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Goodyear…On the Air
June 3, 2025 marks the centennial anniversary of the maiden voyage of the Goodyear Type AD airship Pilgrim, the first commercial non-rigid airship to use helium. Though the company had been experimenting with airships for several years by then, (including some that were used in World War One), this date marks the official launch of the company’s high profile advertising fleet a.k.a. The Goodyear Blimp. The “air” in our title makes a tri-fold reference: the atmosphere the blimps fly through; the stuff that fills Goodyear’s tires; and the radio and tv shows that Goodyear sponsored on the broadcast networks.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898, and was named after Charles Goodyear (1900-1960) inventor of vulcanized rubber, though he was unaffiliated with the company. Their initial product line included tires for carriages and bicycles, as well as horseshoe pads. Within a year of incorporation of they were also producing automobile tires. Tires for airplanes followed a decade after that. One need only contemplate the century-plus that followed to imagine the growth this company enjoyed right from its very inception given the rapid expansion of the auto industry, government contracts in times of war, and numerous other factors. Launched in Akron, Ohio, the company became an international concern within a few short years.
Obviously, tires are less stimulating to the imagination than airships. This piece constitutes one of a series related to the latter topic, the previous ones treating of:
In 1924, Goodyear and Zeppelin began a formal partnership on airship development that lasted until the declaration of war in 1941. The companies specialized in products that were more different from each other than you might expect. Zeppelins were rigid airships, made of metal, and much larger. Blimps are balloons. Still, the companies had very similar missions. In recent decades they have begun to collaborate again.
Goodyear originally intended for their blimps to be popular as “air yachts”, for those who could afford them. As with luxury passenger travel, public fears about safety prevented the market for such a product from ever really (forgive me) taking off. But as an advertising tool, Goodyear Blimps proved surprisingly effective. At sporting events and other large gatherings one sees them overhead, and when those events are televised the advertising impressions are amplified into the millions. (For one example, we had occasion to mention it in our recent post on the 1964 Worlds Fair).
But of course, an even surer way to reach millions is to have your own weekly television program. Goodyear’s first was Paul Whiteman’s Goodyear Revue (1949-1952), starring the “King of Jazz” himself, maestro Paul Whiteman. (Whiteman being a hefty sized man, his hosting of the show prompted to a cascade of blimp relate jokes at the time). The Goodyear Revue was a musical variety program featuring Whiteman and his orchestra, plus special guests like Frances Langford,Hoagy Carmichael, Bob Crosby, Peggy Lee, Vivian Blaine,Victor Borge, and dozens of others. During the last season, Earl Wrightson and Maureen Cannon were the in house singers. They took over hosting duties while Whiteman was away.
Shows like Whiteman’s were a throwback to old time radio. Goodyear’s more lasting television offering was Goodyear Television Playhouse (1951-57), which later became Goodyear Theatre (1957-60). During the first incarnation it presented live hour-long television dramas in the Playhouse 90 vein; for the later stint, the shows were taped and the slot was a half hour. Much distinguished talent worked on the show, from directors like Sidney Lumet, Arthur Penn, and Jack Smight; to writers like Paddy Chayefsky, Horton Foote, and Gore Vidal; to actors like Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, and Elaine Stritch.
Television changed by the ’60s. Companies no longer sponsor entire shows. Or do they? Since 2014, Goodyear has been the named sponsor of the Cotton Bowl, a role previously filled by Mobil Oil and AT & T. The connection between the product and the event are not random. Obviously the Goodyear Blimp has long been associated with football. But I’m talking about cotton. East Texas, where Dallas and the Cotton Bowl are located, is cotton country. And for many decades, Goodyear used cotton to reinforce its tires, though it had its own plantation facilities in Arizona and in Asia.
For more about vaudeville, which Paul Whitemantoured with his orchestras, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, and please stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.
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