A tap in time saves the snapshot
Toronto. The old Kodak excelled at deciding what problems affected their customers and how to solve them. Ads like this LIFE ad in the issue of September 25, 1970 addressed one problem and silently showed how two others were solved. Drop-in Instamatic film solved the film loading issue while tiny flash cubes meant fewer flash bulbs to carry and customers were able to shoot four fames before changing bulbs.
This ad shows the problem of flash batteries dying while the camera was set aside and how it was resolved. Instead of battery power, the shutter triggered a tiny spring loaded wire that tapped a piezoelectric crystal transforming mechanical power to electrical power and igniting the flash bulb.
Thanks to George Dunbar who suggested this ad showing a revolutionary means to solve the customer’s dead flash battery problem. The title is a riff on that old saying, “a stitch in time saves nine“.
