Paul Bunyan: one hundred year-old branded content

There may have been Paul Bunyan stories that circulated throughout the logging camps of the United States and Canada during the late 19th century, but the evidence for this is not entirely clear. Of course there were “tall tales” and legends about extraordinary exploits that happened in the logging camps - but there does not appear to be any trace of a character named Paul Bunyan. The Paul Bunyan stories that people have come to know as American legends were the stories that were created by writers for the Red River Lumber Company, and initially circulated in print on behalf of that company. Most people today probably think that Paul Bunyan is an old American folk hero, but the fact is that he started out as a marketing gimmick, like the Jolly Green Giant or Betty Crocker.

(via)

Whether or not Paul Bunyan started out as a marketing tool is irrelevant - the idea outlasted the product. If this isn’t your goal, I don’t understand you.

spiegelman