Frank Rowsome Jr. •
The Verse by the Side of the Road •

THE ANSWER TO
A MAIDEN’S
PRAYER
IS NOT A CHIN
OF STUBBY HAIR

Burma-Shave was the marketing success story that shouldn’t have been. This small book describes how a Midwestern businessman built a shaving-cream empire from “a busted company . . . a product that most people had never heard of, much less believed in, and . . . an advertising idea that ad men said wouldn’t work.”

THE WHALE
PUT JONAH
DOWN THE HATCH
BUT COUGHED HIM UP
BECAUSE HE SCRATCHED

If you took a road trip in the United States between 1927 and 1963, chances are you encountered Burma-Shave signs.

PAST
SCHOOLHOUSES
TAKE IT SLOW
LET THE LITTLE
SHAVERS GROW

A typical ad sequence consisted of five or six signs installed next to the road about 100 paces apart, each bearing one line of a catchy jingle. A final sign displayed the red-and-white Burma-Shave logo.

WHEN THE STORK
DELIVERS A BOY
OUR WHOLE
DARN FACTORY
JUMPS FOR JOY

Scratchy whiskers, safe driving, and the romantic benefits of close shaves were recurring themes. The ads’ light-hearted, folksy humor drew smiles even during times of war and economic crisis.

HINKY DINKY
PARLEY VOO
CHEER UP FACE
THE WAR
IS THRU

Road safety got an unexpected boost from the jingles, regardless of their message. According to a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, “no phenomenon more reliably slowed down speeders than a set of Burma-Shave signs.”

WE KNOW
HOW MUCH
YOU LOVE THAT GAL
BUT USE BOTH HANDS
FOR DRIVING, PAL

This nostalgic tribute is the closest you can get to a Burma-Shave museum. All 600 jingles from the company’s archives are reproduced here, a feel-good slice of Americana whose like we will not see again.

IF YOU
DON’T KNOW
WHOSE SIGNS
THESE ARE
YOU CAN’T HAVE
DRIVEN VERY FAR