I'm a food historian and my graduate research is on the social history of food-related disorders, so I've amassed quite the collection of vintage advertisements. I posted these ads on my blog recently, and thought I'd repost them here as well. Old advertisements are always quirky and ridiculous, but ads from the pre-feminist glory days always make me laugh. That is, until you realize how some things really haven't changed at all. Click on each to see a larger-res version.
1927 Frigidaire Electric Refrigerator vintage advertisement. "Give her a real thrill this Christmas!" Note to husband: Buy me a household appliance for Christmas and I will punch you.
1951 Florence Ranges vintage advertisement. Because its all about the mens.
1924 Beeman's Chewing Gum vintage advertisement. Illustrated with photo of Dr. Beeman and marketed for relief of insomnia. Scissors to remove gum-in-hair extra.
1967 Clark's Diet Chewing Gum vintage advertisement. Because gum is soooo fattening.
1957 Life Savers Pep O Mint Candy vintage advertisement. Text reads, "Shirley Simpkins lost her sleek appeal. She never stops eating from meal to meal. Slim Sally Hayes stays light on her feet, she makes Life Savers her 'tween Meal treat." Picture shows frumpy Shirley eating cookies while two horrifed boys look on frowning and a chic Sally eating Life Savers with two boys smiling and waving at her. Fifty years later, some things never change.
If you're into vintage advertisements, I posted other sage retro ads and headlines here . And an interesting retro ad tidbit: I use an image from a 1954 Pillsbury cake ad in the header graphic of my blog . My site was mentioned in the New York Times earlier this year and I was actually contacted by the very woman who appeared in the ad as a child model. She's a New Yorker and was very surprised to see her 8-year-old self in the morning paper. You can view the then-and-now ad and photo and read her story here .
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I love old ads - they make interesting social comment.
What's most amazing to me about the Lifesavers ad is that that really is what they considered fat back then. My mom, for example, was built about like the "fat girl" in the ad, and she was teased every day about it.