What are your memories of Vegas? I didn’t ask if you had been
there, I asked what your memories were.
Everyone has seen Vegas; it is one of the most filmed and famed spots on the Globe. Is it the many small chapels with a coiffed, jump-suited Elvis ready to send you into wedded bliss? What about the desert and the extreme heat that greets summertime visitors (this is one people don’t find out about until they have actually been there)? Maybe you watch the TV show CSI and have some dark, seedy vision of the city filled with blood samples and obscure hair follicles. Then, of course, there are casinos. Most likely at the top of any memory of Las Vegas.
What about the casinos attracts? Well, in the old days they didn’t have the technology to produce choreographed water displays (Bellagio), they had to use a lower tech method of attracting the crowd. But Vegas has always liked to do things up big. So, casino owners and designers decided to show the world how big, bold and flashy America’s adult playground could be. One of these thoughts produced the world famous icon—Vegas Vic.
He’s the 40 foot tall neon cowboy sign that welcomes people to Las Vegas that many see when they think of Sin City. He lazily leans against what use to be the old Pioneer Club, smoking a cigarette waving people into what is now a souvenir shop. The first image of Vegas Vic was created in 1947, when the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce hired a West-Marquis firm to draw visitors to Las Vegas. The company created the friendly cowboy image for a post card with the greeting "Howdy Podner". Due to the popularity of the cowboy, the owners of the Pioneer Club commissioned a neon-sign version to be erected on Fremont street. It replaced their sign that just said Pioneer Club with the image of a horse drawn covered wagon. He is one of the foremost demonstrations of what can be done with neon and he has been copied many times since he was first placed there in 1951, including Wendover Will erected in 1952 at the Stateline Casino and River Rick erected in 1981 at the Pioneer Hotel and Gambling Hall.
Realize that most neon signs are pretty well standard bent and colored glass tubes filled with some noble gas. Vegas Vic showed the world what could be done with the medium. Not only could a 40 foot tall authentic looking cowboy be produced, but movement could be added without damaging the tubes. The neon version was complete with a waving arm, a moving cigarette, and a recording of "Howdy Podner!" every 15 minutes. The effect the neon Vegas Vic had on the advertising world was instantaneous. After that businesses all over the world started ordering moving neon representations of their product or mascot.
Vegas Vic may be famous for welcoming people to Las Vegas, but he is also famous for ushering in a new age in neon signage.