#2: Ads of the Past - Did they really say that?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 11:36 AM
We all know that ads have been around longer than many of us. Some ads in the 50's and 60's used some great design concepts and had some pretty good messages, whereas other ads, well...make one wonder and ask, "were they joking?" Take a look at these ads closely and comment On each message that you see. Some will surprise you. Give us your opinion of the ads telling us whether or not you think the messages you see are appropriate. What do you think allowed these types of ads to run? What might these ads suggest about society in America at the time? Can you compare these ads with ads that are running today? What do you suppose these ads say about gender roles? Use your analytical skills to process what you see.I find it interesting how today, we find items such as floppy discs, hula hoops, and legwarmers odd, but in the past, these were the items that everyone just had to have. This just goes to show how different today's society is compared to how we were in the past. It also goes to show how the tastes of society are constantly changing. A million years from now, people will find things like skinny jeans, side bangs, and oh gosh, Twilight strange and think we were crazy.
...Well, at least that's the first thought that came into my mind when I saw these advertisements from the past. Seriously, what were they thinking?
Now, let's look at this first ad, shall we? The first word that catches my eye is "fat" and I immediately begin to think of all of those eating disorders like anorexia and bullimia (ironically, not obesity). What else is that I see? Tape worms? Oh dear gosh. Who knew that an advertisement from the past can tell so much about...well, people in the past? By looking at this ad, you can automatically assume that the popular way to lose weight back then was to eat tape worms. Though I really shouldn't be judgmental, I would just like to say one word: Yuck. But you know what, if you think about it, it's really quite similar to advertisements today. Look at this one:
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| The mysterious little green pill that will make you look absolutely hot! (Source: http://szittya.fortunecity.com/top-10-female-weight-loss-pills.html) |
It's not as gross as tape worms, sure, but the fact that we're still putting weird things in our mouth to lose weight says a lot about the kind of world we live in. Right now, we may think it's perfectly normal to put "a little green pill" in our bodies, but think about it...we don't even know what is actually in that little green pill. For all we know, it could be tapeworms themselves, or even something that could be thought of as equally repulsive as tapeworms, like an animal's intestines. If someone from the future sees this ad, they'd probably start thinking about how crazy we were for putting something like that in our mouths. Kind of ironic, don't you think?
Now, I look at the second ad ("Blow in her face and she'll follow you anywhere." Come on, really?), and oddly enough, it is quite similar to the first ad. How? Both ads ridicule humans. They simply think that we are fools enough to buy their products. In this ad, it leads consumers to actually believe that by smoking this particular brand, girls will swoon all over them. Well, simply stated, the creators of these ads were right. We are fools enough to believe that (well, we are fools enough to go ahead and buy their product, aren't we?).
Now, although they are two highly different products, this advertisement reminds me quite of a present-day ad:
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| This was the front page of the official website of Axe products, and I have to say...I find their banner (which is actually based one of their commercials/advertising campaigns) as strange as this cigarette ad. Oh, like us girls are really jungle cats ready to pounce on the next man who has a musky, very strong sort of odour that makes some people gag (okay...maybe, that's just me. I really dislike the smell of the cologne).
Let us put this ridiculous ad behind us (until later, where it will be ridiculed once, or twice more), and move on to this third ad, shall we?
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"THEY'RE HAPPY BECAUSE THEY EAT LARD." - Now, this particular ad is ABSOLUTELY THE MOST HILARIOUS ADVERTISEMENT I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED!!!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! (Excuse me while I go laugh...)
Okay, with that aside, you know what I honestly first thought when I saw this advertisement? McDonald's. Yes, that's right. This advertisement claims that by eating lard, it will bring you absolute happiness and bliss(!!!)....which, ironically, is also found in a variety of McDonald's ads. However, we don't find that strange, do we? Noo, we find it perfectly normal!
You're only saying that so we can buy your products. You're smart...it's working.
I'm pretty sure that what allowed this specific ad to run back then was the fact that the majority of people were eating lard...and knew that they were eating lard. We'd probably find it strange if we this ad today, but the thing is...many of us still eat lard! Lard is a fat, and according to one online article (click), it is much healthier than vegetable oil...which means that it is probably healthier than food from McDonald's.
On to the last ad (YAY)! To tell you the truth, this ad doesn't really have that much of an impact on me as did the other ads. One look at this, and I thought it made perfect sense why they would have this advertisement in the past. For starters, around the 50's and 60's, the wealthiest families owned tobacco farms, and anyone who was anyone smoked cigarettes. They smoked, it seemed, every second of the day, not knowing any of the consequences. It wasn't until later that the truth was revealed: CIGARETTES GIVE YOU LUNG CANCER! IT'S UNHEALTHY FOR YOU! CIGARETTES ARE BAD, I TELL YOU! BAD!!!!!!!
Ergo, this ad didn't surprise me much. Quite frankly, it reminded me of those toothpaste ads we see today, where they would show statistics regarding professionals and their product:
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| Have you ever realized that in most advertisements regarding dental hygiene, there is always 1 out of 5 dentists who doesn't recommend the product?
So, what exactly were they thinking when they allowed these types of ads to run in the past? Simple. They were thinking about the consumers. They were thinking about what would appeal to their target market the most, which, may I add, is something that companies do today as well, so really, we shouldn't be too harsh on these companies for making ads that we seem to think are absolutely ridiculous. In the past, tape worms, lard, cigarettes...they were all the rage back then! We also can't forget the fact that women were seen as the inferior sex, while men were seen as the superior gender (in fact, we still have not defeated sexism, but I have to agree, we are improving), which is probably the reason why these ads seem to worship men in all their glory (SHE WILL FOLLOW YOU ANYWHERE!!!!), while women seem to be shown as unintelligent.
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Eh, but what can you do? It's not like you can travel back in time, and prevent these types of ads from running. Fads, trends, and society in general change all the time. All we can really do is just, well, learn from it and move on.
posted by Rowena @ 11:36 AM
1 Comments:
I agree that fads and trends always end up with the most creative advertisements. It's so true that we haven't much evolved from our 'backwards' thinking of the past; the "Blow in her Face" ad is just an ancestor of Axe while the fantastic "Lard" ad is just another thinly-veiled McDonald's-esque ad from the past. (Ooh, maybe it was McDonald's inspiration!)
Live and let learn, I always say.
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