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50 Bizarre Vintage Ads That Are A History Lesson About Changing Cultural Norms
It can be flabbergasting to fully realize just how different things were in the past. Take advertisements as an example. They are ubiquitous in this day and age, and the industry is huge. But aside from the odd scandal here and there, they more or less make sense in terms of the message and art direction.
However, when you look at ads from the past through a modern lens, you realize just how much cultural attitudes have shifted over the decades and centuries. Our team at Bored Panda has compiled this list of weird vintage ads to show you just how bizarre, unusual, and even socially tone-deaf promotions used to look. Keep scrolling for a mind-blowing visual history and marketing lesson.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
We All Got Vaccines, Except Dad
Peter Bear 4 months ago
Wouldn't matter. The idiots who don't believe in vaccines still won't believe, and they'll just scream about fake news. You can't fix stupid.
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KazzaHazza 4 months ago
7 kids at aged 36? Fuckinell. He didn’t need a vaccine he needed a vasectomy!
S Bow 4 months ago
Florida just announced they're about to eliminate all vaccine mandates. I wonder if the company that manufactured iron lungs can tool back up, they're going to be needed I'm afraid.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 4 months ago
That company probably funded the current office holders’ campaigns.
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Highfalutin Heron 4 months ago
Initially read the bottom left as "national foundation for infantile parents."
Emilu 4 months ago
Pathetic, isn't it? It could have been eradicated, except for some morons.
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RELATED:
#2
Between You, Your Husband And Your Senator, Planned Parenthood, 1982
Lynne Newell 4 months ago
Actually Roe v Wade was in 1974 not 1982. We are back in 1974.
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Bored Retsuko 4 months ago (edited)
Dear fellow pandas. This is why I don't respect Crystalwitch. Not the run on sentences, not the creative spelling. It's this. (She has made similar comments before.)
Julie S 4 months ago
Crystalwitch is very judgemental but for some reason she thinks she isn't judgemental.
Load More Replies... Kelly Scott 4 months ago
I can't believe we have to fight this s**t all over again. D**n the Republicans to hell.
Timothy St John 4 months ago
I know, right. We ought to be able to murder babies without anyone trying to get involved.
Load More Replies... Jaya 4 months ago
Do you know those pictures of Iran in the 70s, with happy college girls in short dresses, and think of how oppressed Iranian women are now, wonder how on earth people that happened? Well, that's exactly what is happening RIGHT NOW, in the US. It's the same thing. Society is going back decades.
Michael Robinson 4 months ago
When certain people stop seeing women as just baby-making s*x machines, so prolly never.
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Jane Hower 3 months ago
Planned Parenthood specializes in killing black babies, and they make a ton of money selling umbilical cord blood, etc. IT"S A D**N BUSINESS. Nothing to do with Female Health Care. WISE UP!!!
#3
Jester Wools (1947, UK)
LizzieBoredom 4 months ago
If you only want to be a little gay, use Woollite.
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Anthony Elmore 4 months ago
Jester's going to lose his f*****g mind when he discover skittles.
Michael Largey 4 months ago
Heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual - Everyone should be as gay as they need to be.
Peter Bear 4 months ago
See previous commentary about how language changes over time. This is only 'weird' because society changed the meaning of the word.
Jon Lee 4 months ago
Gay was used to refer to 'dolly-mops', part time prostitutes in Victorian England. It later was used for anyone selling s*x, then to rent boys then to all gay men. Meanings do change over time.
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Andi 4 months ago
That's very apt. There used to be some famous graffiti at Highbury Underground Station in London in the 80s. It said 'My mother made me a homosexual' and underneath someone had written 'If i give her the wool can she make me one?'
Janissary35680 4 months ago
The original meaning of "gay" was something quite different until the Underground/Counter-culture meaning gained traction and became mainstream, in the 70s I believe it was. See for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Hearts_Were_Young_and_Gay and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Hearts_Were_Young_and_Gay_(film)
Sally Moen 4 months ago
If you watch old movies from the 1940s, lots of knit dresses and tops. I assume knitting was a popular hobby at that time due to necessity
It would be an understatement to say that the advertising market is big. It’s phenomenally large.
As per Statista, it is forecasted to reach a whopping $1.17 trillion worldwide in 2025. The biggest segment of this market is TV and video advertising, clocking in at roughly $357.4 billion in 2025.
The United States is in first place in terms of ad spending. This is projected to reach $466.34 billion.
#4
1967 Advertisement For A Chemical Lobotomy
Sally Moen 4 months ago
Sedatives were pushed so hard that it was normal to take them. Imagine your mother getting a prescription for these and how she would "check out". A generation of kids raised with parents that are physically around but dosed out of their minds
Ace 4 months ago
"Chemical Lobotomy"? No. Anti-anxiety meds including this one can be very effective and are still in common use today. Yes, back in the day they were perhaps overused, but prescribing guidelines have been very much refined over the years.
Man in the mirror 4 months ago
Thank you! This is a ridiculous title. Benzodiazepines are still widely in use today and this one especially is quite mild. They are an essential tool of mental health lmedication and not even remotely comparable to "chemical lobotomy".
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SchadenFreudian Psychology 4 months ago
Hey, if you’re going to make me live in a crazy world full of bułlshît where nothing makes sense—at least let me have gummies so the cognitive dissonance doesn’t make my head explode. I just don’t want to care anymore.
Forrest Hobbs 4 months ago
Ahem. Some women in the Bible were the very antithesis of submissive. Jael, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jael_and_Sisera_(Artemisia_Gentileschi)
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Tom Hutcherson 4 months ago
Oxazepam is a prescription benzodiazepine medication used to treat anxiety disorders and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. Previously sold under the brand name Serax, it is now available in generic capsules and tablets.
#5
This Child Looks Like Pure Evil
Multa Nocte 4 months ago (edited)
OK, you people, this is why I often love Bored Panda - the hysterical audience participation comments! 😂
JL 4 months ago
What is being spread on that bread? Looks like something the girl scooped out of her victim.
LizzieBoredom 4 months ago
When she said "strawberry jam", she meant Barry. Literally.
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Uncle Panda 4 months ago
Cellophane is usually biodegradable. It's a cellulose, not a plastic.
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Brent Kaufman 4 months ago
This Child Looks Like Pure Evil... so do the brains her mother is spreading on that bread.
#6
For A Better Start In Life, Start Cola Earlier
Sally Moen 4 months ago
Explains my social ackwardness: my parents didn't fill my baby bottle with Coke or Mt Dew
Seadog 4 months ago
My best friends dad put beer in his baby bottle with the milk.
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Twizzle Sticks 4 months ago
Can you imagine the epidemic if this ad was running back when Coca-Cola was still using coca leaves/c*****e in their product?
Alex hayes 4 months ago
I can confirm as someone who drank cola before anything, it does not make your life start better
Statista states that it’s predicted that the vast majority (82.2%) of all ad spending will come from digital sources in half a decade, in 2030.
In the ad market, digital platforms such as Google and Facebook dominate spending. This has been reshaping the global landscape of traditional media.
#7
1950s Ad
UKDeek 4 months ago
Him: "Don't worry darling, you didn't burn the beer!". Her "Don't worry darling, the faint taste of almonds in your's is natural..."
TiNaBoNiNa 4 months ago
Somebody's been watching "Arsenic and Old Lace" again.
Load More Replies... KazzaHazza 4 months ago
I can actually laugh at this because I’m a s**t cook and if my husband said this to me after providing him with another failed dinner I really would laugh
Ryan 4 months ago
How embarrassing. I can't believe there was a time where it was considered acceptable to drink Schlitz.
Kim Steffen 4 months ago
In the '70s, Shitz switched from barley to rice. It went from bad to worse.
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#8
Eat Ironized Yeast (1930s)
Peter Bear 4 months ago
To be fair, standards of beauty have constantly fluctuated throughout history, but a curvy figure has been 'attractive' more often than not.
Pushcake 4 months ago
I was meant for the Woman of Willendorf era. Coulda been the first supermodel!
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Twizzle Sticks 4 months ago
By the looks of most people in the US, they ate too much ironized yeast...
Twidder Sux 4 months ago
There's skinny, and then there's Auschwitz Skinny, and then there's this lady.
#9
Did Not Age Well
persephone134 4 months ago
All these poor trad wives, can't even open a bottle without their husband's help.
Caffeinated Ape 4 months ago
This gets so much better if you imagine the whole spiel in the most ludicrously, flamboyantly, sarcastic, and most stereotypically feminine tone. This is a woman who gives so few fûcks she's broken the universe and discovered antifûcks. It's funny to her now; every little bit of condescending misogyny is now being treated as a staggering, mind-blowing revelation. She does not care SO HARD and she very much wants you to know! Oh, what's that? You get the point? Honey, no. Too late. The universe has collapsed into this point. There is only the point. Forever.
yellowphantom 4 months ago
And now, thanks to some a-hole who spiked tylenol in 1982, even the hubby has to stab the seal with a knife to get to the catsup.
Bookworm 4 months ago
While he's an a$$hioe if he hadn't caused tamper proof packaging someone or something else would have.
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Brent Kaufman 4 months ago (edited)
I'll bet she still can't do it. (But not because she's a woman. It's just that she's lacking a Y chromosome.)
The main factors that have been driving growth in the ad market include things such as the increasing number of internet users, higher marketing budgets, as well as the growing consumption of media.
At the same time, GDP growth and inflation have also impacted the market’s growth.
#10
Do You Still Beat Your Wife? 1950s
StPaul9 4 months ago
And that eminent practitioner grew up to raise a member of the Trump administration.
Gionanna 4 months ago
Yeah, looks like she's having fun, so totally another kind of beating
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NoRestfortheQWERTY 4 months ago
There is no way this wasn't bedtime reading material for someone.
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Harry Gondalf 4 months ago
Would you hit a woman with a child? ---No, I'd use a brick. (sick HS joke)
Cammy Mack 4 months ago
I don't know, does the beating involve ball gags, n****e clamps, fishnet stockings and a riding crop?
#11
Wonder Sauna Hot Pants, 1970s
LillieMean 4 months ago
Slow marinated and stewed yeast infection, every woman's dream. I can only imagine how the farts would swirl and ripen aromatically in those.
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LakotaWolf (she/her) 4 months ago
I'd wear this in the pool just to float buttside-up briefly and make everyone laugh.
Khavrinen 4 months ago
"I can't hear you, son, I'm wearing a Jacuzzi suit." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi83yjhjkNU
Pushcake 4 months ago
Thank you for this! Was getting to the end of the list and thought I was going to have to post it! Jimminy-jillikers!
Load More Replies... Angelshark 4 months ago
"I can't go to bed until I inflate my pants. Honey, pass the bicycle pump."
#12
Nobody Who Loves Bare-As-You-Dare Fashions Looks Dressed Without It! Body Paint, C1970
One major part of the ad market is social media advertising. It’s expected to reach $275.98 billion in 2025.
Furthermore, it is projected to grow at around 11.71% annually, to a predicted volume of $480.07 billion by 2030, Statista notes. The majority of social media ad spending will happen in the United States, reaching an estimated $103.07 billion in 2025.
#13
Dr. Miles Nervine, 1941
Dog Mom to Zoe 4 months ago
Always the woman..always pointing at the woman having the problem.
tori Ohno 4 months ago
Maybe if you wouldn't drive like a drunken idiot, she wouldn't be so scared?
Inigo Montoya 4 months ago
Speed limits and lane markers are just suggestions.
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Michael Largey 4 months ago
Anyone want to guess the amount of alcohol and/or opiates in Nervine?
Kelly Scott 4 months ago
D**n, I could have used some of this stuff when the White House clown was re-elected.
Mojavedog 4 months ago
I needed something wayyyyy stronger. And still do…god help us….
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Reemerger 4 months ago
Maybe he should've bought it... by the bucket? I'll see myself out.
Load More Replies... Tom Hutcherson 4 months ago
Nervine was a patent medicine tonic with sedative effects introduced in 1884 by Dr. Miles Medical Company (later Miles Laboratories which was absorbed into Bayer). It is a cognate of 'Nerve', and the implication was that the material worked to calm nervousness.
lenxia buda 4 months ago
So we're the cause of sleeplessness, restlessness, irritability, excitability AND headache...? Men!! 🤦
#14
To Wake Up Gay In The Morning (1940s)
Peter Bear 4 months ago
This is just a factor of language changing over time. At the time of the ad, 'Gay' meant 'happy' and was in very common usage.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 4 months ago
Ovaltine makes you gay? Guess what Republicans will ban next….🤔
#15
Keep Baby Safe
Jane Hower 3 months ago
Yes, and in a crash baby will be thrown clear - but maybe not survive. wow
It’s likely that 82.9% of social media ad spending will be generated through mobile sources by 2030. By the same year, it’s estimated that there will be around a whopping 6.61 billion users in the social media advertising market.
Statista explains that social media advertising is “increasingly leveraging advanced algorithms to enhance targeting precision and improve user engagement across diverse platforms.”
#16
The Most Inappropriate Ad Of All Time. 1975
Greenkitty 4 months ago
This add ran in all the preteen magazines ba k when I was 14. I wanted that hair style so bad but my hair didn't have the curls.
Lee Gilliland 4 months ago
You guys think toddler beauty pageants came from nowhere? they started as modeling competitions.
#17
Cellophane (1954): Better Living Through Chemistry
Anthony Elmore 4 months ago (edited)
Not sure if advertising effortless baby suffocation or quick and easy still-born disposal...
Gregory Garcia 4 months ago
Celophane was a biodegradable plastic made fron wood pulp. We need to switch back
Annik Perrot 4 months ago
🎶 Cellophane, Mr Cellophane Should have been my name Mr Cellophane 🎶
#18
Cook And Wash On Your Refrigerator! 1952
QuincyForrest 4 months ago
"Cook and wash on your refrigerator." And wear an evening dress and pearls AND an apron at the same time. WTAF?
Vivian McBride 4 months ago
I remember seeing something like this in a motel (with 'kitchenette') in the 1960s.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 4 months ago
How would that even work? You’ve got hot burners on top of the cold fridge, which seem like they’d be working against each other. Then you’ve got the plumbing for the sink crammed inside there somewhere.
Increasingly, consumers are favoring personalized and authentic content on social media. This encourages brands to change their strategies and focus on relatability and transparency in their marketing.
Brands are also leaning more toward social responsibility, sustainability, and community engagement in their advertising.
Furthermore, short-form videos (i.e. bite-sized, engaging entertainment) are becoming increasingly popular, especially with younger demographics.
Statista reports that there’s a “notable shift” toward content that is interactive and ephemeral. In other words, brands are trying to engage with consumers in real time.
#19
Black Racist Stereotypes Used In A Elliott's Paint And Varnish Company Advertisement, 1935
Dog Mom to Zoe 4 months ago
Holy $hit. Even back then, someone must have seen how horrific this is!!!!
Angelshark 4 months ago
They did. Sit in's and marches happened all the time. They were often responded to with violence. This is why I had to learn about the Bombing of Black Wall Street from a damned TV show instead of in school. It's why the Civil Rights movement, was so important and why the Southern Switch, which happened in parallel to Civil Rights, and which Republicans love to deny ever happened, is so important.
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tori Ohno 4 months ago
It wasn't considered a racist stereotype back then. Remember the love's baby soft commercials? Things change
JB 4 months ago
But it was a stereotype. Hell, it's the DEFINITION of a stereotype. And it's also as racist now as it was racist them. What changed is how people didn't see it as wrong. That's all: white people didn't see it as wrong. But it was wrong, because theirs was/is not the only opinion and understanding of a thing. Black people know s**t like this was b******t even then.
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Dre Mosley 4 months ago
Sadly from a time when racism went totally unchecked and society as a whole didn't see anything wrong with this.
#20
1800's Soap Ad
Auntriarch 4 months ago
This was overheard in 1962 in Nigeria (soap generally not Fairy). The child said it without malice; wish I could say the same for the mother who repeated it amongst her friends ad nauseam.
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PeepPeep the duck 4 months ago (edited)
“Cos your mamma don’t pay my mamma enough to buy brand name soap you little twêrp
Grace Sssssss 4 months ago
I do love how the artist managed to convey the Black girl's epic side-eye and fist.
The Majestic Opossum 4 months ago
Yes, my first thought also! 🤣 They nailed it too
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Zig Zag Wanderer 4 months ago
Thoughts: "imma gonna bury your white b***h a*s body in the woods!"
Michael Largey 4 months ago
Black girl: "I hear that Fairy Soap tastes great too. Why don't you eat a bar later and tell me what you think?
Dog Mom to Zoe 4 months ago
I worked with a gal back when I was around 21 who grew up so sheltered that when she went to kindergarten, she asked a darker skin girl how did she get so burned from the sun? (facepalm)
Mária Dancsó 4 months ago
Has the girl survived the answer? .... Seeing the eye of the other child ... And adults wrote these commercials ... no matter it was other times :(
David Bennett 4 months ago
She doesn't wash me with Fairy soap because we don't want me to become a fairy.
#21
This Little Psychopath Is Really Enjoying His Van Camp’s Pork And Beans (1952)
Gregory Garcia 4 months ago
Hack artists slavishly copying the reference photo. Real artists dont.
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persephone134 4 months ago
This little psychopath looks like a student I once had the pleasure to teach.
The social media ad market isn’t uniform. There are significant differences depending on the region and country you look at.
For example, influencers are becoming more and more central to marketing strategies, especially in North America. Influencers use their authenticity in order to build trust with consumers.
However, across the globe, in Asia, social media platforms are enhancing user experience and engagement via augmented reality ad formats.
Meanwhile, in Europe, brands are focusing on transparency, data privacy, responsibility, and ethical advertising.
#22
1916 Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes Ad
Reemerger 4 months ago
Those pesky low-wage tigers stealing our kids' jobs! Legend has it Harold (the kid) was the tiger's first salary. Harold was missed dearly by his widow Deirdre (8) and their 11 children. RIP Harold
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Caffeinated Ape 4 months ago
Further evidence we don't need generative algorithms to create this kind of uncanny valley body horror. We're perfectly capable of doing it ourselves!
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#23
Gillette Razors 1950’s
Reemerger 4 months ago
"Toddler bloodbaths are the latest craze! Join in, young parents! Don't be squares!"
Gregory Garcia 4 months ago
There are enough stupid parents who k**l their own babies.
Load More Replies... Inigo Montoya 4 months ago
As a small child, I found my father's "safety razor" in the medicine cabinet, and decided to shave just like him. I did my cheeks, and then slid slideways to do my upper lip. That did not go well.
Faelwolf 4 months ago
This was a major step up in safety from the straight razor. Before this, the only safety razor was a straight razor with a blade guard, which was not all that effective. Back when this ad was made, using a baby in the illustration was standard practice to emphasize safety or gentleness. These style of safety razors are still made, though have gotten harder to find. I still use my Gillette "Black Beauty" from the early 70's when my hands aren't steady enough to use my straight razor. The straight razor costs nothing, the safety razor blades cost me a nickel apiece. Beats $5+ each for those fancy multi blade razors that clog constantly!
#24
Grove's Chill Tonic (1890s)
LakotaWolf (she/her) 4 months ago
I...is that supposed to be a selling-point for this product?
sturmwesen 4 months ago
Fat meant healthy and rich in the past. Tastes change I guess
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Nils Skirnir 4 months ago
It was popular in the late 1800s, predominantly in the southern USA. It contains forms of quinine, iron, vitamins, and flavoring. At the time the South suffered from malaria, malnutrition, pellagra, etc. Many folks were very underweight (quite a change from today’s South!) and the iron/vitamins helped that. It was also effective in reducing malarial symptoms. Malaria and pellagra plagued the South until the New Deal generated mosquito abatement programs and vitamin B supplements
Gregory Garcia 4 months ago
School lunches started because 18 year olds were too malnurished to be soldiers in WW1. So yeah, people were malnurished in America. Only rich people could be fat..
Uncle Panda 4 months ago
After losing his wife and daughter to malaria, Grove developed Grove's Tasteless Chill Tonic, a remedy for the disease. First sold in 1885, it was made from quinine suspended in a flavored syrup in order to eliminate the bitter taste.[1] The tasteless chill tonic, which some claimed was not entirely tasteless, was an improvement over taking straight quinine for fevers and chills caused by malaria. It contained cinchonine, cinchonidine, reduced iron, sweet syrup, and lemon flavor. ~ Wikipedia
In the US, data-driven strategies are fundamental in the social media ad space, including using artificial intelligence algorithms to personalize content.
But, say, in China, ads are strictly regulated, and so, brands use short video formats to create campaigns that resonate culturally.
In Japan, storytelling in ads comes to the forefront, mixing tradition and technology, and heritage and modernity.
And in the United Kingdom, there’s a focus on sustainability and ethical advertising.
#25
Iver Johnson Revolvers, Before 1907
Janissary35680 4 months ago (edited)
Oh dear. To have magazine ads for $6 guns.
Load More Replies... Peter Bear 4 months ago
Said it before, saying it again; No civilian needs a firearm for any reason. None. Zero. No excuses.
tori Ohno 4 months ago
I'm alive because of my gun. Thanks for telling me, and all other women, that a man has the right to break in and k**l us just because he feels like it. And I'll do it again if another one comes for me.
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Uncle Panda 4 months ago
Revolver triggers are hard to pull by design, around 12-15 lbs of force. Part of the reason was to prevent tiny fingers from pulling the trigger. But still, don't try this at home.
Anne Roberts 4 months ago
Nothing bad EVER happened by letting kids play with loaded guns! Please note my sarcasm.
Hugo 2 months ago
America is a continent -- no, two continents (at least). The USA is the strangest country.
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#26
7up: Why We Have The Youngest Customers In The Business
#27
Suits For Contortionists (Cricketeer Suits, 1972)
Harvard Business Review warns that focusing on eye-catching and creative advertisements can lead to poor marketing choices. Instead, you should focus on the ADPLAN framework to develop your ads so they resonate with your target audience. ADPLAN stands for attention, distinction, positioning, linkage, amplification, and net equity:
- Attention refers to what is interesting about your idea that will make people stop and notice it
- Distinction means understanding your brand voice and image, and how it compares to your competitors’ marketing
- Positioning alludes to the value and benefits that your product offers, beyond just entertainment
- Linkage suggests that you should focus on getting the point of your brand across to your audience, so they don’t get distracted and remember it
- Amplification refers to the positive reactions that you want your advertisement to create
- Net equity means that you should think about whether your ads reinforce the meaning and characteristics that your consumers already associate with your brand
#28
1916 Ad For Wire Mosquito Netting Mask
Smeghead Tribble Down Under 4 months ago
And Australia. Honestly, I'd use this - I'm a mozzie magnet >.<
Load More Replies... Anthony Elmore 4 months ago
I didn't see the neck going under the blanket (still, don't, but I get what they were going for) and so imagine my surprise when I find an ad for a net cage to keep bugs from disturbing your disembodied head.
highwaycrossingfrog 4 months ago
Oh dear, I am allergic to nickel. I would wake up with a grid of itchy spots all over my face!
#29
Please Let You Wife Come In The Living Room. Highpoint (1950s)
persephone134 4 months ago
One person cooks. Those who didn't will do the dishes. How is that difficult?
Philly Bob 4 months ago (edited)
I cook and do dishes.I'm a tetris playing dishwasher loadin' Mo Fo!
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Joanne Long 4 months ago
Love the hose and heels on Mom. And no, men did no housework or hands on childcare during this era. Gender roles were rigid.
Hugo 2 months ago
Dad washed; we children took it in turns to dry. Good training for later life.
Load More Replies... #30
Diamond Dyes Ca 1880's
Twizzle Sticks 4 months ago
Seriously? They couldn't pick any other color? Maybe the slogan should be "It's easy to die with Diamond Dyes"
Which of these vintage ads surprised or took you aback the most? Which ones genuinely shocked you with how insensitive or bizarre they are? How do you think cultural attitudes and ads are likely to change in the decades to come? What do you personally think are the best and worst ads to be released in recent years?
Let us know what you think in the comments below!
#31
Rainier Beer: Beneficial To Young And Old
Der Kommissar 4 months ago
Seattle Brewing made Rainier Ale, known as The Green Death, and had 7.3% alcohol by volume
Hugo 2 months ago
I sometimes wonder how strong was the home-made ginger beer we grew up with. Certainly not 7%, but at least 2% I would think.
Load More Replies... Peter Bear 4 months ago
To be fair, for much of human history beer was a staple food. It's basically liquid bread, after all.
#32
Shirley Simkins And Sally Hayes, Lifersavers, 1957
John Dilligaf 4 months ago
Poor Shirley was just born 20 yrs too late. She should have been living in the 1930s when no one wanted the "skinny dame" and Slim Sally would have been trying the ironized yeast in order to fatten up.
Trophy Husband 4 months ago
I don't understand why the one on the left is supposed to be fat...
SchadenFreudian Psychology 4 months ago
I think those guys are more interested in each other, anyway.
Laserleader 4 months ago
Slim Sally has a waist thinner than her neck, so apparently she forgot to have intestines to digest that mint.
#33
V-8 Vegetable Juice 1950’s
Bill The Splut 4 months ago
"Mom--where's Dad, and why does this juice have his wedding ring in it?" MOTHER: "MWA-HAHAHAHAAA!"
Sally Moen 4 months ago
Still a pretty good thing to drink. I think what makes it taste better than plain tomato juice is the celery seed
DC 4 months ago
That stuff is great! Mixed veg juice, generally, should contain cress and celery, as these are the ones taking it above simple tomato juice. V8 has both. Luckily, as it isn't usually avaiable in germany (sometimes, there's a shelf of import food from UK, US, Russia, Turkey or so, and sometimes, the US shelf has V8, with a price I can't find proper adjectives for), there's a few other brands that actually taste very similar, and very good. But still - V8 is a delicious drink. I don't really uderstand why so many people dislike veg juice...
#34
Old Spice. 1980
Auntriarch 4 months ago
At that age I'm okay with heart. As long as it doesn't involve other body parts.
Load More Replies... DC 4 months ago
I prefer spices to be fresh. A classmate in 1st and 2nd grade had a pepper shaker - not a peppermill, a shaker to put ground pepper in - that was then (1989 or so) still halfway full with the original pepper it came with. It was about 10 years old. Guess how much taste the pepper still had in it? Only very slight remains of capsaicin seem to have survived, as you could actually overheat food with it, but still, no trace of any aroma usually expected from pepper. Led to said classmate believing pepper to be incredibly boring a spice, "only is hot, none else!", and he was generally surprised when he was over at my place for lunch, and had freshly ground pepper on his plate. "What else is in the mill?" - well, nothing, David, we just know the very basics in cooking and eating. Of which one is, that pepper is freshly ground, or there is none at all. Because none else is worth anything.
#35
Mccleans Toothpaste 1971
#36
Drummond Sweaters
#37
Can't Get Tired Of The 50's
ॐBoyGanesh 4 months ago
Because he’s obviously too young to wear that stretchy tan auto-fell suit.
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SchadenFreudian Psychology 4 months ago
Hit your wife if you don’t like your coffee? If this happened to me, his next coffee would be spiked with Ex Lax.
#38
Milton Bradley Shrunken Head Sculpting Kit (1975)
Sally Moen 4 months ago
Easy to make using a fresh apple carved with eyes and mouth then left to dry for months until it shrivels up
Janissary35680 4 months ago
The artwork is by Mort Drucker of "Mad" magazine. I have not seen this before.
Jerusalem Cat Syndrome 3 months ago
What's wrong with this one? Again, I remember this product--horror was popular then.
Marlene Ricker 2 months ago
I'm disappointed in Vincent Price letting his image be used to horribly!
#39
Racist Advertisement Represents A Black Boy Becoming White Thanks To Pears Soap’s “Magic” Based On The Fable Washing The Blackamoor White, Published In The Graphic For Christmas, 1884
Kim Steffen 4 months ago
I use Pears. Glycerin soap rinses off completely.
Load More Replies... #40
Seemed Like A Good Place To Post This. Whiskey Toothpaste. LOL
Rebecca Ferguson 4 months ago
Yeah, but you don't actually drink Listerine.
Load More Replies... Gregory Garcia 4 months ago
Okay kids, remember the Romans used a rag and their own pee... Anything is an improvemnt
Peter Bear 4 months ago
As someone who really, really dislikes the intense mint of regular toothpaste, I would really enjoy this.
#41
Wool Nose Warmer
Sally Moen 4 months ago
The easiest knitting project. Versatile as a nose warmer or a hamster hat
#42
Charles E. Hires Co. 1892
Michael Largey 4 months ago
Hires' root beer was one of the joys of my childhood. It's now owned by Dr. Pepper, but is no longer produced to force people to buy Dr. Pepper's much inferior A&W root beer.
Jnausicaa 4 months ago
A & W was very good before they were bought by Dr Pepper, And they made great burgers
Load More Replies... #43
Creepy Clown Kool-Aid Ad (1956)
Reemerger 4 months ago
I'm German and learned this bit of trivia from listening to Dane Cook comedy in the '00s.
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Fire Singer 4 months ago
We drank so much kool aid as kids. My dad's favorite, so we had to drink it too, was one grape packet and one lemon packet.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 4 months ago
Pennywise needed some extra money, so he did Kool-Aid ads.
#44
The Karo Kid, Karo Syrup Magazine Ad, 1948
Crystalwitch60 4 months ago
Otherwise known now as pecan pie lol but I,ll have some peanut pie plz yummy
Auntriarch 4 months ago
There are old English recipes for walnut pie, I'm guessing the recipe crossed the Atlantic and then they discovered pecans (which are much nicer).
Load More Replies... Jerusalem Cat Syndrome 3 months ago
Corn syrup was a common remedy in helping babies' constipation, and was a staple of home cooking. Thus, the mascot was a baby.
#45
Open Up An Oreo And Take A Lick (1950)
C Hendrix 4 months ago
Lard and sugar. That was the original recipe. Gross as it sounds, I do wish they'd sell jars of just the creme.
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#46
Facts
Gregory Garcia 4 months ago
Remember, the man was at work, only the wife had time to read
Load More Replies... #47
Drink Ovaltine To Wake Up Gay In The Morning! 1940s Ad
Sally Moen 4 months ago
Ovaltine had malt in it, didn't it? If so, the B vitamins in malt do help
Kelly Scott 4 months ago
Someone needs to send this to deSantis and see if he'll try to ban it in the state of Florida.
NoRestfortheQWERTY 4 months ago
I drank half a bottle of vodka and you wouldn't believe what happened to my sexual orientation.
Nils Skirnir 4 months ago
Seems like US products made people gay, rather than the vast global homosexual conspiracy
Michael Largey 4 months ago (edited)
If a woman wakes up gay, it's probably because of the man she fell asleep with.
Uncle Schmickle 4 months ago
I worked for a short time in the Ovaltine factory in the Chicago 'burbs (1971 ? ). Saw what went into it ...... good stuff, at least back then.
#48
Eating Out Gives You A Lift! Swift Premium Ham, 1960
Blue Bunny of Happiness 4 months ago
A a straight woman, that was my first thought too!
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Lynchamigsakta 4 months ago
What's with all the add illustrations of kids that look like they want to eat your kidney with a nice chianti? Was the crazy eyes considered a sign of wealth or something?
Roland C. 4 months ago
Possibly to convince the parents of picky eaters that what they're selling is irresistible to kids.
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#49
Husbands Beat Wives. 1949
Michael Largey 4 months ago
Gee, they missed their chance to use the H*******t to make a joke about ovens.
#50
Coca Cola Ad From 1951
Trophy Husband 4 months ago
Was this at the time when c*****e was legal and it was in the drink?
NoRestfortheQWERTY 4 months ago
Probably not. They took it out in 1904. There is still a bit of coca syrup, which I imagine does not do very much to get you high, in the original recipe. The Coca-Cola company has a long-standing agreement to purchase it from a Peruvian farmers cooperative. Coca leaf is either chewed or brewed into a leaf in many parts of Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and northern Argentina. It's not exactly coke-like, but more like a super-coffee. It's very good for suppressing hunger and tends to keep you working and focused. I've translated quite a few documents after drinking a tea bag-worth of that stuff. It does, however, taste terrible and can give you a bit of a sour stomach if you're not used to it.
Load More Replies... Lotekguy 4 months ago
Everyone's always so disappointed when they find out she's only offering soda.
Gregory Garcia 4 months ago
No no, Coka Cola does use Coca leaf extract. Thats why they dont trademark the recipe.
Load More Replies... #51
1950's Wastebasket Ad (Brand Unknown)
#52
Pizza Hut And Death, University Of S. Florida Newspaper, 1969
Uncle Panda 4 months ago
It could be an anti-drunk driving initiative along the lines of 'survive your prom night, don't drink and drive, come to Pizza Hut instead.'
#53
Appliances 1964
Jerusalem Cat Syndrome 3 months ago
Not if she's the one who picked it out.
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Joanne Long 4 months ago
The kitchen appliances were actually considered a great gift in the 50's. These things that are basics now were new to the market, and since about 80% of the women were homemakers, there you go, Mom an electric mixer !
David Morgan 4 months ago
Yeah, hand-mixing is tedious and requires a fair bit of effort.
Load More Replies... Lily bloom 4 months ago
A coupon app i use had a mother's day promotion and it was mostly advertising cleaning products
#54
Gingervating (1938)
#55
1966 Ivory Liquid Soap Advertisement
Sally Moen 4 months ago
And Palmolive dish soap supposedly is used in nail salons to soften hands and cuticles
Auntriarch 4 months ago
60s evidence of making women feel bad about things men don't even notice. Also, marigolds are the solution if it's a problem.
Michael Largey 4 months ago
"She's got quite a pair on her" has always been understood to refer to hands.
#56
Pamphlet From The Home Economics Department Of The Fruit Dispatch Company, 1939
#57
Hamlin's Wizard Oil Poster, 1890
Final score:
18points
LakotaWolf (she/her) 4 months ago
Gee, if it cured all those conditions, why don't we still use it today? XD Did we cause the wizards to go extinct from overhunting them to press into oil?
Ace 4 months ago
It was more than 50% Alcohol, so it would be quite effective, albeit temporarily, against many of them...
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Uncle Panda 4 months ago (edited)
First produced in 1861 in Chicago by former magician John Austin Hamlin and his brother Lysander Butler Hamlin, it was primarily sold and used as a liniment for rheumatic pain and sore muscles, but was advertised as a treatment for pneumonia, cancer, diphtheria, earache, toothache, headache, and hydrophobia. It was made of 50–70% alcohol containing camphor, ammonia, chloroform, sassafras, cloves, and turpentine, and was said to be usable both internally and topically. ~ Wikipedia
Anthony Elmore 4 months ago
This aged AMAZINGLY. Why get old when you can just get more wizardly?
#58
Dream Date Portrait Pillow
Anthony Elmore 4 months ago
Uh... this ad hasn't aged at all. Are we all forgetting anime body pillows?
Fire Singer 4 months ago
At my last comic con I went to I saw these all over! Many of them had to be censored with pieces of paper and stuff because they were not suitable for all ages. I will give them this, they had both male and female characters so at least it wasn't just the busty gals being sold.
Load More Replies... David Morgan 4 months ago
Guy was probalby only 19. People looked much older back then.
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Auntriarch 4 months ago
I would have loved one of those when I was in my early teens. Rory McPherson, oh my....
#59
Buster Brown Shoes, Circa 1905
Janissary35680 4 months ago
“I'm Buster Brown, and I live in a shoe. That's my dog, Tige, and he lives there, too.”
#61
It's A Soap Ad. (Pears Soap, Late 1800s - Early 1900s)
David Morgan 4 months ago
A sponge or a towel, and a circle of soap, I think.
Load More Replies... #62
Instant Shoe Coloring By Lady Esquire 1964
Dawn Woolley 4 months ago
I was a teenager at that time. There was a big range of shoe dyes and we would change our shoe colour to match an outfit over and over again. Those stiletto heels looked great but the tips were always coming off. We'd go to the nearest shoe repairer to have new tips put on. Great clothes, great music, great time to be a teenager.
Drsmotch 4 months ago
And your parents would not have been happy to see you engaged in shoe dying on the white carpet.
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#63
Curves Of Youth. 1887
#64
Rice Council Of America - "Life" Magazine Ad - 1967
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 months ago
Well, i never used to see any 'Chinese' eat half a pig for dinner, either...
#65
Lysol 1930's
Sally Moen 4 months ago
Gosh, what an incredibly long-lived myth. Note that d0uch1ng was also a home-remedy to prevent pregnancy
Michael Sauerwein 4 months ago
The idea of putting Lysol up sensitive private parts I don't even have makes me wince.
Dog Mom to Zoe 4 months ago
I may have to post this to every one here attacking woman. I guess men just smell flowering fresh all the time! For Goodness Sakes!!
#66
Sea Monkeys, Bouffants And Inflatable Bodyguards, 1963
Glix Drap 4 months ago
His name is Otto. Check out how you inflate him in the movie Airplane. Ideally do this whilst driving a convertible as shown in the photo.
Load More Replies... Dog Mom to Zoe 4 months ago
That last one just shows how unsafe it was/is for women traveling alone. So sad.
Lee Gilliland 4 months ago
I remember when they started carpool lanes and suddenly everyone wanted mom'# old blowup doll.
#67
An Ad For Drummond Sweaters From 1959
Hugo 2 months ago
Notice how nonchalently he's holding the lifeline to his "something of a drag". She just needs to give a good sharp tug ...
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#68
I'd Like Something Good, Welch's Cocoanut, 1956
Chilli 4 months ago
Remember how much you loved you mother's home made sweets? Well here's a store bought version.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 4 months ago
To be fair, they're trying to evoke a memory/feeling response, not literally replace Mom's homemade sweets.
Load More Replies... #69
The Flip'n Style Hair Dryer - "Even If You Can't Use It, It's Fun To Have"
#70
The Game Is Broomsticks (Creepy Ad)
Jerusalem Cat Syndrome 3 months ago
Broomsticks. The game is the pants. Yeah, it's a weird stretch, but that's what they mean. Like "get in the game", I guess.
Load More Replies... Squirrel Chaser 4 months ago
https://www.vintag.es/2016/09/the-game-is-broomsticks-creepy-and-r**e.html
#71
1965 Wham-O String A Tree
#72
"Keep Her Where She Belongs..." - 1974 Weyenberg Massagic Shoes Ad
#73
The World’s Smartest Shirts, Van Heusen, 1952
PeepPeep the duck 4 months ago
I was gonna say maybe the Māori man does want a shirt and then I saw the - bone in the hair and realised what they were getting at 😭 (just woke up from a nap)
#74
Chlorodent Toothpaste 1953
Squirrel Chaser 4 months ago
You remember that? Used to have chlorophyll in everything.
Load More Replies... #75
Leonetto Cappiello - Biscotines Union, C. 1906
Hugo 2 months ago
It means overeating. I'm not sure why one would be advertising it as something good.
Cla Ida 1 month ago
For people who don't assimilate calories properly and need to gain weight. I've needed that as a baby, and my cousin has had this type of trouble chronically in her life.
Load More Replies... #76
Your Next Belt Buckle Will Be Bronzed Lips, 1972
LakotaWolf (she/her) 4 months ago
"Think rapturously of your love, and cover your lips with our goo."
Anthony Elmore 4 months ago
What? You don't give your loved one bronze castings of random body parts?
Load More Replies... Jerusalem Cat Syndrome 3 months ago
This isn't so different from the fad of plaster-casting penises.
Hugo 2 months ago
I've never tried that. Nor making a plaster cast of my lips, come to that.
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#77
American Poster By Alfred Parker For United States Office Of War Information/ Division Of Public Inquiries. United States Of America, 1943
brookeannsimmer 4 months ago
This was a wartime poster encouraging victory gardens and personal food storage, I don't know that it fits in this list.
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What do you think ?
Janissary35680 4 months ago
It's amusing to see how conventions and interpretations of facial and other visual cues evolve over time. I wonder what snarky comments people will be making about today's ads 50-100 years from now.
Mike F 4 months ago
I wonder the same thing every time these are published.
Load More Replies... Princess Possum 4 months ago
Creepy kids, domestic violence, racism, sexism. The good old days the orange menace wants to bring back.
Jerusalem Cat Syndrome 3 months ago
I think creepy kids are kind of eternal.
Load More Replies... Lynchamigsakta 4 months ago
I'm going to have nightmares about being eaten by demon children for days after this
Jerome Lenovo 4 months ago
racist, misogynistic, i suppose this is the amerikkka pedonald and his cult want back
Janissary35680 4 months ago
It's amusing to see how conventions and interpretations of facial and other visual cues evolve over time. I wonder what snarky comments people will be making about today's ads 50-100 years from now.
Mike F 4 months ago
I wonder the same thing every time these are published.
Load More Replies... Princess Possum 4 months ago
Creepy kids, domestic violence, racism, sexism. The good old days the orange menace wants to bring back.
Jerusalem Cat Syndrome 3 months ago
I think creepy kids are kind of eternal.
Load More Replies... Lynchamigsakta 4 months ago
I'm going to have nightmares about being eaten by demon children for days after this
Jerome Lenovo 4 months ago
racist, misogynistic, i suppose this is the amerikkka pedonald and his cult want back
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