Godzilla 1954 Ad

Some of my Godzilla 1954 original, reprints and released items

Recently, I’ve been fortunate to find some of these along with magazines containing ads, articles and storyboards. This is the October 31, 1954 issue of the Sankei Graph (サンケイグラフ 十月卅一日号, the English title was The Sankei Graphic) with an Godzilla (1954) promotional advertisement on its back cover. The Sankei Graphic was a graphic magazine published by Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd. (株式会社産業経済新聞社). It was founded in 1954. On July 5th, Godzilla production was announced followed by the start of the Nippon Broadcasting Radio Drama “The Monster Godzilla”『ラジオドラマ『怪獣ゴジラ』every Saturday from 7:00 to 7:30 pm on the 17th. On October 25th, the Godzilla Festival was held at the Toho Studio Courtyard to celebrate its completion and to pray for its success. That same day “The Monster Godzilla”「怪獣ゴジラ」was published by Iwatani Shoten (岩谷書店刊). On October 27th, a special screening of “Godzilla” took place in Nagoya.¹² Three days later, on Sunday, October 31st, this Godzilla advertisement appeared on the back cover of The Sankei Graphic. The magazine retailed for 40 yen. On November 3, Godzilla was released in theaters across Japan.

The Sankei Graphic (サンケイグラフ 十月卅一日号) back cover Godzilla (1954) advertisement (See front cover)

Godzilla’s appearance and orientation varies across promotional material. This is a beautiful full-color advertisement measuring 10 inches by 14.5 inches. Featured is what appears to be Godzilla maquette, holding a woman, standing in a ravished Ginza. On other Godzilla suit as it appears on others ads. This scene never appears in the film. It is undoubtedly inspired by King Kong (1993) holding the actress Fay Wray. Godzilla is turned and looking to the right with the movie title logotype set vertically on the left. Silhouettes of the main and supporting characters (Dr. Serizawa, Dr. Yamane, Ogata, Eriko, etc.) appear along the bottom. There are no tie-ups as found on posters and other promotional material. Having this ad is like owning an original poster. It is a treasure and another piece of Godzilla history.