Others might try to tell you that itâs not such a big deal because âit was a different timeâ but we prefer to think about the creative minds of the past with a sigh of relief that they are, in fact, in the past. Take a look at this second installment of vintage ads that would never have been green-lit nowadays.
Victorian-Era Shenanigans
This vintage ad from the 1800s shows how much has changed in advertising while some aspects remain all too relatable. If youâre a parent, you know that little kids can get into all sorts of trouble if left unattended. This illustration shows a Victorian toddler dyeing her favorite doll and the family pet in a bowl of red dye.
The point of the ad is that their dye is so easy to use even a kid can do it. While this sentiment was probably not appreciated by moms, grandmas, and housekeepers across America, the humor behind this ad is still relevant. Itâs funny how some things just never change.
Life in Plastic, Itâs Fantastic
The 1950s were a big moment for plastics. Plastic packaging and products started popping up everywhere, and it was praised as the hot new thing. Heck, even sliced bread jumped on the plastic bandwagon, as we can see from this weird-looking vintage ad for Du Pont cellophane.
Strangely, this magazine ad is for the plastic that the bread is wrapped in, not the bread itself. The little girl featured front-and-center was probably intended to look cute and wholesome, but the illustration gives off creepy horror movie vibes instead. Weâre still buying prepackaged bread wrapped in plastic, so this marketing campaign must have worked.
Holiday Ads Were DifferentâŠOr Were They?
This vintage 1950s ad was created by a menâs grooming company for their holiday marketing campaign. Itâs a classic vintage ad targeted at women who want to impress their partners with the âperfectâ gift. Although holiday ads look a little different these days, the sentiment is kind of the same.
We still see a ton of ads that try to convince us that the âperfectâ gift is out there. Sure, companies might not say outright that people want to buy outside validation and affection from their partners, but itâs still subtly implied. If anything, this holiday ad goes to show how sophisticated marketing has become over the last half-century.
The Obviousness of 50s Advertising
Even though this old ad is sexist and slightly demeaning in an outdated way, itâs kind of funny because it shows how much marketing has changed over the last six decades. This telephone ad pretty much spells out their goal in four paragraphs of copy that reads like a middle school essay assignment.
Like, can they be any more obvious that they want housewives to buy their phones? They even go so far as to bring up spousal competition. The husband has a phone in his office, so why canât she? It would be a good point if it werenât for that horribly dated phrase, âthe kitchen where you do so much of your work.â
Martini Advertisements Were Wild
This ad from the 1960s is wildâ literally. This whole aesthetic is completely unhinged by todayâs standards. The casual misogyny of having a woman in a cage was just, like, okay back in 1960s advertising. They made it all cutesy by dressing her in an animal print dress, but itâs still sexist no matter which way you look at it.
Imagine if a brand ran an ad campaign like this on social media. People would lose their minds, and not in a good way. Itâs interesting to look back and see what was taken for granted and accepted as âfunnyâ or âsexyâ all those decades ago.
Housework Has Always Taken Forever
This 1893 advertisement goes to show that housework has always taken forever. The ad, which is for Gold Dust washing powder, uses the phrase âfourteen-hour wives of eight-hour menâ to describe their target audience. The âfourteen-hourâ phrase implies it was common knowledge that women worked just as hard, if not harder, than their husbands.
As we all know, household chores are neverending. It seems that over a century later, not much has changed. Many of us could easily spend over fourteen hours cleaning our house and running errands, only to wake up and do it all over again. Werenât modern conveniences supposed to help with that?
An Old and Grizzly Santa
The Santa Claus that we know today was popularized in the 1860s thanks to an initial illustration in âHarperâs Bazaar.â From there, Santa has changed to fit in with the times, but his signature red-and-white suit and facial hair have remained the same. Back in the 30s, it wasnât uncommon to see Santa advertising products like Lucky Strike cigarettes.
No wonder Santa has such a gravely voice! All those Lucky Strikes no doubt dealt his vocal cords a blow. Interestingly, this ad argues that Santaâs cigarettes help throat irritation and are âeasyâ on the throat. Weâre not so sure about that, Santa.
It Was Okay to Call a Woman a âPetâ
This old ad is an example of how things that used to be considered funny are unthinkable in our modern society. It reads, âIf your wife canât cook, donât divorce her. Keep her for a pet and eat at our place.â Ew. Weâre assuming this ad is for a restaurant of some sort. A restaurant we never want to eat at, specifically.
This ad played into generally accepted expectations from decades past. As wives, women were expected to cook, clean, pick up after their families, and do all the household shopping while looking happy and unflappable. Not being able to cook was seen as a flaw, and this ad played into that idea. Even though there are still a lot of issues surrounding womenâs rights in our society, at least weâd never see a company refer to a woman as a âpet.â
Ideal Brain?
When Coca-Cola was invented in the 1880s, it was originally marketed as a temperance drink with medicinal benefits. Also, the rumors are true. The original Coca-Cola recipe did, in fact, contain cocaine before it was made illegal in the US. With all of that history in mind, itâs still crazy to see Coca-Cola marketed as a âbrain tonic.â
If this ad was for the âspecialâ original Coca-Cola, we have no doubt that it helped with âmental and physical exhaustion.â Anyone would perk right up with a sip of that stuff. Nowadays, the thought of soda being marketed as a type of medicine is truly wild. If anything, we all know the negative health effects of soda rather than the positive ones.
The Doctorâs Orders
According to the CDC, scientists started linking lung cancer to smoking in the 1940s and 50s. At the time, smoking was incredibly popular, and tobacco companies were worried that these findings would affect their bottom lines. So, they did something truly unhinged and insidious to hedge their bets.
This ad is an example of how big tobacco companies started hiring doctors to endorse their products. Their hope was that these paid endorsements from actual doctors would help stomp out the bad press and very real dangers of nicotine and tobacco smoke. Any doctor worth their salt knew smoking was bad for peopleâs health, but some of them still sold out and did these ads.
Corporal Punishment: The 1950s Way
As a whole, our feelings about physical punishment have changed quite a bit when compared to the 1950s. What many considered ânormalâ back then is now considered abusive and violent. To our modern, 21st-century eyes, this ad looks like itâs from another world. We would never see a mainstream ad featuring a husband doing such a thing to his partner.
The humor in this ad did not age like fine wine. In fact, it aged quite poorly, much like a stale cup of coffee. Weâre sure glad itâs now widely accepted that a man physically punishing their partner for buying the âwrongâ thing at the store is unacceptable.
Horror Movie or Meat Ad?
When we first laid eyes on this magazine ad, it left us speechless for a few seconds. No, itâs not an ad for the latest horror movie. Itâs a French magazine ad for a pork product, and we absolutely hate it. Why, oh why, did the creators of this ad think it was a good idea to have this poor pig cutting himself open with a knife?
This ad is so gruesome and disturbing that we canât imagine anyone feeling hungry after coming across it in a magazine or newspaper. Itâs a little too literal for our modern meat-eating tastes. Weâd be so curious to learn how people of the time actually felt about this creepy ad.
The 1800s Loved Problematic Illustrations
We would like to apologize if this vintage ad gives you nightmares. We never wanted to see this terrifying illustration of a pig with a man-childâs head, but here we are. This weird and surreal ad is for a chill tonic, which was medicine for adults and children who had malaria, fevers, and any other ailment that caused the chills.
Apparently, taking this chill tonic was also a good way to gain weight. Weâre not exactly sure how because the connection to chill tonic and weight gain seems dubious at best. We would never see an ad like this today, especially because of the language used. The phrase âfat as pigsâ is definitely not politically or socially correct these days (thankfully).
Housework So Simple, Even Dad Can Do It
Believe it or not, sexism and misogyny harm men as well as women. This ad from the 1940s shows a father triumphantly doing his familyâs laundry while his wife is in bed and on the mend from some unspecified ailment. The thing is, laundry isnât really that hard to learn.
The average American family was pretty traditional back then, with men going to work outside the home while women managed the household and children. Even though most of us know how to do basic household tasks nowadays, men never bothered to learn how to cook, clean, or do laundry on their own. This ad further reinforced the idea that men simply couldnât teach themselves to do basic chores, which is kind of sad in a way.
Another Misleading Tobacco Ad
Tobacco and cigarette ads were truly wild back in the day. This 1970s ad shows a regular ole Joe surrounded by a group of beautiful women vying for his affection. Why? Because he buys a specific brand of cigars, duh! Even though this ad ran in âPlayboy,â itâs still pretty sexist by todayâs standards.
Although we donât see ads that are this obvious in modern marketing, companies still rely on the same trope of the âevery manâ wooing the ladies with material possessions. Somehow, the narrative of an average guy winning the heart of an above-average woman is still popular. Why does that still work? Thereâs probably some psychology behind that.
A Terrifying Work Environment
We see about 50 HR violations in this single image from this 1972 âLife Magazineâ ad. Granted, work environments were a tad bit different for women back then, but itâs wild to think that the 70s were only five decades ago. There are a lot of assumptions being made in this ad, so letâs go through them.
First off, this is an ad for an Olivetti typewriter. The company made this ad knowing that people would assume the woman in the center was an administrative assistant. Of course the only woman in the office is the secretary. Why would she hold any other title? Also, this add is assuming that this woman loves having five men tower over her while sheâs trying to get her work done. What happened to personal space?
Gender Roles Were Everywhere
This ad may have made sense back in the 1950s, but we donât really get it from a modern perspective. What we do know is that companies loved to play up gender roles in the 50s. For whatever reason, this ad argues that if a woman buys glass bottles, her husband will love her more. Huh?
Times have changed, which is probably why this ad doesnât make a whole lot of sense. However, itâs pretty obvious that this ad is sexist and preys on womenâs insecurities and fears. Of course, everyone wants to be loved and validated by their partners. But is buying brown glass bottles really the only way to achieve those things? Weâre not buying it.
That Donât Impress Me Much
This vintage ad reads more like a Valentineâs Day card instead of a commercial. Itâs really novel to see how ads from the 50s created whole stories just to sell one product. Itâs kind of impressive, really. In this ad, one woman gets courted by various different men who offer her different desserts. In the famous words of Shania Twain, âThat donât impress me much.â
Sheâs not impressed until someone comes up and offers her a delicious Fryâs Milk Punch Bar. Weâre not going to lie. A chocolate bar with caramel and fudge sounds absolutely delicious. WaitâŠis this ad working on us? Darn it.
Not Your âClever Girlâ
Vintage ads were able to target female consumers by pretending to uplift them while demeaning them, all at the same time. It was pretty miraculous, really. This old paint ad encourages women to paint their own homes, but it somehow sounds so patronizing and demeaning that weâre stunned. It calls the woman in the ad a âclever girl.â
Apparently, figuring out how to paint a wall was considered a feat of the female mind back then. Obviously, we know that anyone can learn how to paint and improve their homes. But back then, it seemed like advertisers didnât realize that women had critical thinking skills. Imagine that?
A 50s Housewife Getting Roped into Housework
This silly publicity photo looks lighthearted and funny on the surface, but it has darker undertones when viewed through a modern lens. Most people in the 50s wouldnât have batted an eye at an immaculately dressed woman being lassoed by a man with a vacuum hose. Over time, this silly image has transformed into something sexist and demeaning for most viewers.
How many women these days would appreciate getting roped into housework by their husbands or partners? Not very many, we can tell you that much. This vintage ad just goes to show how societyâs sense of humor changes as time goes on.
Companies Used Fur Without a Second Thought
When you hear âCadbury,â you probably think of the chocolate company that makes Easter treats and has a cute bunny rabbit as its mascot. This well-known reputation makes this old ad super weird. As you can see, the magazine ad features a steaming cup of hot cocoa against a red background. Looks cozy, right?
As you stare longer at the image, you soon realize that the mug is wrapped in a fur stole. Is thatâŠrabbitâs fur? This wholesome ad just got a whole lot darker. This ad came out sometime in the 70s or 80s, and you can tell. Real animal fur has lost a lot of popularity for plenty of valid reasons. We most likely wouldnât see a mainstream candy company use real fur in any modern-day ads.
Feminism and Advertising in the 1970s
Plenty of ads in âRedbookâ magazine started looking different in the 1970s. Second-wave feminism rose to prominence in the 60s and 70s, changing the societal landscape of America in new and exciting ways. For better or for worse, corporations rode on the movementâs coattails with edgy marketing tactics and new products. This ad for Virginia Slims is a perfect example of how companies did that.
The ad targets the âmodernâ woman by saying, âYouâve come a long way, baby.â The ad even mentions divorce, which is something people would have never seen just a few decades before. What do Virginia Slims have to do with liberation? Absolutely nothing, but they sure tried to make this ad as convincing as possible.
Ads in the 50s Tried to be FuturisticâŠ
This ad was probably considered âfuturisticâ back when it was published in the 50s, but our modern-day, advert-addled minds find the concept of a hand reaching out of the TV to be absolutely terrifying. If you grew up watching the original âWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,â you may have had dreams of Wonka Vision becoming a reality.
This ad proves that Wonka Vision would, in fact, not be cool. Giant male hands coming out of a TV to grab an attractive young woman sounds more predatory than fun, to be honest. It was the 50s, so the woman looked like she was having a blast. But as a whole, we think differently now. Nothing good can come from a strangerâs hand grabbing you and dragging you into the TV.
The Subliminal Messaging Craze
This image looks like a piece of 2010s indie art from Tumblr. Itâs actually a movie still from the 1955 film âPicnic,â starring Kim Novak and William Holden. The movie still shows Kim Novak with the text âHungry? Eat Popcornâ superimposed over the frame. This split-second ad was actually shown during screenings of âPicnicâ in theaters.
Researcher James Vicary conducted a study where he inserted this ad and another one for Coca-Cola into the movie to see if viewers picked up on subliminal advertising. Subliminal advertising became a trendy topic in the 50s because companies thought they could sell more products. Consumers, on the other hand, hated the idea, and the whole concept quickly lost popularity. Plus, Vicaryâs study had falsified results. There was no proof that inserting a split-second ad into a movie increased sales of popcorn.
Seeing Double with Dior
Fashion, makeup, and trends change over the years. This is never more obvious than when we look at old ads and compare them to our modern-day ones. One glance at this vintage ad for Dior lipstick, and you immediately know that itâs from a different time. We donât know the exact date of this magazine ad, but it was created sometime in the 60s or 70s.
The repeated mirror effect of the woman wearing Dior lipstick actually looks pretty cool. The soft filter over the photo, plus the color scheme of the ad, makes it look super awesome in a retro way. We wouldnât be mad is this kind of ad layout came back in style. It looks so glamorous!
The Creepiest Baby Ad
This might be the creepiest baby ad weâve ever seen. This 1935 illustration combines photography, collage, and drawing to create an eye-catching ad for baby food. However, itâs eye-catching for all the wrong reasons. The babyâs head is way too big for its fake body, and the anthropomorphic can of baby food is giving us the creeps.
Maybe this was considered cute back in the 30s, but if we saw this ad today, most of us would wrinkle our noses. Donât get us wrong. That babyâs face is adorable! Itâs just everything else in this baby food ad that makes us pause and scratch our heads.
The Modern 70s Woman
Looking back at old advertisements, itâs so obvious what kind of message a company was trying to convey. This old 70s ad for Viceroy Longs goes to show how smoking was marketed as something âcoolâ and âhip.â Tobacco companies had a lot more freedom regarding what they could and could not say in an ad for their harmful products.
This ad ran in âRedbook,â a womenâs magazine. This ad is trying to convince women that if they buy this product, theyâll be just as sleek as this fictional female character. Sheâs not like other girls. Sheâs cool and chill and buys Viceroyâs, duh.
Footâs Bath Cabinet of Curiosities
If this product existed today, there would absolutely be some weird influencer ads out there on social media. Weâre not 100% sure what this is, but it appears to be some kind of moisturizing cabinet for your pores. Maybe itâs a 1900s version of a personal sauna? The answer is beyond us.
What, exactly, is in this âbath cabinetâ? We donât wanna know. It looks more like a torture chamber than the âsecret of healthâ it calls itself. You can tell this ad is an early example of marketing because of how text-heavy it is. We take visual narratives for granted these days, but back in the early 1910s, that wasnât the case.
A Weird Chilprufe Ad
This advertisement for Chilprufe undergarments is pretty straightforward. However, the way we market childrenâs undergarments has significantly changed since this ad came out in the 1950s. We would never in a million years see an ad that featured children in their undergarments, even if it was an illustration.
We get the idea behind this Chilprufe ad. This illustrated advertisement was probably published in a womenâs magazine or somewhere else that a mom would see it and think of her kids. Nowadays, most of us would clock an ad like this as extremely creepy, but back then, it was largely viewed as practical and straightforward.
Atari gets Stevie Wonder to Advertise their Console
Stevie Wonder is one of the biggest names in the music industry. Despite his blindness, he was a fantastic singer, songwriter, producer, musician, and a multi-instrumentalist. As one of the most critically and commercially successful musicians, there is no doubt that Stevie was a prodigy.
Atari, a gaming console marketed for children and teenagers alike had once ridden the coattails of Stevieâs fame, making him the face of this advertisement that is quite concerning as it banks on Stevieâs disability. As with most things, this was likely discussed before it was published and Stevie had agreed to the terms. Still, Stevie is truly amazing for being able to make light of his disability.
Good Old-Fashioned Diet Pills
With the advent of magazine advertising came a flood of weight-loss products aimed at women. It seems that not much has changed between the 19th century and now, huh? The ingredients in many of our modern-day diet pills are dubious at best and harmful at worse. With that being said, the options from over 100 years ago were way worse.
Not only were 19th-century advertisements blatantly body-shaming women to make them feel bad, but the products were complete shams and had some bad side effects. According to Livestrong, some of the early diet pills were based on thyroid extract, which sped up the metabolism. Sure, people could lose weight, but they also risked irregular heartbeats, high blood pressure, and even death. Worth it? We think not.
A Nice Hot Cup of Bouillon
This vintage ad from 1907 is unique because it looks like a print of an actual photograph, not an illustration. Itâs kind of hard to make out, but it shows a little girl preparing herself a drink with the line, âI am just going to have my OXOâ underneath. Before you jump to conclusions, the OXO in this ad is not the same brand as the kitchenware company that makes those amazing Good Grips products.
Instead, this OXO refers to a turn-of-the-century brand that made liquid and solid beef extract. Basically, they made beef bouillon cubes. The crazy thing is, OXO cubes were advertised as a healthy meal for kids to help them grow big and strong. Broth has plenty of health benefits, but can you imagine drinking bouillon mixed with a cup of milk? Absolutely not.
Zippo Use to Openly Promote Smoking
We would never see an ad like this anywhere in the US nowadays. This 50s-era ad for Zippo lighters shows two people sharing a smoke, which is something that is heavily regulated and banned in advertising because of known health risks. However, before all the laws and regulations, brands could use smoking as an advertising point.
Although the Zippo brand isnât directly selling cigarettes in this ad, itâs pretty obvious what they wanted people to use their lighters for. This vintage ad actually wouldnât be too bad if it didnât openly promote smoking. Surprisingly, itâs not overly sexist or racist in any obvious way, so at least thereâs that.
NO 7-Up Near the Baby
Milk is for babies. Thatâs a universal fact. Babies, as little as they are, should be nourished with healthy food. Parents tend to be very picky when it comes to securing their babyâs health. They keep their eye on whatever the baby consumes 24/7. What about 7-Up? Will you let a baby have some?
7-Up released an ad in 1955 showing a baby enjoying a bottle of 7-Up. The photo is undeniably bothering. When a mom sees her baby holding a bottle of 7-Up, sheâll instantly take it away from the baby. According to 7-Up, their soda is actually better than other soft drinks. They even recommended putting a few drops in a bottle of milk. Fortunately, it was later known that 7-Up is equal to 10 spoonfuls of sugar and contains caffeine. Lastly, it can drain calcium from your babyâs bones. After you see this, you might never want to see 7-Up again, especially near your baby.
Sleep Tight with Bournvita
There are plenty of products that we look back on and think, âHow was that healthy?â Although Bournvita still exists as a health drink, the original recipe was anything but good for you. That didnât stop them from advertising it as a health drink that could prepare people for anything life threw their way.
This ad shows how Bournvita helped an imaginary woman pass her driving test because she drank it the night before. Somehow, it helped her sleep like a baby. We donât know how that happened, so donât ask. But what was in the original Bournvita recipe? We know youâre wondering, so weâll tell you. The powdered beverage had full-cream milk, fresh eggs, chocolate, and malt. Yum.
The Iver Johnson Irony
Guns shoot and kill. Therefore, they should be in the hands of an adult or someone who knows how to carefully handle it. Iver Johnsonâs Arms and Cycle Works believes otherwise. They assert that their guns are absolutely safe that even kids can get hold of them.
Iver Johnsonâs even printed that âPapa says it wonât hurt usâ text on the kidâs dress in the ad. Their ad, for all that, is actually misleading. First, they say that itâs absolutely safe because their guns donât misfire when dropped. Then, they say that âthey shoot straight and kill.â Whatever this ad really means, guns are still dangerous. Iver Johnsonâs or not.
Morphine Shots for Children Teething
When a child starts teething, that means a terrible day for everyone at home, especially for moms. Kids teething are usually irritable and canât easily sleep at night. Mothers also have a hard time sleeping because her kids will cry all night. What can a Mom do during this period? In the 1860, Mrs. Winslow came up with a soothing syrup for children teething.
When kids try out the soothing syrup, they would instantly stop crying and feel high. That high is driven by morphine and alcohol. Yes, you read it right. Drops of morphine will ease the pain but can eventually lead to something more painful than teething. In 1906, the US Pure Food and Drug Act forced companies to state the ingredients of every drug they market. The soothing syrup was banned but was still sold in some areas. Everyone loves a good night's sleep but not with Mrs. Winslows.
Well, That Escalated Quickly
Itâs funny how humor changes over the decades. This ad for Kelloggâs Corn Flakes is over 100 years old, and it certainly shows. The poor clerk is getting beaten over the head by the cook of an establishment because he brought a cheap Kelloggâs substitute into her kitchen. The poor guy never stood a chance.
The violence of this ad (for Kelloggâs, of all things) is shocking to most modern viewers. General society has changed its stance on corporal punishment, and itâs not as widely accepted today compared to over a century ago. Physical punishment was so commonplace that companies were able to use it in their marketing to garner some laughs. Pretty wild.
Van Heusen Did it Again
Van Heusen seems to be not contented with their racist shirt ads. They didnât disappoint because in the 1950s, they released another questionable ad. That time, another sexist ad. First of all, we all enjoy breakfast in bed. When we were kids, our parents would bring our meals in bed. They would give us the perfect breakfast coupled with a refreshing orange juice.
This particular ad just went too far. The man wears a Van Heusen tie and feels so entitled to be served with a breakfast in bed. Her wife is on her knees, serving her husband who feels like âitâs a manâs world.â This ad sends all the shivers to anyone who sees it. Strike two for Van Heusen.
Stokelyâs Van Campâs Pork and Beans and Face
Aside from running to marketing agencies, companies can also hire artists to illustrate ads for them. Stokelyâs chose the latter. They hired an artist to create an ad for their Van Campâs Pork and Beans. Nothing is sexist or racist in the ad. Some consumers just had a thing with the boyâs face.
Maybe itâs a way of saying that if you donât try Van Campâs Pork and Beans, youâre going to regret it. Maybe the product is so good that the artist has to show it this way. Imagine walking along the food aisle at the nearest grocery store, you might be startled. You would instantly recognize the face of Van Campâs ad. Donât get worked up, itâs just pork and beans.
Beer Solves It All
Weâve been talking about women as homemaker ever since. The marketing teams during the time canât think of any other way to advertise their products than to treat women as inferior. The 1950s was the pinnacle of sexist ads. The man should be the one who finds solutions to everything, the provider, and the disciplinarian. The woman is left in the house to cook. Thatâs what they always say, women should know how to cook.
In this Schlitz beer ad, they came up with a solution. The woman burns whatever she cooks and cries because she canât serve for her husband. She is portrayed as a fragile homemaker who bursts into tears because she canât play her role well. The man, being a problem-solver, says that she doesnât need to worry because they have beer. A woman canât burn beer, they say. The thing is, weâve long been over this kind of dynamics. Anyone can have beer anytime, anywhere. Whether you can cook or not, you can have beer.
Want Some Skinless Wieners?
Thereâs absolutely no way an ad like this would get approved these days. Can you imagine coming across an ad for skinless sausages on your Instagram feed? If you did, it would probably be an ad for something very, very different. Back in the 60s, it seems that things were much more innocent.
We can all recognize the double entendre going on here. The worst (or best) part of the ad is the bottom right corner which reads, âThey wonât shrivel or burst in the pan!â Oh really, now? These skinless wieners are so irresistible even the dad in the corner wants his wife to save some leftovers. Immature? Maybe. Hilarious? Most definitely.
Ladyâs Man in a Button-Up Shirt
If there are any vintage ads for menâs products that donât employ sexism and stereotypes, can you let us know? Because this ad for Van Heusen shirts isnât any different from the hundreds of other magazine ads that use the same tropes and jokes. It shows a man wearing a bright white shirt, surrounded by a group of women who are all proposing to him.
The meaning of the Leap Year joke isnât as relevant anymore, so let us explain. âBachelorâs Dayâ was a tradition where every Leap Day, the tables were turned, and women could propose to men. Apparently, Van Heusen shirts were so sexy that women couldnât help themselves but get down on one knee, regardless of the day of the year.
Whatâs A Guy Got to Do With J&B Whiskey?
They say that a man has got a good taste if heâs got the eye for good whiskey. It shows sophistication and style. Itâs also generally known that those who have the money enjoy this luxury. Some people tend to generalize that women admire guys who have the affluence that brings them to this kind of hobby. Before long, the term âsugar daddyâ came to life and to square the term, also came âgold diggers.â
J&B Rare Scotch Whiskey released an ad stating that you donât need to know a man further if he just ordered the said drink. Quite bold of them to claim. Their ad says that a woman will be enamoured to a man who orders their drink. The guy will be a potential sugar-daddy. The woman is then generalized as a gold-digger. Some hasty generalization in a whiskey ad.
No, You Can Trade Kellogâs for Anything
We have old Uncle on the screen again. The world of advertising doesnât just feed on machismo. They canât get enough of discriminating people. They even make it so obvious. Kellogâs introduced their new Corn Flakes by hiring the same actor from the Jewish rye bread ad. They seemed to have had a hard time finding the right wardrobe for him. They decided to use the ones he wore in another ad.
Clearly, Kellog want the actor to appear like a Native American. Letâs take a short history class review. In 1920s, Native Americans were granted full citizenship. However, discrimination was still present at the time, especially in the world of advertising. Most of those ads end up being presumptuous and insulting.
Vim Scouring Powder Embraces Child Labor?
The early 1900s were a totally different time. One of the big differences between then and now is how common and accepted child labor was in the US and UK. Putting kids to work was so generally accepted that early cleaning brands used the concept as a marketing tactic.
Vim, produced by an early version of Unilever, was a popular scouring powder used for cleaning. It was so easy to use that even your kids could give it a go. What kid doesnât love doing chores like cleaning, scrubbing, and dusting? According to this ad, every kid from the early 1900s was all about the Vim life.
Women had to Think About Their Appearance Even While Biking
There are so many products throughout history that simply donât exist anymore. Take this weird safety skirt holder. This illustrated ad from the 1890s shows a brand-new, innovative product that was supposed to revolutionize the way women rode bicycles. Instead of giving women more range of movement while riding their bikes, this handy dandy skirt holder further restricted them.
No decent woman back in the late 1800s was going to go ride her bike and show off her ankles for all the world to see. Imagine the scandal it would cause. Wearing pants was definitely a no-no for women, so a skirt holder gadget was a natural solution. We canât help but wonder how well it worked while women were pedaling. One thingâs for sure. Thereâs no way that thing was comfortable.
Vitamin M
So, thereâs this vintage vitamin ad that claims that their vitamins can give more energy to a wife. It says that it can transform a wife into a cleaning machine. She can cook, clean, do all other chores, and take good care of the children. Amazing, isnât it? Whoever thought of this marketing idea should be the one taking a dose of vitamins that can awaken the senses.
This old-fashioned idea has been outmaneuvered. Companies can manufacture vitamins such as this to advocate for a healthier body and mind. This ad got it wrong on making it for women to make them become machines for their husbands. Not just that, this vitamin ad also claims that it can make the wife look more blooming. It can make the husband love the wife more. So wrong on so many levels.
Medical Cocaine
Before we get into the product in this ad, letâs take a detour to the merit of cocaine in the 1880s. Cocaine was actually an additive to alcoholic beverages in the mid-19th century. Coca wine was the most popular one during that time. You might have the idea cross your mind now. Coca wine has become the soda we all enjoy these days, Coca-Cola.
1880s was a year full of discoveries. Doctors found out that cocaine can serve a purpose in the medical field. The common cause of kids crying for help is toothache, then and now. Toothache is too powerful a feeling that it can make you cry and sick all of a sudden. If it were in the 1880s, we can immediately ask for Cocaine toothache drops and instantly chase the misery away.
Women Can Cook Without Kenwood
Many people are inclined to watching and reading ads. They play a big role in educating the viewers and consumers. If an ad is sexist, the consumerâs ideals might be in trouble. The idea that womenâs only place to be is at home has long been demystified. Women were not born and raised to serve their husbands. They have their own lives to live and own dreams to fulfill.
And then, Kenwood Chef comes into the scene. This product has been specially made for wives. âIâm giving my wife a Kenwood Chef,â the slogan reads. Kenwood thinks that women become wives to cook for their husbands all their lives. And itâs just so wrong.
Treat Yourself
Self-care is nothing new, but it did look and smell a little different back in the day. Lux was advertising their new line of soaps in this ad, but hereâs the thing. It wasnât a new scent. It was just a line of new colors for their bar soap. This doesnât seem like the most appealing reason to buy new soap, but maybe back then, thatâs all it took to get attention?
Admittedly, these Lux soap bars do look very pretty. But we donât want to know what kind of weird dyes were in these soaps. Considering it was the late 50s, they probably used some stuff thatâs outlawed today. Also, a big selling point in this ad is that â9 out of 10 film starsâ use Lux soap. Apparently, you could say anything in an ad back then, no matter how vague.
Sweet Diet
Pal Many of our friends take good care of their health through a healthy diet. Sometimes, temptations come in the form of savory food with high calorie and fat content. Also, when you go to fast food chains, youâll be offered the Supersize of everything. What else does that mean? A cheat day, of course.
Thereâs this ad decades ago that shares a shortcut to achieve your diet goals. It sounds chancy but just spare a moment at least. Apparently, sugar, one of your diet archenemies, can actually help you lose weight. This ad claims that if you eat something with sugar before your mealtime, youâll lose your appetite. That means, your calorie intake would abate a little. Treat sugar as your diet accomplice. Your relationship will definitely grow sweeter.
The Endless Cycle of Dishes
Although women statistically still bear the brunt of housework in modern-day households, we can at least appreciate that itâs not as bad as it was in the 1950s. This 1956 ad for Lux dish soap relies on the assumption that the mother of the family is the one doing all the dishes. Thankfully, she has Lux dish soap to help her feel less overwhelmed. Aw, how sweet.
Never mind the fact that this poor woman would probably feel less overwhelmed if, say, the other members of her family helped her wash the dishes. Sheâs probably the one who cooks dinner, so washing the dishes is the least her family can do for her. But that would be too easy of a solution.
The White Horse Phenomenon
Rape jokes are still rampant everywhere in the world. Until today, victim blaming and misogyny hasnât been completely eradicated. Despite many societal awakenings, those who have been engulfed in the patriarchal hegemony have a hard time getting off the track. What adds to the difficulty of changing the misogynist mentality is the production of ads that reinforce its standards.
Hereâs one of those ads that do not go the extra mile to undermine the status quo. The White Horse Liquor ad suggests that if a guy in a bachelorâs pad bears of brings a White Horse in the room, heâs automatically a good guy. This is an entirely wrong idea to cultivate to its viewers. Women are still afraid to report rape incidents because of the stigma. Donât trust anyone, even guys who bring White Horse to pads or pubs.
Weyenberg Can Stay Underfoot Not again.
Another incident of sexism is present in a Weyenberg shoe ad. It could have been an interesting product. Weyenberg made a massagic shoe that can aid relaxation and keep oneâs feet happy. This shoe could have been a big hit in the industry because it can also improve blood circulation. Something big got in the way, itâs called sexism.
The Weyenberg massage shoe ad is out-right offensive and thereâs no redeeming quality in sight. âKeep her where she belongs.â Thatâs a perfect sentence to dismiss Weyenberg from being revered. Women have been fighting their way to be recognized in the society. They have long debunked the idea that women should remain in the house. Weyenberg could have been more radical. Women will never be kept underfoot.
VW Automatic for Terrible Drivers a.k.a Women
Weâve had enough of insulting ads. They recklessly stress that women are terrible drivers all the time. In their defense, they can say that they only released the Mini Automatic which is easier to maneuver. Basically, women can easily drive the new model. The marketing team failed to give off that message. They used the wrong set of tropes.
So, thereâs a woman behind the wheels. She looks so terrified, with her widely-opened eyes and pursed lips. The ad comes across with a different message. It shows that women are clearly bad drivers that they had to create a new model just for them. Statistically speaking, women are more careful on the road. They could have simply said that theyâre releasing a new model with automatic transmission for everyone. Simple, isnât it?
Cigarettes for Women
Undeniably, women have come a long way. The changes in the societal views show progress and gas up feminist ad campaigns. Women can work outside the four corners of a house; they are no longer stereotyped as homemakers by default. They can work in factories and toil in the labor industry. It was just right that from 60s-70s, feminists ads were screened on television.
Letâs look no further from Virginia Slims. It was the first cigarette brand to market cigarettes for women. Their ad shows a complete contrast from sexist ads that came before it. Suddenly, when you look left, you see the lyrics of âI Want A Girl.â Virginia Slims can ditch that song and the viewers can get the feminist message that it tries to convey. The lines are dated. Women can smoke and are given the right to suffrage. Thanks, Virginia Slims! Just let go of the lyrics.
A Sparkling Peroxide Smile
Itâs kind of comforting to know that people back in the 50s felt pressure to whiten their teeth, too. Macleanâs has been around for over 100 years and has been pressuring us all to whiten our teeth with their toothpaste for about as long. Their claim to fame is selling one of the earliest whitening toothpaste formulas directly to consumers.
Itâs kind of amazing, really, how similar this ad is to many of the tooth-whitening adverts we see today. Although the styles and slogan are outdated, this 1951 ad still features a beautiful woman with a blindingly white smile. And yes, our modern-day tooth-whitening formulas still use peroxide.
Central Heating with a Touch of Infidelity
The 60s were a wild time in advertising. As we all learned from âMad Menâ and Don Draper, the marketing industry was dominated by men and hour-long boozy lunch meetings. Looking back, it really shows. This ad is for one of the most mundane things you could add to your home: a water heater.
Boring, right? Not in the 60s! They made it as suggestive as possible, featuring a seductive close-up of a woman inexplicably named Miss Meredith. What?! The thinking behind this ad was probably that men were the ones paying for a new boiler. So, why not draw their eye with voyeuristic attention from a fake single woman? It must have worked like a charm, honestly.
All Eyes on Nestle
Did you know that the Nestlé brand has been around since the early 1900s? By the time this magazine ad came around in 1956, the famous chocolate brand was already over 50 years old. They obviously knew what they were doing, even if this ad is lost in translation for us modern viewers.
Thereâs really no reason or context behind this advertisement. Why is this woman all dressed up? Does she really find NestlĂ© chocolate to be that eye-catching? We highly doubt it, but maybe thatâs the point of the ad. NestlĂ© chocolate was for classy people, and they really wanted you to know, so they drew that very literal dotted line between the womanâs eyeball and the chocolate bar.
The Volkswagen Bandwagon
According to this Volkswagen ad, this new model is specifically created for wives. This VW is made of easy-to-replace parts and relatively cheaper than other models. Its fender is customized for women drivers. Now, should women who like driving thank VW for this personalization? No need to be thankful, girls. There are cooler cars than this.
This ad presumes that women are bad at driving because they hit anything that comes their way. Can you think of a more demeaning assumption than this? Women are statistically better drivers and navigators. In fact, men are more secured with higher insurance rates because itâs directly proportional to their accident rate. So, would you still fancy a Volkswagen?
Desert Flower Beauty Ice
Makeup and skincare ads havenât changed that much over the decades if we really think about it. While the products change, the sentiment stays the same: buy our products to look and feel beautiful. This 1958 ad for Shultonâs Desert Flower Beauty Ice shows off its new product as a feat of modern science.
Sultonâs Desert Flower was marketed as a super-modern, cutting-edge cosmetic line that used a fancy new commercial material called âplasticâ for its packaging. The beakers full of mysterious jelly were also supposed to make the product seem more modern. We have no idea what was in this stuff, but the sludge in the container looks more like aloe vera than a brand-new mystery cream.
Everyoneâs Refrigerator Dreams are About to Come True
Aspirational advertising has always been around in some form or another. Honestly, we donât really have anything critiques about this gorgeous ad for a top-of-the-line 1950s refrigerator. In fact, weâre kind of jealous of that little girl whoâs getting away with eating dessert before dinner. They sure donât make fridges like this anymore!
We donât know about you, but weâre falling for the advertising tricks in this vintage magazine ad. All of the scrumptious foods and drinks stuffed into that fridge almost make us believe that this, too, can be our reality if only we buy this specific product. Ignore the fact that a fully cooked turkey AND two frozen hams are physically impossible to fit in any kind of refrigerator.
TelevisionâŠfor Women!
Looking back on these vintage ads, itâs pretty easy to see exactly who they were advertising to and what they wanted customers to buy. The 1950s marked the beginning of highly visible ads and marketing as we know it today. It was a âWild Westâ decade, where pretty much any tactic was acceptable for selling products.
This 1951 ad ran in âCountry Lifeâ magazine, which is pretty obvious based on the drawing of the happy housewife peacefully trimming flowers. What does this lady have to do with a G.E.C.-brand radio and television? Nothing, but she looks nice. Vintage ads might look clunky to our content-saturated eyes, but they must have done the trick back then.
Rest Assured Furnitureâs Not-Quite-Assuring Ad
When you come home after a hard dayâs work, youâll surely jump straight to your living room couch (if not directly to your bed). The cushion makes you feel at home, really comfortable. The cover fabric feels so soft. The hand frames are not too high; they can be your pillow. You might even spend your good night's sleep in it. Certainly beats a night in a suite, right?
So, in the 60s, advertisers played a different game when they sell their suites. Take for example this Rest Assure furniture ad. They are referring to the perfect curves of their new couch model. Do you see it? Obviously, they mean another thing with âcurves.â Why else would they let a woman wear a sexy dress with a cocktail in hand? Rest Assured Furniture is definitely selling another thing aside from their couch and suite. One more thing, would you even buy that unattractive couch?
Color your Hair!
(but not with PolyGlow)
Dyeing the hair is actually a fun pastime. Girls mainly do it to feel more beautiful for themselves. That needs more emphasis not to be misunderstood. Girls pretty up for themselves, not for others, especially not for men. Sometimes though, girls need to pick the best hair color brand to make their hair look softer and shinier.
PolyGlow claims to make a âbeautiful changeâ for womenâs hair. It has six shades that can make your hair more vibrant and look healthier. Wait, thereâs something wrong about this. PolyGlow says that you should color your hair to catch the guysâ attention. Thatâs really a turn-off. Might as well find a better hair dye brand, choose one thatâs not sexist.
A Different Kind of âSweetâ
Women have been subjected to criticism about their appearances and figures for centuries. With the rise of magazine advertisements, this targeted criticism became even more commonplace. Although weight loss and diet ads are still pretty commonplace, one thing we donât see anymore is cigarette ads like this one from 1939.
Most of us know that the nicotine in cigarettes acts as a hunger suppressant. Back in the day, cigarette companies were able to shamelessly use this as a highlight in their marketing. If women smoked Lucky Strikes, they could lose weight. Itâs that easy! Shaming a woman into grabbing a cigarette instead of âa sweetâ for dessert seems like a weird and unhealthy approach to weight loss, right?
A Spotless Narrative
This 1955 magazine ad for Surf Washing Powder shows just how much advertising has changed over the last 60 years or so. The one-page ad has a whole story on it, including pictures and step-by-step instructions for how to use Surf products. Stopping to read a page-long marketing campaign is out of the question for most people today.
Plus, thereâs the obvious sexism that is rampant in this ad. Liz is suddenly the apple of her manâs eye because she learned how to do his laundry. Dude canât possibly wash his own shirt, can he? Thankfully, Surf makes any woman âhis kind of girl.â No thanks.
Singer: The Independence Machine
Sewing machines have always been targeted toward women because of deeply ingrained gender norms and stereotypes. This 1970s Singer ad is strange because it uses gender norms in a way that makes buying a sewing machine sound liberating and patriotic. The mental gymnastics for this ad are wild.
So, if women buy a Singer sewing machine, they can achieve true freedom by staying home and making their own clothes. Make it make sense. Sure, having the skills to make your own clothes is a huge accomplishment, but itâs only freedom if someone chooses to do so. Also, can we just take a minute to appreciate this wildly patriotic outfit? It sure does scream âindependence.â
Cigarette Ads Had Bad Taste
It seems that the 60s were the heyday for sexist advertising that depicted women as either mindless housewives or sex objects. The trend continued well into the 70s, as we can see from this Tipalet cigar ad. This cigarette ad employs a double entendre that we would never see in mainstream advertising today. Itâs so visually and verbally degrading that many younger generations find it mind-boggling.
We donât mean to yuck somebodyâs yum, but we highly doubt very many people love cigarette smoke getting blown in their faces. What was viewed as humorous and suggestive back then is now considered extremely rude and offensive. Thankfully, there would be a huge uproar if an ad like this came out today.
Women Will Make Everything Clean (Even in the Outer Space)
Who canât resist all the possibilities that the outer space bears? Scientists and experts have worked their way to uncover the mysteries of space. There had been explorations to the moon and studies of exoplanets. It has always been a way of getting out of Earth and see what lies outside.
Lo and behold this Lestoil Cleaner ad saying women can join the line of men as astronauts and rocket scientists. Look closer and see whatâs so wrong about it. They want to hire women to âmake the Moon a cleaner place to live.â Then again, the sexist mentality surfaces! Weâre by far living the 21st century with less of this. Enough of it already.
Lysol: The Perfect Summer Accessory
When we consider the last three or so years, this old ad for Lysol spray may not seem that farfetched. Werenât many of us carrying around our own personal hand sanitizers and Lysol wipes just a few years ago? What goes around comes around because Lysol advertised its disinfectant spray as the hot new accessory for the summer back in 1972.
There are a few key differences between what we see in Lysol ads today and what was considered ânormalâ back then. This ad is obviously targeted directly at women, stay-at-home moms, to be specific. Even in the 70s, it was still assumed that women were the ones doing all the kin-keeping and housekeeping. The gender norms are strong in this ad
So Fresh, So Kool
This penguin spraying mouthwash straight into his open beak looks absolutely insane. This ad for Kool cigarettes from the 1930s is arguing that smoking a cigarette is good for you if you feel under the weather. Why? Because their cigarettes have fresh, clean menthol in them! Forget Vicks VapoRub. Itâs all about inhaling some toxic tobacco smoke into your lungs to achieve that sparkling menthol feel.
Although some people still smoke, weâre all more aware of the negative health effects that smoking can have on the body. Back then, cigarettes were presented as a health benefit. Perhaps the most insane thing about this ad is that Kool cigarettes are still marketed as a âtrue menthol experienceâ today. They leaned into the one good thing about smoking and ran with it, health concerns be darned!
Carsualâs Horoscope Pants
Weâre not exactly sure whatâs happening in this advertisement, but we know itâs specifically made to sell these horrendous horoscope slacks. According to the ad, these are a pair of âactionâ pants. Whatever your agenda is, Iâm sure itâll be a lot more fun with a colorful pair of slacks!
The suggestive posing of the woman behind implies that these fancy slacks also serve as chick magnets. Seriously? What is it with advertisements for slacks and the absolute need to insinuate that these pants will get the ladiesâ heads turning? Nonetheless, these screen-printed cotton and polyester blend guarantees that these pair of pants are styled for action!
Cigar Advertisement
Before the turn of the century, ads of this sort were even more rampant than they are today, and it was socially acceptable to post insensitive and demeaning advertisements about anything that involved women and how they are somehow inferior to men. It can be seen in ads concerning laundry detergents, food helpers, etc. The worst part? Barely anyone said anything about it, not even women!
Today weâre more educated about the harmful social connotations of ads like this: A cigar is a cigar, one expensive stick of cancer-causing chemicals but let's forget about that, right? Women are obviously the bane of everyoneâs existence. Then again, Kipling had been oppressed and demeaned by his own wife, so perhaps thatâs where his thought process stemmed from. Or perhaps it was his wifeâs way of showing him heâs wrong.
Come on, Baby, Light My Fire
Who knew lighter fluid could be so sexy? We certainly had no idea until we saw this 1948 advertisement for Ronson lighter fluid. Phew. Itâs funny to see how obvious vintage ads were regarding who their target audience was. Ronson lighters arenât for women. If that illustration is any indication, theyâre only for suave, sexy men. Duh.
This flammable company was really out here, making all the average Joeâs think that carrying a Ronson lighter would make them irresistible to women far and wide. Heck, they might even get lucky in another way thatâs only slightly implied in this ad. Although we do still see ads targeted at straight men in a similar way these days, itâs a lot more subtle than it was back in the 40s.
Women? Outside the Home? Impossible!
This Trans World Airlines ad was probably considered slightly feminist when it was created in 1954. Today, of course, itâs completely laughable. However, back in the 50s, it marked a change in how companies advertised to women in the US. The ad asked women, âWho says, âItâs a manâs world?ââ as a way to appeal to âmodernâ women who had more social independence than ever before.
TWA lets women dream big and even consider traveling on their own. Without a man. Gasp! Can you even believe it?! This whole marketing gimmick is obviously ridiculous to anyone living in 21st-century America. Some women would even argue that traveling without a man is a million times better.
Unlucky Tiger Hair Wax
Whoever sees this ad can point out everything thatâs wrong about it. To say the least, this hair wax ad is so creepy. What does a tiger have to do about hair wax? There seems to be a reverse role in this picture. The tiger is depicted as the hunter when itâs the other way around in reality. The poor animal is portrayed as a beast when in fact, humans are the ones who invade their territories.
If you think that there could be nothing worse...you are very wrong. Mounting the busts of the women on a wall is such a psycho thing to do. The male gaze exudes the misogynist mentality of the creators of this ad. This ad displays pure absurdity that it even has the guts to say, âWhich one do you want?â Itâs as if women are not given the choice to say no. Sorry, the gals arenât naturally going for any guy who uses Lucky Tiger. Not so lucky now.
America Wants You! (To Eat More Rice)
Obesity has been a problem in the United States, even in the 60s. American diet included potatoes that are high in carbohydrates, thus leading to weight gain that is hard to sweat off. The Rice Council of America published several advertisements to convince citizens to convert from potatoes to rice which is high in fiber and can help with weight problems. Now, this is a good cause; a healthier way of life is always something we should strive for whenever we can, but there are certain...questions about how they deliver this message to the public.
Their way of doing so? Claim that there are no such things as fat Chinese people. Itâs true that rice is a healthier side dish than potatoes, but stereotyping a race and being culturally insensitive is definitely not the way to advertise your cause.
 This Time Itâs Coffee!
Nothing beats the smell of coffee in the morning. The perfect breakfast for the working man: eggs, bacon, bread, and a steaming hot cup of coffee with a hefty dash of....a feminine friend. We already know that ads of this kind were rampant in the earlier days, and this is yet another good example.
This specific ad plays on the idea that a wife only belongs in the house and that her sole purpose is to serve her husband at home and make his life as pleasing and comfortable as possible. Today, more and more women are realizing that they can do so much more than stay at home and that their lives donât have to end after getting hitched.
Women Can Open This Catsup Bottle
Strangely enough, even advertisements for aluminum bottle caps contain material of an adult nature but are free to be published and displayed in public. Itâs hard to see how something like this was considered a pleasant way to advertise aluminum bottle caps, and weâre glad itâs not around anymore.
Itâs kind of strange that more than 50 years ago, people thought that women are weaker and incapable of doing mundane tasks like opening bottles and that we need a strong man to...well...open a bottle, as most strong men do. While itâs true that we have trouble opening bottles occasionally, this isnât only a problem exclusive to women. Sometimes itâs just that hard to twist that cap off! A Tutorial on How To Kick It with The Ladies
Itâs Delicious
Sorry, I canât promise this would be the last of those prejudiced vintage ads. In the 1950s, cultural ignorance still stretched to many countries. Stereotypes mainly spread because of ads. No matter where you go, there will be one stereotypical image of those who are Mexican, Puerto Rican, or South American. Those who design the art put on the cliched sombrero.
A perfect example of this malady is the ad for Merito Rum. They made a guy who wore a sombrero ride a donkey. Aside from the archetypal costume design, the ad showed the ignorance of those who worked behind the scenes. Why would they write a quote like that? Thereâs nothing funny about it; it's being so narrow-minded.