How Tombstone Ads Gave Rise to the Modern Deal Toy

The Regulation That Sparked a Ritual: Tombstone Ads and the Birth of the Deal Toy

Most people think deal toys started with Lucite.

But in reality, the tradition began with something much less flashy: a legal requirement.

After the 1929 stock market crash, the Securities Act of 1933 mandated that banks publish printed notices of new securities offerings. These ads had to be factual, uniform, and free of promotional language. The result? A stark, column-style announcement known as a tombstone ad—named for its resemblance to a gravestone.

There were no graphics. No logos. Just plain black-and-white text, often centered and surrounded by whitespace.

But behind every one of those ads was a win: an IPO, a bond issuance, a major milestone in the life of a company. And even though the format was sterile by design, it quietly became the first standardized symbol of success in modern finance.

For decades, bankers clipped and saved them. Eventually, someone started embedding them in Lucite. And over time, those blocks evolved into something far more expressive.

The materials changed. The designs got bolder. But it all started with that quiet, typographic column—the original ritual of recognition.

At Polaris, we understand the lineage. And when we design deal toys today, we don’t just think about the transaction—we think about the tradition.