And the Profits Four told:

In-store display poster.

1969: 8-track tapes and the new cassette format is all the rage, and for some reason, in the USA, Apple Records released this rather cheeky store display promoting the entire Beatles catalogue on 8 Track and Cassettes.  This 37″ tall by 11.5″ wide promotional poster features The Beatles in a stained glass window with the following verbiage:  “And the Profits Four told: Our Tapes Make Divine Gifts”.  At the bottom of the poster is the complete Beatles catalog on 8 Track and Cassette Tapes.  This poster was manufactured and released to record stores in late 1969:  the very rare The Beatles Deluxe 3-Pack is listed at the bottom which was released in September 1969. It consisted of these three titles, “Meet The Beatles”, “Yesterday And Today” and “Magical Mystery Tour”.

Legible close-up of the bottom of the poster.

9 Responses

  1. Unknown says:

    Ok…not to rehash old stories or things that people generally don't believe…but why is Paul the only one in a halo/crown? More "Paul Is Dead" planting being done by Capitol?

    This was the first thing I noticed on this poster. Just very odd.

  2. Unknown says:

    Such a cool and funny poster. I bet if it were released now though someone would get offended.

  3. Popper says:

    Does Porfits mean Prophets in America? Or is it a joke?

  4. Carrfree says:

    It's a bit foolish, you would think, after the "We are bigger than Jesus Christ" comment and the reaction it received in the US that they would create a promotion like this! Talk about a potential backlash!

  5. Martin says:

    I think this is based on the 1968 press ad for The Small Faces' 'Ogden's Nut Gone Flake,'
    which was based on The Lord's Prayer. That caused a stir here in the UK, so maybe Apple got the idea of Immediate Records. Any publicity is good publicity and all that…

  6. Mark says:

    Would love to have a reproduction of this poster it is definitely unique!!

  7. Unknown says:

    I an stunned. I can't believe that I've never seen this! In what trades or magazines did this run? Clearly it's late 1969 (no Let It Be), but isn't it amusing that Apple still couldn't sell A Hard Days Night? Not to mention the two 8-track entries for Yesterday and Today as well as "Yeaterday" and Today.

    But the most remarkable thing of all is the illustration! Paul above the other three?! While they were still "together"?!

  8. Lawrence says:

    So I realize this article is 7 years old but is there any more information on this piece or have any additional articles been written about it. I recently found one of this poster in the belongings of a family member who worked in the music industry for decades and have been unable to find any other info on it.

    • admin says:

      Searching for it, I came up with three copies that had all been sold, two from ebay listed on worthpoint.com and one at valueyourmusic.com. One needs to register with these sites to find out how much they went for. Anyway, the vendors all seem to have info from our 2015 article, so it doesn’t seem to be described elsewhere online.

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