The Whipped Cream Girl
Dolores Erickson is not a household word, but for men in their 40s or 50s, she's the "whipped cream" girl from the Herb Alpert album, "Whipped Cream and Other Delights".
Back in the 70s, everyone owned this album. It's memorable because of the cover art. Ms. Erickson was featured wearing only a sultry look, covered head to toe with whipped cream, There was something about that picture that was memorable and it became a cultural graphic icon.
Napoleon said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Pictures like album covers and commercials can burn their way into the cultural psyche so deep that our society is tattoed for life with the image.
I'll never forget the whipped cream girl or Marilyn's dress flying up from the grate or John Lennon in bed with Yoko in the hotel room. These pictures are to our culture what Homeric odes and oral mythology were to the ancients. They are our cultural legacy.
Posted on December 01, 2005
