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Design Stories: Exploring Everyday Things

Canadian Tire Catalogue. Spring / Summer 1972.

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1. Canadian Tire Catalogue. Spring / Summer 1972.

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Appearances in Print Advertisements 32 plain 7745 2025-04-03T17:27:31-04:00
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Appearances in Canadian Print Advertisement
The earliest documented appearance of the General Electric RM110 phonograph in the Canadian market we could find was in a Canadian Tire ad on December 9, 1969 (fig. 7). Interestingly, it was not listed under its model name at the time. In fact, the RM110 naming convention only appeared in three known instances: first, in The Ottawa Journal on February 12, 1970 (fig. 8); then, in a “Simpsons Day” promotional ad in The Toronto Star on November 15, 1971 (fig. 9); and finally, in an undated CGE Home Entertainment Centre catalogue (fig. 11). These were the only confirmed print advertisements that explicitly referenced the RM110 model name in Canada, though the phonograph itself appeared in additional advertisements under alternate branding.

In the following year, the RM110 phonograph reappeared in a Simpsons-Sears catalogue section of The Vancouver Sun on November 14, 1972 (fig. 10), this time rebranded with Mickey Mouse imagery and marketed as the ‘Mickey Mouse Phonograph.’ Under this name, the record player saw its widest circulation, appearing in approximately 100 Sears advertisements throughout the 1970s. Despite featuring little to no CGE branding, it was also marketed under alternative names, such as the ‘Kid-Proof Phonograph’ (fig. 12) and ‘Kid-Proof Mickey Mouse Phonograph’ (fig. 13). A Hamilton Spectator advertisement from November 22, 1972 (fig. 13) explicitly stated that this model was “Made exclusively for Simpsons-Sears by General Electric,” confirming that the various Sears-exclusive ‘Kid-Proof Phonograph’ models bearing the same design were indeed produced by General Electric as the RM110 phonograph. Beyond its initial appearances, the CGE RM110 resurfaced approximately 30 more times in Canadian advertisements, primarily in Canadian Tire ads under various names, including “CGE Record Player,” “CGE 2-Speed Mono Player,” and “CGE Mono Tote”—each accompanied by the listing number 34-9320 (fig. 14, fig. 15, fig. 16).
Broader Market Reach in the United States
In contrast to its seasonal and limited advertising in Canada, the equivalent U.S. model, GE V211, had a much stronger market presence, enjoying thousands of appearances year-round in various newspaper ads across the country, under various names including (but possibly not limited to): “Child’s Portable Phonograph” (fig. 17), “Youth Phonograph” (fig. 18), and “Recordmate” (fig. 19). The first documented appearance of the V211 in the U.S. market was on February 13, 1969, in a Woolco advertisement listing products from “The GE Small Home Appliance Show” (fig. 20). However, this listing lacked product imagery, making it difficult to confirm the exact model. The first verifiable appearance with an image was in the Ironton Tribune on April 9, 1969 (fig. 21).
Model Number Confusion and Variations in Design
Throughout its advertising history, there were numerous occasions of misattributed model numbers, the RM110 and its US equivalent V211 was misattributed to a very similar model. Notably, a visually similar model featuring a different speaker design—with radial perforations instead of horizontal perforated stripes—was sometimes incorrectly labeled as the RM110/V211. In at least one known U.S. advertisement, this radial speaker model was instead labeled as the V181 (fig. 22), suggesting that multiple variations of the design were in circulation, possibly produced for different retailers or specific consumer segments. This pattern of model number inconsistencies reinforces the likelihood that CGE and GE marketed the same core product under different names and slight design variations to cater to different regions, retailers, and consumer demographics. Additionally, the limited appearance of the RM110 in Canada may also be attributed to CGE’s weaker presence in the Canadian consumer market, which likely led the company to license its products to Canadian firms for distribution and marketing. At least in the case of this record player, this strategy appears to have been a key factor in its branding and retail placement.
Addendum: Similar Model by Heathkit
During the initial research for this phonograph, we came across several models of Heathkit phonograph that looks very similar to the General Electric model. Attached here is one such case from a Heathkit catalogue in 1969. This further proves the case that this phonograph was similar marketed to capture existing trends at the time, particularly that of marketing to the emerging children market.
The CGE Branch Plant Economy Examining the economic and social relationships of Canada, Canada’s socio-economic landscape has been deeply influenced by the United States long before the 1970s. During this period, concerns grew over Canada’s increasing economic dependence on the U.S., with fears that the country was losing its sovereignty to American corporate and financial interests during this time (Clarkson 1972). This sentiment stemmed not only from Canada’s failure to fully integrate its diverse population—which included French, Anglo-Saxon, and European groups—but also from its status as a branch plant economy, a system in which foreign-owned companies dominated Canadian manufacturing and industry (Clarkson 1972).

From the late 1800s to the end of WWII, Canada imposed protective tariffs on U.S. goods under the National Policy in order to “shield Canadian manufacturers from American competition” (Mcintosh, 2015). While intended to uplift the Canadian industry, these policies had mixed success. Some argue that they inadvertently led to increased U.S. investment in Canadian markets, as American companies established branch plants in Canada to circumvent these tariffs, often outcompeting local manufacturers (Clarkson 1977). Following WWII, investment in branch plants accelerated, particularly as Canada’s economy rebounded and the discovery of Alberta’s oil fields posed Canada as an attractive area of American investment and business expansion (McIntosh 2015). Given this economic model, it is highly likely that CGE itself was established as a branch plant, benefitting both American and Canadian industries and consumers by allowing General Electric to expand into Canadian markets without facing high import tariffs.

The branch plant economy model may also explain why multiple versions of the same record player existed under different model names and distributors. In Canada, identical record players were sold through retailers such as Canadian Tire, Sears, and Consumers Distributing, yet they were marketed under slightly different names, materials, descriptions, and branding. For instance, a Canadian Tire catalogue listed the record player as being made of polystyrene, while Sears advertised it as polyurethane, and several others labeled it as polyethylene. This suggests that while the original design may have belonged to General Electric, the model was likely licensed or adapted by other Canadian manufacturers and retailers. As McIntosh (2015) notes, "In a relatively small number of cases, foreign firms licensed Canadian companies to use technologies that they had developed, so that goods and services based on these new technologies were produced in Canadian-owned establishments."