Probably one of the most unusual applications of a stencil took place in 1964 when Union Carbide [then-owner of the still-new line of “Glad” brand plastic wrap and storage bags] sponsored a $100,000 contest to match up a stencil of their logo in order to win a prize.

The magazine ad told of how one thousand lucky participants would win $100 by simply taking a die-cut stencil of the brand name to the store and overlaying it on the logo printed on the food wrap box to see if it aligned perfectly.

The hand-lettered title proclaiming “match the stencil and win” was done in a casual sans design and reflected the cheerfulness of many typestyles found in ads during the late 50s and early 60s.