Vintage Illinois Tollway Videos with Mary MacToll

Remember when driving the Illinois Tollway was fun? Apparently, at one time (around 1959, when this campaign was released) it really, really was.

I just happened to stumble onto these wonderful bits of nostalgia, so I don't have much background to share with you other than the character of Mary MacToll was created to promote the newly-opened Illinois Tollway with the theme of "Take it Easy, Take the Tollway." The ads promote stress free driving, safety (help is always nearby), convenience, etc.

At the time, Illinois had 187 miles of tollway, compared to the nearly 300 today. There are a few other differences that you may notice as well.

Hat tip to the Illinois Tollway for releasing these:

A few more can be found here.