Home Dog Events Buster Brown Shoes to Sponsor Child & Dog Contest

Buster Brown Shoes to Sponsor Child & Dog Contest

The 100 year old shoemaker is seeking six new pairs of boys and girls with their dogs to be featured on shoe boxes.

by Steve Johnson, staff
July 31, 2004

Buster Brown Shoes, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a national search for six new "pairs to remember" - boys and girls with their dogs - to be featured on Buster Brown shoe boxes and win $5,000.00 in savings bonds.

A photo search is on for the next "Sam and Sparky" or "Samantha and Spot" who represent the enduring qualities of Buster Brown. Kids ages 2-12 years are invited to enter a photograph submission of themselves and their dog. Winners and their four-legged friends will be featured on Buster Brown shoe boxes starting in early 2005.

To enter, visit http://www.busterbrowncontest.com to submit a completed Official Entry Form with a photograph. Or, mail the form available at participating Famous Footwear locations and photograph to the following address:

Buster Brown
P.O. Box 8797
St. Louis, MO 63101-8797

Entrants will be judged on personality and spirit as it relates to the Buster Brown brand character. Creativity that brings the "pair to remember" theme to life is encouraged - kids and dogs might look alike, dress alike, or make a matching expression.

In addition to having their photograph on Buster Brown shoe boxes and receiving $5,000.00 in savings bonds, winning entrants will win a trip to a photo shoot location, with their dog and up to two parents or legal guardians.

History of Buster Brown Shoes

In 1902, Richard Outcault introduced a new comic strip featuring a little boy named Buster and his dog Tige. The Brown Shoe company licensed the Buster Brown character and introduced a new line of children's shoes, which debuted at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.

The brand gained quick momentum with children through innovative marketing techniques. From 1904 to 1930, Brown Shoe brought the Buster and Tige comic characters to life using actors, like the 41-inch tall Major William Ray, to play Buster Brown and dog Tige across the United States. Well-promoted in advance, visits by Buster Brown and Tige generated sizable crowds. Buster Brown told jokes, while the trained dogs untied the shoelaces of any child in non-Buster Brown shoes.

As soon as there were airwaves to take to, Buster Brown sponsored children's programming from 1943 to 1959. The brand sponsored the Smilin' Ed McConnell Show on radio (1943-1954) and television (1950-1954), the Andy Devine's Gang television show (1955), and the Captain Kangaroo Show (1956- 1959). Subtlety rarely came into play as hosts frequently reminded their audiences to wear their Buster Brown shoes and receive the latest Buster Brown comic.

While appealing to children through programming, Buster Brown appealed to moms through advertisements in The Saturday Evening Post, Life Magazine, Vogue, and Ladies' Home Journal. In addition, Buster Brown shoes introduced "gifts-with-purchase" -- toys that ranged from noise-makers, to mirrors, to ornaments. Today, Buster Brown shoes have come a long way from the shoes most adults remember wearing.

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