It's all about the marketing

The Scientist has a great story about William Helfand's medical poster collection, which contains thousands of marketing posters and other assorted "marketing paraphernalia" dating back to the 1920s. The article features a poster for Uricure, which depicts a rather deranged looking bearded man holding aloft a small box of the substance. The article explains:

Uricure was a drug purported to improve rheumatism, arthritis, gout, and kidney disorders. The molecular details of the product are unknown, however, as is its therapeutic value.

The posters in the slide show are even more amazing, featuring slogans like, "Weed with roots in hell" and skeletons pouring cups of allegedly curative tonics.

To read the entire article, see Edyta Zielinska's, Medical Posters, circa 1920.