Iqaluit (Feb 23/04) - The snow-bound "Eskimo" has been busy the last 100 years or so.

The image of a smiling Northern face, framed in a fur lined hood, and living in an icy landscape has been used in hundreds of advertisements over the years, selling everything from soda pop, ice cream and refrigerators to heating and financial services.

The Eskimo Pie kid is just as famous as the ice cream bar in the package. An exhibit in Iqaluit showcases the Inuit in ads. - Kathleen Lippa/NNSL photo

Madeleine Redfern and her husband Jae have been collecting "Eskimo" images in advertising for the past 10 years and recently set up a display in a show at the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum in Iqaluit.

Some of the images are well known, like the Eskimo Pie ads featuring the chubby cheeked child with a fur-lined hood.

Nanook of the North appeared in ads for Revillon Freres Furs (the company that helped sponsor the famous 1922 film).

And Clicquot Club soda pop had dozens of ads in the early 1900s, even a giant Eskimo statue that appeared in stores where the pop was sold.

But it's the ads for financial services and the bizarre movie titles that really make you scratch your head.

"Inuit are some of the most recognized indigenous people in the world," explained Madeleine during the exhibit opening Saturday, Feb. 14.

A similar type of exhibit based on "Indians," which was presented years ago at the Museum of Civilization in Hull, Que, inspired Madeleine who is Inuk.

"One of the reasons for this exhibit is to create a dialogue between Inuit and non-Inuit about ads and their impact," she said.

Madeleine and Jae hope to take their show on the road and eventually publish a coffee table book on the subject and produce a documentary film.

Looking around at the exhibit at the museum, it was the first time the couple had actually seen all their items displayed together for the first time.

"We're only scratching the surface," Jae remarked.