68 Fascinating ‘Vintage Advertisements’ That Might Not Go Down Very Well Today (New Pics)
The point of an advertisement is to sell a product; that’s how it’s always been. But how companies choose to capture customers’ attention has evolved greatly over the years. And if you’re interested in getting a blast from the past, this list will instantly transport you back to the 20th century’s most amusing marketing campaigns.
We took a trip to the Vintage Advertisements subreddit and gathered some of their best posts below. While some of these ads are still brilliant, others wouldn’t go over quite as well today. But they’re all entertaining! So enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to upvote the ones that you can’t believe were featured in magazines or on television decades ago.
This post may include affiliate links.
Between You, Your Husband And Your Senator, Planned Parenthood, 1982
And yet it's not censored in the actual article......Apparently it's only offensive if it's in bold caps lol.
Load More Replies...So many people chose to put a rapist over a woman in charge and look we are back here.
A senator SHOULD be involved in your s****l decision to make sure it's done the Republican way
i.e. from on top and without asking your permission.
Load More Replies...Think it was Politico, the current regime has quietly resumed funding for PP.
David Bowie For America's Libraries. Ad Campaign From 1987
"Again". US historical memory is 3 Presidential terms.
Load More Replies...David Bowie was an avid reader. After his death, his son started an on-line book club in his memory, based on 100 of his favourite books.
Libraries are closing and half a country seems ok with it God what a waste.
We All Got Vaccines, Except Dad
This is just the truth, so not really sure what the issue is. Who'd have thought vaccines actually work and don't just give you autism? /sss
And a region in my state is having a measles outbreak - over 400 cases and climbing.
I'm waiting for the day that polio stops being eradicated in the US because of anti-vaxxer idiots. (By 'waiting' I don't mean that I'm looking forward to it happening or anything like that, but I'm expecting it to happen sooner or later).
Load More Replies...There are (possibly) three people still using iron lungs. Parts are difficult to find.
I suppose people take it less seriously now that they can walk around with their own oxygen supply?
Load More Replies...Nowadays, it’s almost impossible to go more than a few minutes without seeing an ad. Whether you’re reading an article online, scrolling through Instagram, walking down the street, or shopping for groceries, you’re going to be bombarded with commercials and advertisements everywhere you go. In fact, it’s estimated that people notice around 100 advertisements every single day, though some believe that we’re exposed to thousands on any given day.
That doesn’t mean that we actually remember all of the marketing we see, though. 41% of Americans say that they only remember between 1% and 10% of the ads they’ve seen in the last 24 hours. And over a quarter of individuals note that they’re never persuaded by the ads that they see.
Dad, You've Got To Help Me! Responsible Drinking Message From Seagram Company Ltd, 1987
My parents told me and I told my kids. Don’t care if you are drunk or high, you need me to pick you up I will do it, no questions asked.
I kept barf bag in the car for those occasions. Like I will pick you up, and your friends, but no one dare to throw up in my car!
Load More Replies...Why would this not go down well today (current title for this list)? Parents who care about their children do this today.
Yeah, I don't get it either. Do they now want kids to go with drunk drivers???
Load More Replies...The may mother was, I would literally rather have risked ţorture or deaţh than calling her for help.
McDonald's Advertisement From 1997
This only wouldn't happen today because 80% of McDonald's products are sold directly to Donald J. Drumpf and he's a foul, racist bigot.
I think you were being too kind but BP would censor what I would add.
Load More Replies...LEGO Ad (1980)
The bricks have not physically changed, and modern bricks cans still connect perfectly with ones made in the 1970's. While off-brands can't even gurantee a single set can fit together (there's loose bricks and plastic is too hard and fragile)
Load More Replies...Younger children build for fun. Older children build for realism. Adults build for relaxation.
When it comes to what kinds of advertisements Americans are interested in, over half say they would prefer to see marketing that makes them laugh or that entertains them. And Digital Silk reports that 46% of adults say they find advertisements on television and print to be trustworthy, while the vast majority of people are skeptical of ads they spot on social media.
In the United States, 41% of consumers say that they find TV commercials to be relevant to them. And over half of Americans would prefer to watch a television show with product placement than watch a program with traditional commercial breaks. 40% of people are also annoyed with all of the ads they see online, and over a third get frustrated when they see ads based on their search history.
Homosexuals Are Different, Mattachine Society Of New York, 1960
Respect is due to those who faced down the (often violent) disapproval of society of the time.
Load More Replies...Some of their materials are held in the Smithsonian. With the current administration "editing" the Smithsonian's collections, I am afraid they may disappear.
Should be a naturalness in our modern day, sadly there is a backwards development in the countries that had that ideal written on their flag (Different reasons in the US and Europe)
NAMBLA is not cool, but that shouldn’t influence how we look at *this* organization, and gay rights in general.
Load More Replies...Grace Jones Honda Scooter Advert From 1984
1972.groovy Toilet Seats From Sears
I'd love one of these. Except the toilet in my apartment has one of those horrible elongated seats.
There’s no question that companies have had to adapt their approaches to advertising as technology has advanced. But since this list is full of vintage ads, we’ll take a journey back in time to see just what marketing was like in the 20th century. Simplicity notes that there was a significant shift in marketing between 1900 and 1920 because of how the world was changing. Suddenly, companies could reach consumers on a broader scale, through radio ads and moving picture ads.
In 1962, Bette Davis Published This Advertisement In Variety
That's the year that "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" came out, ironically.
I've Robbed The Rainbow To Make You Gay. Jester Wools
back when Gay meant colorful and joyful, not Homosexual. The term gay for Homosexuals started as a slur for gay men, saying they were colorful and flamboyant and not masculine. The term has changed today
Am I right in thinking that the term was then taken over as a way of fighting back against discrimination? "you call us gay, that's just fine by us" sort of thing?
Load More Replies...As late as the 1990s, there was a restaurant chain in Indianapolis calling itself "Gay Dan's". The was a reference to its Gay 90s decoration theme. (It changed it's name to "Mr. Dan's" eventually.)
Got Milk Ads From 1999
I loved the Got Milk ads. We'd cut them out of magazines when they featured our favorite celebrities.
The got milk ads were the direct result of the American government subsiding the dairy farmers until it functionally broke down the industry. Then the government had to convince the public that milk was essential. There were tax incentives to include dairy and milk byproducts in foods, and it's the cause of 'government cheese'. If you've ever heard of the American cheese caves, this is where they came from.
... and the fact that the glasses full of milk are held exactly underneath his nipples is, of course, totally unintended ?
I love his instagram, it's pretty much nothing but his cats
After 1920, the “Mad Men” era of advertising began. During this time, ads were all about selling the American dream, personal aspiration, and status. Advertising also started to manipulate consumers' emotions to sell more products. And companies caught on to the idea that racy photos and beautiful women could lead to a huge increase in sales.
My First Day With Stayfree. 1970s
They improved even more after that. My health teacher in the early 2000s called the 70s version 'surfboards'.
After growing up with "the belt", these were a godsend.
Load More Replies...Since he's staring up her skirt, I'm hoping he's a caring husband ...
Only Fans 1957
LOL, although I've switched to a white noise machine.
Load More Replies...Carry your own fan and with that dress you can Blow out the skirt a la Marilyn.
Load More Replies...What I Like & Don’t Like In A Woman - Bill Blass Perfume Ad 1983
I used to wear this perfume 100 years ago. If I had known then what a giant douchebag he was I never would have worn it.
You’d hate me then, I’m going to cry at a wedding if I want to.
Load More Replies...This is funny since in the 70's, most people who saw this ad probably didn't know he was gay.
He was gay and couldn't find a man to put up with him either.
Load More Replies...Why wasn't I given this list????!! I can cuss like sailor, but I don't know about the perfume. I like Jimmy Choo, is that o.k???
Then there was the “Post-War Boom” after 1940. This era of advertising was focused on targeting homeowners, while brands started thinking about retaining customers long-term. Televisions also started becoming more common in everyday Americans’ homes, so TV commercials became an incredibly effective way of marketing products.
1939 Children’s Laxative Ad
I interpreted "lick" as literally licking, with his tongue, and was so confused for a second 😄
Didn’t anyone ever talk to them about a healthy diet? Kids should never need laxatives.
Untrue. Some kids suffer from terrible constipation which can lead to toileting aversion, and real illness.
Load More Replies...Were people unable to p*o without help before 1980? Really gimboid? Can't say p00?
Their diets certainly had less fibre and greens than ours do.
Load More Replies...The follow-up - chocolate-flavoured toothpaste - somehow never really caught on ...
Bike Pipe 1980
"Ride high" "Stick your doobie inside". Yeah - this isn't about smoking tobacco...😬 And then there's the whole "no helmet, bare arms" business. I dunno - was this some kind of CIA plot to eliminate bikers? 😉🤣 (I ride motorcycles, and the pedal powered version. Only, always with protective gear and never with any sort of drúg that'd stop me doing it safely.)
Actually, those were popular in the 1970s. It was also called a "zeppilen".
Load More Replies...Bradley Group Showers (1965)
Are they all singing the "I'm so happy to be hanging out wet and naked with other good looking men" song?
I think they took some Ovaltine last night. Or maybe someone robbed a rainbow for them.
Our school still has these exact units in the boys locker room. Pain in the a** keeping that stainless looking good.
I remember these in campgrounds when I was a kid.(Women's room) In school we had rows of single shower heads. If we didn't come out with wet shoulders, the gym teacher would make us go through again.
Load More Replies...Ok? See nothing wrong here? What do i miss? Why would this be weird today? 🤔
Next came the age of innovation. During the 1960s and 1970s, companies started getting more creative with their commercials. They could advertise on TV in color, and some commercials even started to feature celebrities. Offering coupons also became a popular direct marketing strategy, and being featured in a national ad could make an actor even more famous than being in films!
Now She Can Cope...medical Journal Ad, 1965
And that's the "happy family of the 1950s": women were d*****d into obedience. My, why would a*****e shytes want to go back to those times, it's a mystery!
Wait, isn't that when America was great?/s
Load More Replies...🎶There's a little yellow pill🎶 Mother's little helper.....
Mother’s Little Helper. Because women were working during the war, soldiers came home, we sent the women home, and this is how they found solace.
I'm pretty sure facing 10 million men with varying levels of combat related mental diseases might have had something to do with it.
Load More Replies...Ad For Mcdonald’s Breakfast From 1977
McDonald's DID have a fairly decent breakfast back in the day, although the trend didn't last very long.
The Big Breakfast is still sold where I am. It's still pretty solid. And contrary to popular believe, they scramble real actual eggs.
Load More Replies...I used to love those hash browns so much. Haven't had one in years.
I miss the "Big Breakfast" - that was an absolute treat after battling to work in central London on the days when there was a rail strike. Less than a quid too.
Battleship (1967)
surely you don't consider the dish-washing and dish-dryer machines as part of the family do you? /s/
Load More Replies...As technology advanced rapidly between 1980 and 2000, marketing agencies had to evolve as well. Suddenly, they had to learn how to advertise on the internet, while e-commerce started to change the way consumers purchased anything and everything. And today, of course, we’re in the era of social media marketing. From influencers swearing by certain products that have sponsored them to your Instagram feed being flooded with ads, it’s impossible to avoid commercials today.
Tupac And Jada Pinkett Smith In An Ad For Mondawmin Mall In 1987
Wake Up Gay In The Morning!!!!!
Someone's been spiking my nighttime tea with that because I've been waking up gay for a long time now.
1950s Ad For New Home
$9800 in 1955 is roughly $118,500 now. A price anyone would be thrilled to pay for a house with a pool.
And only people of a certain persuasion would be allowed to buy one and live there.
Load More Replies...Note the name of the road - Indian School. Enjoy your new home and pool where American indigenous children suffered forced assimilation to "civilized" white society.
Could be now, except that billionaires have to go to space for fun and run the world.
Dad retired and we moved north. They got a 'Yankee Home'(double wide) for $12k. 3 bed 2 bath, about 1700 sqft.
Are you enjoying this list of iconic vintage advertisements, pandas? Keep upvoting the ones that you find particularly entertaining, and let us know in the comments below what the most clever ads you’ve ever seen were. Then, if you’d like to check out another Bored Panda article featuring retro ads, we’ve got the perfect list to read next right here!
Sears Men's Fashion 1960's
I remember my Dad going to work dressed like this! We lived in Australia then.
Walk socks! Haha what else would they be for? "Honey, have you seen my underwater basket weaving socks?"
Load More Replies...I would kinda love if men would wear this again. Can't promise I wouldn't laugh, but I do think it would be fun. But on a serious note: shorts for men should become normal again, business men should be comfortable in summer too. All clothing rules are just made up, we can just change them if we want.
Don't Let That Cold Stop You. Use Minipoo. Late 50s Early 60s
And if I am too sick to shower I definitely don't care about my looks.
Load More Replies...Or, as Dorothy Sayers' character Peter Wimsey said, "If the public can possibly put a rude meaning to a phrase, they will". The movement to do so seems unstoppable ...
A dry shampoo, but it was mostly sham. The powder absorbed hair oil and was supposed to brush out, but it slowly accumulated instead.
We use to use baby powder or corn starch.
Load More Replies...That stuff was awful. You'd spinkle in on your hair and supposedly brushed it out. It never all came out until you washed it properly. Oh, and please note, we still thought if you got chilly you caught a cold.
Back in the olden days, it was thought that having wet hair could lead to illness or make an already existing illness worse, especially if you went outside with wet hair.
Load More Replies...United Airlines - 1976
You had to choose your meal when you bought your ticket. This was one of the first airlines to serve gluten free, which as still new and contested.
I have to admit, of the two plane trips I took to and from Canada from Australia, United was better for my food restrictions, mostly because they had a lot of prepackaged things. The meal I got on Virgin was basically just boiled veggies and chicken and very unappetising.
Peter Pain Was Ben-Gay's Villainous Mascot From 1942-1965. This Ad On A 93-Year-Old NYC Subway Train Elicited A Lot Of Snickers From Today's Passengers
My ex had a groin injury, and accidentally got some Absorbine Jr (Mostly menthol oil) on his dangly bits. Never seen a human move like that, before or since! Lol
Load More Replies...A quickie advert that the artist tossed off in a hurry, perchance with one stroke of his pen? Is this his best shot? And *what* is 'mild Ben Gay *for children*' ? I think we should be told ... or rub it out.
"I Suffered From Menstrual Cramps." - 1968 Femicin Ad
It's really sick that the advertisers thought (and perhaps rightfully?) that men would only go and buy it for their wives if the advert focussed on the man's "suffering". Seriously, how lousy a husband do you have to be, if an advert that focusses on how women could suffer less from menstrual pain, doesn't make you think "Hmm this might be nice for my wife, because she deserves to be free from pain"...
I used to say that Mr Auntriarch suffered from PMT - mine. He never said it though, that's the difference.
D**n you woman!! Don't have "feelings" or pain. In fact just be a robot.
"The woman I married" is an old statement people used as a way to punish their spouse when they expressed human emotions and not a pretend face to make others like them. I spend lots of painful days and my husband has nothing to do with my pain management. Pain is a part of life and is needed to identify physical problems.
Only Bugles Remain
We always called Bugles "tasty little trumpets of grease!" I pick a bag once a year or so and they still fit on my fingers. Still tasty, too.
Oooh! I bought them all, but think I liked Bugles the best. Daisies were my second favourite flavour. Late 60s, I believe.
1967 - Rice Council Of America Trying To Win The Hearts Of The “Meat And Potatoes” Crowd
For some reason I get the sense that the person who wrote that line really wanted to use a slur that rhymes with sink, but even in the 70's that wasn't ok.
I spent a month in southern China, and while I had no way to know, the phrase "fat as a merchant" popped into my head at least a few times per day.
Gonna be a fat American if you keep putting butter on it like the picture! Lol
A 1920s Peerless Ice Cream Advert
Print Ad For The Dynamite Underwear Line By Munsingwear From 1973
the right half looks like some edgy 80s prog rock 45!
Load More Replies...1949 Formica
“He's A Tough And Rugged Little Guy With A Look You Have To Love." My Buddy From Hasbro, 1985
Still have the jingle stuck in my head. "My buddy, my buddy, wherever I go, he goes, my buddy ....
I read, on Bored Panda of course, that the Chucky movie destroyed the sales of the doll!
Load More Replies...1987 Mcdonald’s Ad
It would certainly make the drive-through more interesting.
Load More Replies...Hydrox Throwing Shade At Oreos (1954)
Poor Hydrox. Maybe its name should've been changed to something less laundry-detergenty.
Hydrox were much better than Oreos but had less obvious filling so they died out.
Oprah Winfrey, Unforgettable Woman, Revlon, 1989
The way they inserted all those multiples of her make it look like an Oprah spider.
Multa Nocte: They also erased the ability to easily reply to those of us who have been censored. Where's the word "Reply" below your comment?
Yeah, I hate that it happens because you can't respond directly and so it's difficult to know if people will chase the response around in the thread.
Load More Replies...Exclusive Prelubricated Tip Makes Insertion Easy And Medically Correct [1950s]
I was about 14 and I remember sending off for free samples. Then I ended up throwing them away because I was scared my mother would find out.
Maybelline’s Kissing Potion (1981)
And how! My most prized possession for a while…
Load More Replies...OMG the cherry smash tasted soooo good!! So did the bubble gum!
Like a lipstick party. But with taste, rather than colour.
1944 Life Savers Hard Candy Advertising
Why have the real thing when you can have artificial and carry in your pocket.
Budweiser 1950s
Anybody remember a song titled "Why didn't we get drunk and scr*w"?
Lee Gilliland: actually, no. As it happens, I thought of the Dead Kennedy's "Too drunk to fúck".
Load More Replies...Care To Take A Chance?
I thought that at first, then I thought it was scared-straight campaign and these were like prison guards or juvenile detention teachers. They are not unattractive or abnormal looking, just so severe. There's nothing about this that reads, "find your future love match."
Load More Replies...Lightboy For Use With Nintendo Game Boy (1990)
I had the light magnifier accessory when I had a game boy. So it did this but also magnified the screen by 1.5x which was handy
Thats what this is. I still have both in my basement.
Load More Replies...Ad From An Issue Of Popular Science Magazine Telling People To Burn Their Old Batteries Because The Burning Zinc May Help Clean Your Chimney. Also, Colorful Flames. 1951
In fact with the batteries they had back then this was nowhere near as harmful as it sounds today - they were not sealed, generally enclosed in a cardboard case, so would not explode, and were constructed mostly from zinc and carbon, relatively harmless. Some harmful chemicals were used in small amounts though, but unless you directly inhaled the fumes the effect on atmospheric pollution was minimal. Not to be recommended, of course, but not quite as bad as it sounds.
Yeah, you don't want to inhale zinc oxide fumes. I worked at a zinc die cast plant when I got out of high school, and "metal fume fever" is not something you want to experience.
Load More Replies...A house in my suburb burned down and the flames produced lots of pretty colours. They must have had a lot of batteries.
Ahh...I see Lee Zeldin has a BP account. /s
Load More Replies...Shirley Simkins And Sally Hayes, Lfersavers, 1957
Oh yeah, that lifesaver really filled me up. So good for steady glucose levels too /s. And can we talk about how perfectly normal Shirley's body looks. Dang people have been rough on girls.
There was an old weight loss candy called 'Ayds.' Kind of unfortunate name when HIV came. People used to call HIV AIDS.
Wendy’s Pick-Up Cup, 1985
If you want a plastic-free solution to takeaway beverages, there it is.
These are plastic coated, so utterly unrecycleable and not plastic free.
Load More Replies...Introducing Twiggy Lashes By Yardley (1967)
I idolised Twiggy when I was young. She was every single thing I ever wanted to be.
The ad asks, "What made Twiggy what she is today? Anorexia, that's what.
I remember those Yardley ads on TV. Twiggy, London , Glimmeric. Stuff of teenage dreams.
Meet Fred Flintstone And Barney Rubble At The Catonville Supermart (1969)
Yeah. And why does Fred get 8 toes when Barney only gets 6?
Load More Replies...1950s Cardboard Grocery Store Standee For Donald Duck Orange Juice!
My friend bought some and when her husband got home and saw it, his first question was if somehow they'd gone broke since yesterday because why else would she buy that c**p? LOL
Load More Replies...1968 Hangman Bicycle Sissy Bar
The "sissy bar" was quite commonly used on chopper-style motorcycles, simply to stop pillion passengers falling off the back. The use of a hangman's knot as a headrest in this one is in, err, dubious taste, to say the least.
Load More Replies...Good grief! 🤦♀️. And what's with the term, 'sure kid gitter? Sales tactic, I hope?
I Found A Teenager’s Jewelry Box Decoupaged With Ads (1970)
Mebaral, 1959
So, knock her out with drûgs if she overreacts? What could possibly be wrong with that idea.....?
A trip to the past in a time machine is probably the only way nowadays.
Load More Replies...I have moth phobia. I fight back with the vacuum cleaner. No sedation for this warrior housewife.
Moths are monsters. That is not an overreaction. Especially those huge floopy ones. 😆
I have a white witch moth specimen. Its wing span is almost 30 cm/12 in.
Load More Replies...Vote For The New M&M's Color, 1995
1985 Efficol Cough Whip
Virginia Slims Promotional Sewing Needles I Found In My Mom’s Sewing Supplies
So did I, because that was my Mom’s brand and I was sneaking them…
Load More Replies...Salon Selectives (1987)
Wow! I'd forgotten all about these. Now the jingle is in my head.
Wow I haven’t thought about these in years… I definitely used this brand!
"Feels like you just stepped out of a salon...into a wind tunnel"
Sears Open Hearth Family Room Furniture Ad, 1977
This is the sets my grandparents had. Those cushions were covered with a burlap type material and very itchy on skin, but they made great cushion forts. They were made of carved wood with a spring box underneath, so they never broke.
The Princess Telephone. Bell Telephone Systems (1960)
Before this, you could have a phone in any color as long as it was black. Color phones were huge when they fist arrived.
"We don't care. We don't have to. We're the Phone Company." Priceless ...
"She Wondered Why He Lost Interest So Quickly" - It Was B.o., Lifebuoy Ad
1970s Jeno's Before They Were Totino's Pizza Rolls
I just bought pizza rolls for new year's eve. A big box and baked in oven they were great as party food.
KitchenAid [1954]
Duracell Powercheck (1996)
These hurt my thumbs. So much pressure required to see the power level ....
I agree! And they weren't accurate half the time anyway, so it was basically pain but no gain 🤷🏽♀️
Load More Replies...The act of measurement used thermal energy, so it would drain the battery somewhat.
I liked the one on the box, I could put any battery in it, but once they put them on the batteries, yeah they were hard to use.
Who Is Getting That Half-Cherry? (1950s)
Why was there only ever one or two cherries in tinned fruit salad? My siblings and I always fought over them.
So did we, despite the fact that they don't taste very nice!
Load More Replies...That photo is surprisingly accurate. I swear there's only one cherry in every can of fruit cocktail.
It was meant to represent exactly how many pieces of fruit were supposed to be in a can. So four grapes, four pineapple, one halved cherry and the rest a 50/50 of pear and peach. With lots of siblings we counted each time and had to divy up the special fruits.
Load More Replies...Jnco Jeans, 1998
All jeans had men's pockets up until the mid 70s.
Load More Replies...Nothing like getting a pair of $70 Jncos for Christmas and watching the look of horror on your parents faces as you start tearing the hems.
1920s Orange Crush Advertisement
I didn't understand the R.E.M lyric reference, which has been in my mind for a few days. Presumbly, the controversy was the addition of vodka.
Load More Replies...1977 Kmart Back-To-School Ad
caption says 77, but that is some Brady Bunch gear. "western jeans of blue denim" lol
Load More Replies...Early 80s - bought my boys some tweedy trousers as part of their school uniform. The refused to wear them because they were “too itchy”.
Burger King, 2002
So 2002 is "vintage" now? I guess I had better toddle off to the old folks' home then
What on earth have fries and fallen heroes got to do with each other? I’m confused.
You'll notice they aren't called "French fries," as is common in the US. I believe this was about the time that the conservatives called them "Freedom fries" because the French wouldn't back up the US's "weapons of mass destruction" bullshit.
Nah, this isn't that. Calling them "fries" is and has been very common. The stupid "freedom fries" thing was in response to the Iraq war in 2003. The French were well involved in Afghanistan. There's a pretty rad picture of my carrier, another carrier(maybe the Lincoln) and the Charles de Gaulle in the Indian Ocean with all of our battlegroups arrayed around us from this era. Later, when we pulled into Marseilles, there was a massive supporting crowd to greet us.
Load More Replies...The common theory is that BP is having some sort of glitch in their censoring system.
Load More Replies...The common theory is that BP is having some sort of glitch in their censoring system.
Load More Replies...
