Blue Band Variety Cured

In 1924, the State Postal and Telecommunications Company wanted to generate revenue through advertising via the flags in the stamping machines. To this end, a trial was conducted with stamping machines installed in the post offices of Amsterdam, Breda, The Hague, Groningen, Nijmegen, Zwolle, Rotterdam, and Utrecht Station. And the company willing to cooperate was the firm NV van den Bergh's Fabrieken, which had the Blue Band brand in its product range. Samuel van den Bergh was the director of the company and had been familiar with margarine from a young age. He worked in his parents' margarine business in Geffen from 1882. When mail arrived on the doormat bearing an imprint of the machine stamp with the text: BUY TODAY BLUE BAND FRESHLY CHARDED, a small margarine war broke out. The major competitor was Anton Jurgens Margarine Factories in Oss, the first manufacturer in the Netherlands where margarine, also known as artificial butter, had been produced since as early as 1871. This was unfair competition, and 'Blue Band' was taken to court. The charge was that the slogan contained a lie. To buyers, 'Get a pack of Blue Band' was the same as 'Get a pack of margarine'. For margarine is not made from fresh milk at all, unlike butter. Margarine was invented in 1869 by the French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriés. He developed margarine by using beef fat (skimmed milk) and mixing it with chopped cow udders. This product kept much longer than butter and was even cheaper. And there was absolutely no churning involved in the preparation of margarine. Due to the lie "FRESHLY CHURNED," the trial with the Blue Band stamp flag had to be halted by order of the judge. It is said that mail items sent by Anton Jurgens Margarine Factories in Oss were also stamped with the Blue Band machine stamp, but I have not yet seen an example of this. I have seen examples from butter and margarine traders, but as far as I know, they did not protest. The trial did not last long, from September 1 to September 30, 1924. The trial would continue until February 28, 1925. This quickly brought an end to the use of the stamp flag as a commercial advertising tool. The State Enterprise was no longer so quick to venture onto thin ice by using neutral advertising! And Blue Band still exists, even though the product has changed in terms of composition.