At first glance, you may think this painting is another example of Rockwell telling a story about telling a story. But it’s more than that… it’s an advertisement. This painting was created as an ad for Colgate toothpaste.
Rockwell understood that sometimes ads work better when you don’t clunk people over the head with a hard sell.
Rockwell used this wholesome scene of the two of you to sell an image of family and America that he hoped would make people feel warm and fuzzy and want to buy toothpaste.
