Playing Cards for Consumer Advertising, Marketing & Promotion
Closely following the development of visual advertising in general, such as on labels, packaging, posters and TV commercials, advertising playing cards seek to find ways to associate products with our inner desires and longings, with our identity and who we want to be. Some packs are widely distributed as part of larger promotions, others are more exclusive. In some cases single cards are collected from inside the advertised product, thereby stimulating further sales to complete a full set.
Hilti I
Promotional pack for Hilti power tools, with courts in medieval costume and non-standard pips.
Historical Characters
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by Matt Probert
“Historical Characters” playing cards printed by Waddington’s for Thermawear Ltd, 1994.
Hoover Ltd Playing Cards
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by Simon Wintle
Vintage cartoon courts and ace of spades specially designed for Hoover Limited, with full colour back showing the Art Deco style Hoover factory at Perivale, manufactured by Waddington's Playing Cards, c.1930.
Hot Sauce Playing Cards
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by Simon Wintle
Each card shows an image of a bottle of hot Chilli Sauce (spelt 'chile' on the cards), a map of where the product is made, a heat gauge plus amusing notes and information about the particular sauce.
Hôtels-Grils Campanile
Publicity pack for the Campanile hotel and restaurant chain featuring French provincial costumes, with designs by James Hodges.
Hulk playing cards
Issued to coincide with the release in 2003 of the American superhero film, The Hulk.
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!
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by Matt Probert
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! promotional playing cards, 1997.
I Trionfi d’Amore
Tarot trumps designed by Juan Ballesta and inspired by 1970s pop culture, promoting Baci chocolates.
Ian Schrager Hotels
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by Matt Probert
Advertising/souvenir deck of cards associated with the Ian Schrager chain of luxury hotels.
Ilford playing cards
Colourful advertising pack for Ilford designed by Mario Grasso, based on standard English courts.
Industria Gráfica Pesout
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by Simon Wintle
Coimexpor Spanish-suited playing cards by Industria Gráfica Pesout, S.A., Buenos Aires, Argentina, c.2008.
Instituto Nacional de Calidad 2006 awards
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by Simon Wintle
Spanish-suited playing cards made specially for the Instituto Nacional de Calidad 2006 awards.
Interhotel playing cards
Interhotel playing cards printed by Obchodni Tiskárny (OTK), Prague, and published by the Interhotel chain in 1972.
Introduction to Collecting Themes
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by Paul Bostock
Playing cards can be broadly categorised into standard and non-standard designs, with collectors appreciating their variety.