This ad may have made sense back in the 1950s, but we don’t 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 doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. However, it’s pretty obvious that this ad is sexist and preys on women’s 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? We’re not buying it.
Not Your “Clever Girl”
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 we’re stunned. It calls the woman in the ad a “clever girl.”
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 didn’t realize that women had critical thinking skills. Imagine that?
That Don’t Impress Me Much
This vintage ad reads more like a Valentine’s Day card instead of a commercial. It’s really novel to see how ads from the 50s created whole stories just to sell one product. It’s 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, “That don’t impress me much.”
She’s not impressed until someone comes up and offers her a delicious Fry’s Milk Punch Bar. We’re not going to lie. A chocolate bar with caramel and fudge sounds absolutely delicious. Wait…is this ad working on us? Darn it.
A Terrifying Work Environment
We see about 50 HR violations in this single image from this 1972 “Life Magazine” ad. Granted, work environments were a tad bit different for women back then, but it’s wild to think that the 70s were only five decades ago. There are a lot of assumptions being made in this ad, so let’s 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 she’s trying to get her work done. What happened to personal space?
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 “Playboy,” it’s still pretty sexist by today’s standards.
Although we don’t see ads that are this obvious in modern marketing, companies still rely on the same trope of the “every man” 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? There’s probably some psychology behind that.