Domestic Bliss

Not content with being New Zealand's largest grocery chain during the 1950s Four Square also established one of the country's most enduring brands.This Happy Families card game was part of a raft of marketing initiatives designed to cement 'Mr Four Square' in the minds of shoppers. The image of the jaunty grocer with the pencil behind his ear quickly spread nationwide and he is centre stage in this card game. Some popular brands of the time accompany him on the cards which show domestic bliss dominated by grocery consumption. Wives are pictured happily cleaning or cooking while the husbands ply their trades, drink coffee and chop firewood. Most of the children can still find time to play but it looks like many will follow in their parent's footsteps.