Power Carpet/Unisphere — 1964

by Paula Bosse

The New York World’s Fair provided great opportunities for tie-in advertising. Take, for instance, this cannot-be-ignored ad for Bigelow, a manufacturer of rugs, carpets, and textiles. The text at the very top reads: “Unisphere presented by USS — United States Steel.” So, sort of “Unisphere’s Official Floor Coverings of the 1964 New York World’s Fair!” And, I mean… there are echoes of the iconic (and trademarked) Unisphere globe all over this be-shagged power-office.

But, back to the carpet. The carpet. No, that’s not a putting green in there. That is the “new, deep-textured, random sheared Richcraft in Avocado.” Yes, it is. And that retina-damaging eye-popper of an area rug set awkwardly on top of the deep-textured wall-to-wall shag carpeting? That, children, is an accent rug called “Fiesta” — “from our custom carpet collection.” (You know some modster asked for a wall-to-wall version of that for their rock-and-roll penthouse.)

The caption of this ad reads: “A title on the door rates a Bigelow on the floor. For every place of business, every public building, every home, Bigelow has or can custom-create the perfect carpet. We’ve done it since 1825.”

A power-executive requires a power-carpet.