Eventually -- Why Not Now?

What a beautiful day for a walk. What a bonus that I wandered aross this bit of history lingering on the north face of a building on the 1900 block of Bissell in Lincoln Park. (It's now a single family home, but must have once been a storefront.)

According to Gold Medal Flour's company history, this advertising campaign began in 1907 and continued through 1954.

During (1907), Washburn, Crosby launched its long-running advertising slogan, "Eventually-Why Not Now?" B.S. Bull, the company's advertising manager, is credited with the creation of the slogan. As the story goes, he was editing a wordy text about the superior quality of Gold Medal Flour and found, that when he was finished he had edited out all the words except 4: “Eventually." He then added, "Why Not Now?"

Having had this brilliant idea, he was struck with self-doubt and tossed the paper into the wastebasket. It was said to have been found by a young member of the firm, James Ford Bell, who later became the first president of General Mills, Inc. (The slogan was used on billboards, company trucks, train cars, flour bags and in the company's printed advertisements, appearing as late as the early 1950's. . . . "

If you click on the photo, it becomes a bit larger. The "Eventually" is written on a diagonal across the top left, and in smaller letters on the bottom right is the "Why Not Now?"

The billboard added interest and a sense of discovery to my walk. I appreciate so much that someone else appreciated this little bit of history enough to not scrub it off their bricks. The neighborhood is richer for it.