118 Retro Ads That Capture A Different Era

The one common theme in these retro ads is that they all came about during a time when today’s technology was far from being developed. As cultural historian Allen J. Wiener tells Bored Panda, “print media filled the idle hours of the youth.” 

“The post-World War II generation of kids was the first to have disposable income, making them a plum target for advertising,” Wiener said. “Comic books were particularly popular with kids and were illustrated with hand-drawn art from cover to the final page, with advertising typically appearing on the back cover, where sellers could provide everything from BB guns to ant ranches by mail.”

Looking at these ads in 2026 is essentially peering into a window to the past. According to digital marketing professional Victoria Morais, they provide clues about social hierarchies, ideals of home life, and design trends at the time. 

“Suburban kitchens were elaborate sets; color televisions starred; men were strong; and women were homebound. And like popular culture, they mask power dynamics in a message of aspiration,” she said.

One thing that may not be as noticeable in these ads is the gender-targeting. Wiener says that children's publications directed to young males featured boys engaging in activities that included the advertised product. 

The same thing applied to female-centric comics like Little Lulu, which showed more ads for trinkets that appealed to young girls. 

There was also racial segregation at the time, which, according to Wiener, also showed in the ads. He notes that, save for a few publications that cater to African-Americans, most of the advertisements during the time were predominantly white. 

“Except for a few Black-oriented publications (Jet and Ebony come to mind), which distributors rarely sold in predominantly white neighborhoods, all of the figures in these ads were white, whether in photographs or sketch art,” Wiener pointed out. 

During a time when print media was king, advertisers had limited tools for disseminating information. However, these creative constraints assured that quality was on point. 

“The hand-rendered lithography and succinct copywriting meant that the key visual and verbal elements of the campaign needed to be clear, compelling, coherent, and united in purpose,” Morais said. “I see each day how constraints can both clarify and magnify a story.”