A friend emailed me a link to The Chive’s “Old-School Advertisements That Are Oh-So Wrong” when we were taking a course in marketing together. At the time, I thought the vintage ads were funny and mildly (sometimes wildly) politically incorrect, but I didn’t really give them much prolonged thought. The new season of Mad Men, with its references to the newly budding industry in the 1960’s, has caused me to revisit those classic ads to see just how far we’ve come.
The invention of the TV and internet certainly changed the media vehicles of advertising, and the computer revolutionized possibilities of photography and graphic design in print media as well. The most interesting change to me, however, is the growing importance of sensitivity toward the audience shown by modern promotional media. Some of this transition can likely be linked to the creation of government agencies set up to abolish misleading advertisements, but it also stems from changes in the modern American attitude. Our culture is obsessed with political correctness in the attempt to eradicate old fashioned stereotypes, and the advertising industry is most successful when it reflects popular opinion. Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if thirty years from now we are all laughing at how provincial the ads in 2010 were.
I'm speechless. I thought the doctor recommending cigarettes and selling soda to babies were bad enough...but the dude spanking his wife for storing her coffee incorrectly? Wow. And the practically porno shot of the young girl? Jeez. And people criticize A&F. Some of these are downright scary.
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