Eureka Princess Canister TV Commercial

[eurekaprince]

Never saw this ad before! It’s from 1969…thank you to “Vacuum Archive” YouTube channel for uploading this!

Loved the light humour in the Eureka commercials from this era! I also remember a similar one featuring an avocado green Super Power stick vac and an “I Dream of Jeannie” actress cleaning the desert sand off the rugs in her tent…

 

[paul]

That is a fun and creative commercial, Brian! What were the differences between the Prince and Princess, and what was the production span of each?

 

[paul]

1969 ad

I found a November 1969 newspaper ad for the model 705 Princess!

 

[eurekaprince]

Paul,

When Eureka introduced the little compact Princess canister vacuums in the early 1960's, it was shaped kind of like a turtle...with a wider front and kind of a narrower rear end...with a front-to-back handle on top. A year or two later, they introduced a bigger, boxier canister that was kind of like a more deluxe Princess. The boxier version was called the Prince - I think it had a more powerful motor and maybe even a suction control panel on top.

For whatever reason, this model name "Prince" only lasted a few years and Eureka began to just call all their compact square canisters by the name Princess. Well into the late 1970's, you could buy both a turtle-shaped Princess or a box-shaped Princess canister cleaner.

 

[paul]

That's interesting, Brian; thanks for the info.!

When you have an opportunity, would you please start another thread with a timeline of Eureka's canisters and their hallmarks?

One thing I find difficult to understand is why Eureka changed model names and designs so frequently. The discontinuance of the Prince name and broadening the Princess moniker is one example - confusing.

In addition, I would have thought that the two lines would initially have had unique model number designations such as the uprights (eg. 500s Prince & 700s Princess). Instead, some Lagoon Blue models were 703 (Prince), 705 & 711 (Princess); a brown model 713 (unnamed) was from the '70s, a Lagoon Blue Cordaway was 745.

 

[paul]

Princess & Prince Details

Perusing Eureka ad's and articles on an online newspaper database featuring the "Princess" and "Prince" canister vacuum cleaners, I've located the following information:

The turtle-shaped Model 702-A "Princess" canister debuted in 1961. Design elements noted in ad's were its light 12 1/2 pounds of weight for ease of mobility, a 1 1/8-peak horsepower motor (more powerful than the Roto-Matic canisters'), a flip-top lid, a power adjuster, an "air jet" (blower port), a cord holder handle, a nylon hose, the Vibra-Beat nozzle, and a large double-compartment Sanitized dust bag. Its 1963 successor, the Model 711-A "Princess II", sported changes including a trapezoid shape, a lift-out tray for inside storage, and a cord caddy for wrap-around storage. In 1964 the "II" was dropped with the Model 705-A when the design was once again tweaked to include the new Power-Pak System like the "Prince II", which increased its weight by a pound.

The model name was apparently shelved after 1982; perhaps with the discontinuance of the Power-Pak System (my trapezoid Model 1514-A from the '80s has the bump out where the bottom exhaust had been and no power selector); however, a pared-down version of the "Princess" lasted well into the 1980s as the 3300 Series canisters and the 1500 Series Roto-Matic Powerteams.

Other model numbers with the "Princess" label in the newspaper advertisements were 736 (1968-81) & 755 (1971-73). It may be that the 600 Series, sold at Kmart & other department stores, also included a Princess labeled model or two; although none appeared in the database I used. When the Model 736 was discontinued, the Model 3320 (introduced in 1976) was dubbed "Princess II" in 1981 & 1982 ad's, but I was unable to locate any actual photo's of one bearing the moniker. It could be that the name was used only for promotional purposes in those years. During that era, a Princess upright toy vacuum was offered as a give-away on certain Eureka purchases.

Incidentally, the original "turtle" styling of the "Princess" became the new 500 Series in 1963.


In 1962 the trifocal lens-shaped Model 703-A "Prince" canister was launched; succeeded by the Model 714-A "Prince II" in 1963. Unlike the "Princess II" that designation lasted until the discontinuation of the model name in 1967 (although the model 714 continued to be produced until 1971). The Prince ad's featured details such as an over 1-peak horsepower motor, flip-top lid, wide toe switch, "built-in tool caddy" (not yet named "Tool-Pak"), wide toe switch, Vibra-Beat nozzle, and dual furniture guards that allowed vertical positioning for use and storage. The Prince II differed from its predecessor in half-a-dozen or so ways: its trapezoid shape with single furniture guard, the Power-Pak System — including a fan jet motor and dual exhausts, a cord caddy, inside tool storage, a vertical position fin, and protruding rear wheels (which carried over to the trunk-shaped Sweet Sixteen canisters and its later variants along with the wide toe switch).

The trapezoidal Cordaway canister models of the Sixties and early-Seventies were not identified by either model name; although their styling was similar to the Prince II.

Hope you've enjoyed reading about Eureka's vintage regal name canisters as much as I've relished the research!

_____________

Photos:

1) BARRON'S NATIONAL & FINANCIAL WEEKLY magazine article excerpt from March 2, 1964
2) 1961 Nov. 18 PITTSBURGH PRESS - Princess
3) 1963 Mar. 29 SUNDAY SUN - Princess II
4) 1964 Dec. 14 SCHENECTADY GAZETTE - Princess with Power-Pak
5) 1970 May 2 LEWISTON DAILY SUN - Princess 736
6) Photo of Princess 736 in gold mist with teakwood accent trimmed in beige
7) Photo of Princess 736 in orange with teakwood accent trimmed in beige
8) 1972 EVENING NEWS - Princess 755
9) Photo of Princess 755 in aqua blue & lagoon blue trim
10) 1962 Apr. PARENT'S & BETTER HOMEMAKING magazine - Prince, two-tone blue
11) 1962 Oct. 22 TOLEDO BLADE - Prince 703-A "as seen on Tonight Show"
12) 1963 Feb. 3 LAKELAND LEDGER - Prince
13) 1963 Dec. 15 TELEGRAPH HERALD - Prince II, fan jet motor, power selector, lift-out tool tray
14) 1964 Apr. 23 LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD - Prince II
15) 1974 Dec. 1 PARK CITY DAILY NEWS - 1255 Roto-Matic Powerteam & 736 Princess Canister
16) 1981 Dec. 8 YOUNGSTOWN VINDICATOR - Princess 3320
17) 1980 Princess Toy Vac
18) 1974 Mar. 27 DAILY UNION DEMOCRAT - Cordaway 770

 

[canisterman]

These

Would have been great except for the bag collar that always leaked dust.

 

[eurekaprince]

Thank you Paul!!!! What a wonderful post!!! That’s a lot of information to absorb…much appreciate your hard work!

I guess Eureka could not copyright the name Princess as Filter Queen came out with their own Princess model a decade or two ago!!! :-(

 

[eurekaprince]

And for a little comic relief, here is an episode of the “Love American Style” comedy series featuring a salesman selling a Eureka Princess vacuum! The vignette is called “Love and the Guilty Conscience” starring comedienne Jo-Anne Worley. It aired in fall 1971, and the door to door salesman is from a company called “Dynaclean”!

See link below…enjoy!

 

[paul]

@Hans - A poster in another thread mentioned his solution to the leaky bag collar issue by gluing a piece of felt around the hose inlet to create a tighter fit.

@Brian - Thanks, I knew you'd be 'royally' interested in the data & ad's!!!

Thank you for the Dynaclean sketch on LOVE AMERICAN STYLE!!! I've never watched that show before and liked its wackiness! That cleaner is likely a Model 740 going by the 1970 LIFE magazine Eureka ad I just posted in another thread!

 

[paul]

Here are some magazine advertisements I located along with eBay photo's (no association). I wonder if the indent at the rear of the lid of the Princess II was for style or function? The Prince II and Cordaway canisters of that period had it, too. However, the design feature was later omitted altogether.

1. 1961 Oct. LADIES HOME JOURNAL ad—Princess Model 702-A
2. 1962 Nov. BETTER HOMES & GARDENS ad—Princess Model 702-A
3. 1963 Apr. CHATELAINE ad—Princess II Model 711
4. 1963 Apr. LADIES HOME JOURNAL ad—Princess II Model 711
5-8. current eBay listing—Princess II Model 711-A

 

[eurekaprince]

The ability to sit on its back for stair cleaning and storage is an interesting feature. The 1959 tear-drop Mobile-Aire was already able to do that. But we can see that the new Princess I and II still did not have that feature by 1963. As we can see, the subsequent versions of the Princess post-1963 all tried to incorporate some stability legs on the back of the canister so that it can be securely stood “on end” like the Mobile-Aire.

 

[paul]

That's interesting, Brian. Limiting that feature on the "Princess" & "Princess II" must have been a substantial enough savings for Eureka to justify doing so. Perhaps, too, dealers promoted its use for one-level homes such as apartments and mobile homes; so the need to stand it on end—at least during use—wouldn't have been seen as necessary. From a storage perspective, though, it would have been advantageous.

Back in the day, though, home repairs and make-shifting were more common; such as constructing a stand or affixing rubber feet to a canister vacuum cleaner. I've heard persons from that era say things like "We made do," or "Where there's a will there's a way."

______________

Current eBay photo's of the Princess Model 705-B with the double exhaust:

 

[rugsucker]

A 500 followed me home last night --

--as I drove past a thrift store.Complete,original and amazing near new condition.But with dry bearings in good motor.Very plain with no blower connection,metal handle,no curved end on hose,1 nozzle for rug or floor and no cord wrap.Only deluxe features are plastic pedal for switch and tool rack.Pictures soon.

 

[paul]

Nice score, Jimmy!

 

[rugsucker]

Model 500

 

[eurekaprince]

Thank you for posting this beautiful find, Jimmy!!! Congrats!

Some first impressions:

1. A vinyl hose? Amazing. Most turtle-shaped Princesses from the early 1960’s were advertised with a braided hose. Which makes dating this very confusing. If it had the famous Eureka Williams 1970’s graphic on the handle, I could date this to 1970 or even 1969. Since it has the corporate font used in the early 1960’s, this is either an intentional “retro” touch on a 1970’s Princess, or it’s from the proper era: early 1960’s. Very difficult to feel confident of an exact date of manufacture. The classic Lagoon Blue colour is also from the early 1960’s…even though EW offered models in this colour well into the early 1970’s.
2. Discoloured cord: it’s amazing how so many of Eureka’s white electric cords from the 1960’s and 1970’s have discoloured to a strange yellowish/pinkish hue. My 1983 DialaNap upright had a white cord that never got discoloured.
3. Never could figure out the logic in selling selling a canister without a proper hose handle. Using this cleaner for carpet cleaning must have been extremely uncomfortable. And yet Eureka Williams kept offering these budget cleaners without handles in every line-up for years.

 

[rugsucker]

Eureka

The hose would be awkward for rug/floor.As we have seen even the more deluxe were shipped with curved end off possibly to fit in shipping box.The lack of features includes no bristle strip on upholstery tool.
These were in furniture/TV 'buy here-pay here' stores as well as S&H and other stamp catalogs.I may have late 60s catalogs that show this.

 

[paul]

I didn't know any of the 500-Series canisters were equipped with fan jet motors! If I read the manufacturer's label correctly, yours is a Type BT. Below is an ad clipping for that along with some others. The fan jet motor isn't listed in launch ad's of 1963, so that's one difference besides what appears to be the dark gray color that we recently saw in another thread featuring the Model 745 Cordaway canister.

By the way according to advertisements, Eureka appears to have introduced a vinyl hose with the model 910-A in 1956 and a nylon one with the model 960-A in 1960. I wouldn't doubt, however, that they were both sold concurrently.

Eureka's affinity for variety - not only in styling but also features and logotypes is also revealed in the 1966 ad below. For example, the E/W logo & serif block logotype was introduced on the Model 960 in 1957, the script logotype in 1958 on the Mobile-Aire, and yet the rounded block letters that debuted in the 1940s was also still being used.

Question: Did Eureka change the hose fitting in the 1970s?

__________

1. 1975 Oct. 27 OBSERVER-REPORTER - 500-BT with fan jet motor & vinyl hose
2. 1969 Nov. 8 WAYCROSS JOURNAL-HERALD - 500-RV "Imperial" - Surprise! Maybe "Imperial" had to do with its gold color (going by the gold color Model 2010-RY of the 1971 "Imperial" line)?
3. 1968 Mar. 6 TOLEDO BLADE - 500-BP
4. 1966 May 11 TOLEDO BLADE - 8 Eureka Cleaners
5. 1964 Apr. 23 SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE - 500-A
6. 1964 Aug. 2 TOLEDO BLADE - 500-A, nylon hose
7. 1963 May 9 Home-maker Hardware & Appliances - 500-A