallery of Graphic Design {{DEFAULTSORT:Elsie The Cow Animal mascots Corporate mascots Female characters in advertising Drink advertising characters Fictional cattle Mascots introduced in 1936 Food advertising characters Plainsboro Township, New Jersey Borden (company)