After 146 years, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus recently announced they will perform their last show in May of 2017. The circus has been struggling with a decline in ticket sales over the past few years. Lack of attendance may have been exacerbated by the show’s March 2016 announcement that they would no longer feature elephants. Ringling’s bold advertisement from 1945 promotes one of the circus’s most iconic acts. The bright background and lettering were sure to catch the attention of any on-looker. A very different approach from the busier posters Ringling produced in the early 1900s.

FUN FACT: Founder P.T. Barnum coined the phrase “There’s no such thing as bad publicity”. (Source: Campaign US)