50 Fascinating ‘Vintage Advertisements’ That Might Not Go Down Well Today (New Pics)

We asked Johnson about the things that could give an advertisement greater longevity, to make it relevant for longer. He explained that there's no guarantee that an ad will be relevant in the future. However, if you want to increase its longevity, one way is to see whether it would be relevant in the past.

"If you want an ad to resonate 20 years in the future, it should be designed in such a way that audiences 20 years in the past can relate to it. To this end, creating a timeless ad involves a delicate balance between innovation and universality," the marketing psychology speaker explained.

"While creativity is crucial, it's essential to tap into enduring human emotions and values that transcend temporal trends. A successful ad resonates not only with the current zeitgeist but also strikes a chord with timeless themes that withstand the test of cultural evolution."

According to the marketing psychology speaker and host of the human nature blog, simplicity often proves to be a virtue. "A clear, memorable message can endure in the minds of viewers across generations. Ultimately, an ad's ability to endure lies in its capacity to evoke emotions, tell a compelling story, and embed itself in the collective consciousness, transcending the fleeting preferences of any given era."

Bored Panda inquired about current trends in advertising and how the industry might change in the near future, as well. Johnson was kind enough to shed some light on this. He noted the importance of authenticity, personalization, and influencer marketing.

"People have been saying 'advertising is dead' for decades now. And while the industry shows no signs of dying off completely, it continues to go through some substantial changes," he told us.

"For one, authenticity is paramount, with consumers increasingly valuing brands that embrace genuine storytelling and transparency. Personalization is another key aspect, as targeted and tailored content becomes more prevalent to cater to individual preferences. The rise of influencer marketing continues to be significant, with brands leveraging the reach and credibility of social media influencers."

The expert then shared what the near future might look like in the ad industry. "Looking ahead, as trust is increasingly hard to come by in the consumer world, influencer content stands to take additional market share away from traditional ad spend."

Created way back in early 2012, the r/vintageads subreddit is going to be celebrating its 12th birthday in just a few short months. At the time of writing, the online community had just over 167k members.

The sub is still very active to this very day, as people continue to stumble upon new vintage advertisements to share with everyone else. It’s not just a group for those working in marketing, advertising, or design, however. Anyone who has a fascination with history and nostalgia for the past is bound to enjoy themselves here.

As we’ve covered on Bored Panda recently, people working in marketing need to put in the proper time and effort to get to know their target audience well. The devil is in the details. And the details really do matter.

When you know what your audience wants and needs, and how it thinks, you can shape your advertising campaign around that. You can anticipate the possible reactions.

One huge mistake that you can make is only ever doing things how you want to do them, ignoring everyone else. At the end of the day, it’s your audience that buys your products and services, not you.

So there needs to be a balance between what the business aims to accomplish, the creative aspect of the ad, as well as the desires of the audience. 

“A poor marketer hasn’t read the data and gotten to know their audience. These people will build collateral that would appeal to themselves or their peer group rather than that of the target audience,” Jansen Mann, who runs the digital marketing agency ‘Simon’ and the 'Ridiculous Marketing Nonsense' online project told Bored Panda during an earlier interview.

Fundamentally, telling a good advertisement from a bad one isn’t as easy as you might think. On the one hand, you could call an ad successful if it goes viral, generates buzz, and sparks discussions with its creative approach. On the other hand, you could also measure success by whether or not the ad fulfilled the company’s goals.

The business might have gone viral with its ads, but if they’re not converted into sales, then the result is a bit of a mixed bag. However, if the company’s goal had been to raise brand awareness, then congratulations—you’ve done exactly what you set out to do.

What really useful here is for the people creating the ad to have very clear goals in mind before they even set out to sketch anything. When you’re focused on a specific idea and goal, you’re more likely to create something of value.

Another aspect of success lies in the longevity of an ad campaign. Companies evolve. New products are developed all the time. Society and its values shift and change. If you’re able to communicate the essence of your company and product in such a way that it remains relevant years, decades, and even centuries later, then you’ve got something truly magical on your hands. But this requires getting to the core of what makes human beings, well, human.

Ideally, businesses will try to connect not just with their current audience but also with people in the future who might have very different values and sensibilities. However, things like attention to quality, reliability, or whatever else a brand values the most, can remain relevant even as time speeds by. Something else that remains static is human nature.

Every ad, then, isn’t just a separate campaign or a bunch of info in a spreadsheet: it’s part of a larger legacy. If you can keep the messaging consistent over time, the company itself can remain on people’s radars across generations.

That doesn’t mean that you should be afraid of change. Flexibility is a huge part of success in life in general, not just in the advertising industry. While you can keep the core message and values the same, the way you format everything can be different.

Forbes notes that advertisers shouldn’t be scared of using new platforms, like TikTok or Instagram, to spread their message. That means testing out different approaches… and seeing what sticks.

Which of these vintage advertisements did you personally find the most interesting, dear Pandas? Which ones did you think were the most bizarre? Do you think any of these ads could work in the modern world? Why (not)? If you’re feeling up to it, scroll down to the comment section to share your thoughts with all the other readers.