''Ballyhoo'' was a humor magazine published by Dell Publishing, created by George T. Delacorte Jr., and edited by Norman Anthony (former editor of ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' and '' Judge''), from 1931 until 1939, with a couple of attempts to resuscitate the magazine (now edited by

Bill Yates Floyd Buford Yates (July 5, 1921 – March 26, 2001), better known as Bill Yates, was an American cartoonist who drew gag cartoons and comic strips before assuming the position of comic strip editor for King Features Syndicate in 1978. Biograph ...

) after the war between 1948 and 1954. In common with other magazines of the era, it featured a central section dedicated to one-off cartoons, but in the surrounding pages, it presented spoof ads and articles much in the manner later popularized by the 1950s magazine '' Mad''. When questioned about this at a gathering of the British SSI (

Society of Strip Illustration The Society of Strip Illustration (SSI), later known as the Comics Creators Guild, was a British network for all those involved in any stage of the creative process of comics production. The SSI, which was co-founded in 1977 by Denis Gifford, met ...

), " the usual gang of idiots" from ''Mad'' were unequivocal in their response: "We know nuthin', and what's more we ain't sayin'." Delacorte's publishing history up to this point had been in digest-sized magazines of the kind not normally of interest to advertisers, so spoofing advertisements in ''Ballyhoo'' held no fears for him. Launched during the worst of the Great Depression, the first issue sold out within a week. Real advertisers flocked to place ads. However, Anthony was concerned real ads would not be in the true spirit of ''Ballyhoo'' and demanded they should fit in with the magazine's editorial policy. What this actually resulted in was the ''Ballyhoo'' editorial staff writing the advertising dialogue, leaving very little difference between the real and spoof ads. An ad for a radio kicked off with the banner line, "Now! All the crap in the world... at your fingertips!" and ended with "...It will do everything but give you good programs and Gawd knows no set will do that" while a spoof ad merely pointed out the advantages of balanced radio. A balanced radio will stand on the window ledge so you can receive a decent signal, whilst an unbalanced radio will fall off. ''Ballyhoos success led to a number of imitators (one even called itself ''Hullaballo''), and requests to use the Ballyhoo

brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

to sell almost everything from

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s; in 1931 the magazine inspired the Ballyhoo pinball machine. Sales peaked at almost two million, but started slipping towards the end of the decade when the decision was taken to close the magazine down. There were two attempts to relaunch, one in 1948, and another in 1952. Coincidentally, this final attempt folded in 1954, the year before '' Mad'' changed from

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

format to magazine format.

Other publications called ''Ballyhoo''

In the 1960s, the title ''Ballyhoo'' was used for a men's magazine, which also failed to set the world on fire. According to th
Magazine Data File
there was a 1950s British ''Ballyhoo'', which was probably unrelated to the American magazine. According t

there was a later 1950s Australian ''Ballyhoo'' humor magazine which reprinted earlier editions of the American magazine.

Sources

*''Ballyhoo'' magazine (various) *''Print''. "Fish in a barrel" by Carrie McLaren. RC Publications, January–February 2000.

External links

{{Authority control 1931 establishments in Australia Satirical magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in Australia Magazines established in 1931 Magazines disestablished in 1939