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ETV Premieres New Carolina Stories Documentary “Miss Springmaid”

For Immediate Release
November 3, 2010

Columbia, SC…Colonel Elliott White Springs may not have coined the phrase “sex sells,” however the racy images and innuendo-laced advertisements for bed linen catapulted the Lancaster- and Fort Mill-based marketing phenom to prominence throughout the Great Depression and WWII.

On Thursday, Nov. 18 at 9 p.m., ETV premieres the new Carolina Stories documentary “Miss Springmaid.” The 30-minute program takes a daring look at the irrepressible and provocative marketing genius who made Springmaid sheets a household brand and forever influenced the way the advertising industry would dream up ways to entice consumers. An encore broadcast airs Sunday, Nov. 21 at 4 p.m.

It all began in the 1930s as Springs unenthusiastically inherited his father’s struggling textile empire. A celebrated WWI hero, Springs was now tasked with the dreary chore of advertising the sale of cloth. So the Colonel sought a new slant in his magazine ads for bed sheets, spearheading an innovative ad campaign filled with titillating text and double entendre that shocked the nation. Though some of the ads are still considered risqué even by today’s standards, his enterprise has been hailed as the precursor to Madison Avenue’s hold on the nation’s sexual consciousness.

Calling it a “burlesque of the advertising business,” Springs began commissioning artwork depicting attractive young women as his “Spring Maids.” Though many from the public at large were outraged by Springs’ approach, within a year there was convincing proof that sex sells.

“I would consider him the prince of peek-a-boo advertising,” says University of Georgia professor, Dr. Tom Reichert. “He’s the one who really invented this type of appeal in which you’d see a shoulder strap that’s falling down or a low-cut blouse…” Reichert concluded, “He was the master of that.”

While Irish playwright Brendan Behan once said, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity,” Springs proved the maxim to be true, after publishing several letters in the company publication, The Springs Bulletin. The cleverly crafted correspondences, written by an indignant “consumer” named Joe Gish, a.k.a Colonel Elliot White Springs, spurred sales.

Additionally, as a master of the publicity stunt, the “big event,” and the “grand opening,” each year, Springs promoted a Miss Springmaid contest. The competition spotlighted South Carolina mill girls competing for the prize of a trip to Springs headquarters in New York City, which included shopping at Tiffany’s, “nights on the town” and public appearances.

Using these and other techniques, and by sheer determination and genius, the legendary advertising savant restored Springs Mills to prosperity during the Depression years and World War II.

Initially, the advertising industry called his ads “degrading,” but today Springs’ potpourri of risqué images, puns, and double entendres are studied at major universities around the world.

Also featured throughout the documentary are commentaries and historical accounts from:

• Anne White Springs, daughter of Colonel Springs
• Marshall Doswell, Former Vice President, Springs Mills
• Dr. Benjamin Dunlap, Wofford College
• Elizabeth Ford, Fort Mill historian
• Dr. Kathy Forde, University of South Carolina
• Dr. Lawrence Glickman, University of South Carolina
• Dr. Van Kornegay, University of South Carolina
• Dr. Tom Reichert, University of Georgia

South Carolina ETV is the state's public educational broadcasting network with 11 television and eight radio transmitters, and a multi-media educational system in more than 2,500 schools, colleges, businesses and government agencies. Using television, radio and the web, SCETV's mission is to enrich lives by educating children, informing and connecting citizens, celebrating our culture and environment and instilling the joy of learning.

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For more information, contact Rob Schaller at (803) 737-6556 or rschaller@scetv.org.

Springmaid Ad: "A Bride Must Have a Chest Full of Sheets and a Soul Full of Hope" Photo courtesy of Ann Evans, The White Homestead

Springmaid Ad: "Protect Your Assets" Photo courtesy of Ann Evans, The White Homestead

Springmaid Ad: "We Put the Broad in Broadcloth" Photo courtesy of Ann Evans, The White Homestead

Springmaid Ad: "How To Kill Two Birds" Photo courtesy of Ann Evans, The White Homestead