Follow the Adventures of Omar

This whimsical pictorial map, titled Follow the Adventures of Omar, serves as a colorful relic of the Golden Age of Radio. Published around 1940 as a promotional premium for Omar Wonder Flour, the map was designed to accompany the serialized radio drama broadcast on WTMJ Milwaukee every Sunday morning from 9 to 9:30. The image invites young listeners to track the mystical “Omar” across a stylized global landscape, complete with vibrant vignettes typical of mid-century commercial art. By integrating the product into a narrative of world travel and mystery, the Omaha Flour Mills Company effectively pioneered early multi-media branding. The distinctive title character, lower left, was a prominent feature on the company’s logo. Figures on the right side of the sheet were designed to be cut out and placed on the map, allowing the audience to take an active role in Omar’s adventures. The map does not feature any artist’s signature, with the only official creditation going to WTMJ (see center right). Pre-WWII political borders are shown in Europe and Italian East Africa retains an independent Ethiopia, but the presence of the U-Boat in the Atlantic indicates it was probably issued after the start of the conflict. The piece is quite rare and apparently unrecorded – not in Hornsby’s Picturing America, WorldCat, Rumsey, or other online repositories. There might be an example in the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society, who have a large collection of Milwaukee-area radio promos.