Ad Lib (typeface)

Ad Lib is a decorative typeface that was designed in 1961 by Freeman Craw for American Type Founders. It was extremely popular from the early- to mid-1960s, and is often used today to evoke that era.

Ad Lib

Category	Display
Designer(s)	Freeman Craw
Foundry	ATF
Date released	1961
Sample

The typeface is known for its square counters a-la the 60's. A SoftMaker version of this font has straighter edges for glyphs.

Notable examples of Ad Lib usage

Ad Lib has seen use in:

• Felix the Cat episode titles.
• the episode titles and "Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel" text overlays on the 1960s Batman television series
• on-screen lyrics for the Augustus Gloop number in the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
• the 1976 film The Bad News Bears
• the titles for the Pink Panther series, as well as the credits of the Looney Tunes shorts that DePatie-Freleng Enterprises produced from 1964 to 1967
• the 1982-1983 TV series Meatballs & Spaghetti
• the 1982 animated film The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat
• credits for films such as The Outrage, A Guide for the Married Man, Clueless, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and A Man Called Dagger
• scores on the television screen and for the logo on the first season of the 1996-99 version of The Dating Game
• titles of the television series Night Gallery which ran from 1970 to 1973
• the 1967 film In The Heat of the Night and the 1988 TV series based in the film
• the closing credits for Masha and the Bear
• episode title cards for A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and Yo Yogi!
• the logo for the Disney animated series Darkwing Duck alongside Banco
• the title card for the Courage the Cowardly Dog episode "Journey to the Center of Nowhere"
• the cover of the Nirvana live album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah
• most Animaniacs tie-in merchandise
• the opening and closing credits of the animated series American Dad!
• the title of Tyler Perry's Assisted Living
• the pre-2018 logo of the website Rotten Tomatoes
• the Worms video game franchise up until Worms Ultimate Mayhem
• signage around Nickelodeon Studios alternately with the network's "Balloon" font
• the boxes of the 1996 MGM/UA reissue of Pee-wee's Playhouse
• dialogues in PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure, PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond, and Luigi's Mansion 3
• the Boom Blox video game
• the title cards for children's show Maggie and the Ferocious Beast
• the closing credits of some 90's Sesame Street home videos during the Around the Corner Era
• The Wiggles TV series and home videos from 1997 to 2001
• the logo of the English TV series That'll Teach 'Em
• part of the title of the Soft Serve Cyclone menu item from the American restaurant chain Friendly's
• the closing credits of Sabrina: The Animated Series
• the logo for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones (and often on their album covers)
• print ads for Chuck E. Cheese in 1999
• A-Z Animal Dictionaries
• the cover of The Beatles' Second Album
• the Monkees DVD box sets in 2003

External links

• Media related to Ad Lib (typeface) at Wikimedia Commons