Each year, state fair season comes as a welcome extension of an otherwise dwindling summer. In New England, it’s all about The Big E, a 17-day fair boasting everything from music and rides to food and agriculture. And back when our attention spans lasted longer than a goldfish’s, the fair’s broad appeal could be represented in a single ad like this one from 1966. Not only did this ad capture some of the fair’s most popular attractions, it spoke to a wide range of visitors – parents, children, even hard-to-please teenagers. By their nature, fairs are a lot of things to a lot of different people, but as print advertising has evolved over the years, it has become more important to focus on one or two specific features per ad. Through our experience working with The Big E for nearly a decade, we’ve learned that it’s the “Little E’s” – the food, entertainment, agriculture, rides, tradition – that cause people to return year after year. Each person has their one thing they come back for. And so the most effective print ads have become a series of ads, each focusing on one E instead of one ad with “feature salad.”

Fun Fact: In 2014, the Big E set a new record with over 50,000 Big E Cream Puffs sold – using 35,000 eggs, 6,000 gallons of heavy cream, and 720 pounds of butter!