Awful Vintage Ads from the 20th Century: Distasteful Ads From the Past

 

In today's advertising landscape, it cannot be denied that some contemporary advertisements have been criticized for objectifying women.

However, when we look back at mid-20th century advertising, we are faced with a shocking reality: Companies could, and did, engage in marketing practices that would be heavily condemned today. Will go.

During the era before the Civil Rights Movement, some of the most prominent brands of the time, including household names like Kellogg's, used shockingly sexist slogans as part of their marketing campaigns.

A particularly terrible example was Kellogg's infamous tagline, "The harder a wife works, the cuter she looks."

In addition to deeply problematic sexism in advertising, this era was also marked by the presence of openly racist advertisements that shamelessly perpetuated racial stereotypes and discrimination.

These advertisements endorsed products with offensive names and images, such as the use of caricatures that perpetuate harmful racial prejudices.

Beyond issues of gender discrimination, 20th century advertisers often embraced pseudoscience, which sounds nothing short of ridiculous.

For example, marketing tactics employed by 7-Up advised mothers to avoid adding soda to their infants' milk based on questionable health claims.

Another example, Camel cigarettes were boldly promoted as "doctor's favorite brand", a statement which, by today's standards, is a disturbing reminder of how far our understanding of health hazards has evolved. Is.

"More Doctors Smoke Camels" advertising campaign by R.J. was a marketing strategy used by. Reynolds Tobacco Company promoted Camel cigarettes in the mid-20th century, particularly in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

These advertisements typically featured statements such as "More doctors smoke Camel than any other cigarette" or "Doctors recommend Camel to their patients".

These advertisements attempted to give Camel cigarettes an aura of credibility and authority by suggesting that medical professionals preferred them over other brands.

The implication was that if doctors trusted camels and smoked them, they would be safe or even beneficial to health.