Does anyone remember the Bonne Bell ads of the 70s with the young girl who turned out to be the daughter of the company's owner? There was something about those ads with Julie Bell that seemed so "honest", just like the skin that Ten-0-Six promised us.
First the Bells were pretty in your face with the nepotism, they took no pains to hide the fact. Pretty admirable really as they could have engaged in a subterfuge and a pseudonym. Good on Jess Bell.
Second, she was less modelly and more "like us" which pleased us teen consumers of that decade. She was not painfully thin or preposterously flawlessly beautiful and she always looked a bit tentative in the photos which just added to the charm. She was a reachable goal physically if not economically (my dad was never going to own a cosmetics firm). On the other hand of economics there was never any conscious glam, Julie never wore diamonds or Dior. In the "Let it be Honest" ad the beaded bracelet was plastic and easily attainable.
I googled around a bit for her and came up with no photos despite the fact that her son, Hunter Lydon, is a serious photographer. Grandma "Julie Sr" is there as is daughter Juliana who looks like a 21st century version of her mother. No mommy.
I was also sad to read that her life was touched by the tragedy of the loss of a child.
Hope you are well, Julie Bell, Jr. I couldn't look like Cheryl Tiegs but I could look like you and I will always be grateful for your ads. They made normal adolescence way more tolerable! All the best!
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Funny that you wrote this. I just ran into Julie last night and was reminicing on those ads!
Alas, I was lead ro revisit the ads and models of the 70s after listening to one of my daughters regurgitate some nonsense spouted by a prof (too young to remember the 70s) about how the 70s stressed anorexic women with perfect faces who were all caucasian.
I bought a few magazines on ebay in order to force the collapse of this rubbish. My recollections were correct. Sure there were Cheryl Tiegs and Christina Ferrare marketing make-up to girls, but just as often the models were chosen from high schools and colleges and that fact was highlighted in the articles.The heavy hitter models stayed in Vogue. There were African American models and a few American Indian and hispanic ones too. These girls largely modeled the clothing leaving Cheryl and Christina to model the makeup.
Enter the Bonne Bell ads. The girl who was dealing with skin problems and would soon have "boy problems and too much to do in one day problems" was not dating Mick Jagger or hanging out with rockers, she was taking riding lessons, backpacking in the mountains, or sharing a laugh with , of all people, her mom!
To be fair a few other companies used non-modelly looking models. The girl who did the "this ear of corn gave its life so that you could be beautiful" ads was no Patty Hansen. Many of the models were nameless and we never heard from them again.
My daughter was also stunned to see the normal teeth (unbleached and un-veneered) and the lack of strenuous retouching in the shots as well as the accessability of the clothing and shoes. We did not have designer logos back then.
The magazines were a revelation to the young prof. I'm not sure why. In 1972, we really did not know what anorexia and bulimia were and nobody self-mutilated for satisfaction or to "just feel something". For all the chat about the 70s being superficial and so unlike our diverse and accepting society of today,I think we were the more accepting ones.
After I wrote my initial entry, I wondered about the genesis of the ads. Was Julie Bell someone who was dying to be a model and lobbied for the chance or was Bonne Bell's nice and natural image and Jess Bell's preference the catalyst for the Julie ads? In any event as a woman who was a teen in that era, the Julie ads were BB's most effective.
I loved those ads too. I used Ten-0-Six lotion to look like Julie Bell; in fact, I used all the BB cosmetics and I wish those products were still being produced--I still use the modern version of 10-0-6 and my skin looks great, despite the alcohol % in the lotion. Julie Bell was lovely and those ads bring the 1970's back.
i, for one, am a fan of anything that makes me feel like i can bring the seventies back...what i would give to be able to have just one more tube of my most favorite 'bonne bell face gloss' which was my favorite product from the seventies. why oh why don't they make this again?
I read the last comment lamenting the loss of the 'face gloss' product. They make a product called face gloss, I'll put the link to their store at the end. I hope that helps whoever is looking for this!
http://www.colorandflavorshop.com/product.php?productid=346219&cat=48&page=1
Hi Julie
I was attending the University of Wyoming when you came. Had lots of fun and thought you were very funny. My boyfriend's name was Larry (now my husband). Just thinking about you and hope all is well. Lynn
Hi Julie,
We met at Culver Summer School. We use to swim laps together & talk about diets. I got to know you the first summer & by the second summer we were all fast friends. You confided a lot with me about how hard it was to constantly stay ona diet. I remember you had to report about how much weight you had lost. I feel so sorry for you. Here was a beautiful girl who you would have thought had everything , but you were so miserable. You know I learned a lot from you those two summers. The grass really isn’t always greener on the other side.
I hope you finally found peace with yourself & are happy.
You may not remember me, but I thought you were a beautiful person ; who was just the right size !
Happy sailing,
Emily AspleyDale
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