50's Ads: Overthinking Things

SirNemesis · 2014-03-07T17:17:01+00:00

I'm pretty sure a lot of these (such as the spanking ones) were tongue-firmly-in-cheek.

The beer ad always cracks me up!

If take a survey of normal 50s ads, though, rather than pulling out the few ads that look offensive, you'll find that they weren't anything like they're portrayed today. Domestic ads of this sort tended to be in magazines like Home and Garden, whereas magazines related to the workplace often showed ads with working women (and not just secretaries): http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1054&context=constructing

swift-heart · 2014-03-07T04:58:41+00:00

i actually like the artwork on a lot of vintage ads, although these particular ones aren't my favorite.

i think the only one that really bothers me is 'men are better than women' i'm not rp enough to accept that as truth. the spanking ones are a little inappropriate but they also look more playful than abusive tbh.

givemeallthepuppies · 2014-03-07T16:54:17+00:00

I agree with the point that /u/ddrluna made that the author is not considering that the ideals expressed in those ads were normal and acceptable during that time period. However, just because the ads' messages do not match the social norms that most people subscribe to currently doesn't make them inherently wrong, as the author so melodramatically suggests. Her exaggeration and obvious solipsistic tendencies are rather annoying.

Personally, I think most of the ads are cute and are meant to be a bit cheeky. Furthermore, I still agree with many of the ideals expressed through the ads. And I would venture to say that the women to whom those ads were directed were significantly happier with their lives on average than the modern woman living in today's society.

WildHoneyChild · 2014-03-07T13:17:44+00:00

[permanently deleted]

SashaFinch · 2014-03-07T04:01:38+00:00

Cooking and cleaning supplies are still marketed almost exclusively to women. I don't see the big deal, it's really not any different now.

LifterofThings · 2014-03-07T18:29:01+00:00

I guess I really hate women. lol

Katyara · 2014-03-07T22:24:47+00:00

I think it's over 50 years ago yet they still need to shriek and try to remind everyone like it's how things are today. Fights of forums like that led me here. It's sad day when making the love of your life, your life.. is considered an anomaly and 'bad thing'.

PrincessPriss · 2014-03-08T10:53:08+00:00

Most of the ads were adorable! I also got a laugh out of the author's bitter attitude. I'm assuming she was eating gallons of ice cream in her sweats while bawling over an ex boyfriend while writing those titles.

WildHoneyChild · 2014-03-07T17:03:16+00:00

Some of these were kinda ridiculous and hard to take seriously, but it just made me laugh more than anything. Especially the one about spanking your wife if she doesn't get the right kind of coffee. Did men in the fifties actually practice non-sexual spanking with their wives as much as these ads suggest?

erinmichele819 · 2014-03-07T17:56:53+00:00

I really like the style of the ads, I have always been into that Mad Men-esque era. My only issue is that it reminds us that in that time, women had very little choices. If you wanted to be in the home, that was what was expected. If you wanted to be a Doctor, well, that wasn't such a great idea. I think this lifestyle, as well as any, is all about choice. If women want to live this way, that is perfectly fine, but if they don't ever want to be married they shouldn't be shunned or made to feel less than, as they would have been in the times these ads are from.

buttholette · 2014-03-08T08:44:47+00:00

I kind of got a kick out of #6. I'm no wonder-cook or anything, but I can't help but respect a person/man/woman who knows how to create meals at home regularly instead of rely on others to do it for them. A woman who cooks for her husband, and later for her family, is somewhat of an artist in my opinion.

valkyrieone · 2014-03-09T07:18:08+00:00

These ads (majority of them anyway) were made and directed towards the stay at home wife/mother. Also at a time when there were a lot of stay at home mothers who looked forward to the hour their man walked through the door. Even the nail polish ad is just referencing looking your best at work right down to your fingers. None of these were pro-abuse. That's just reading too much into things.

Lord forbid those who want to please their man at home, make sure he's satisfied, and look good while doing it.

SgtBrutalisk · 2014-03-09T20:14:59+00:00

This shows you how much times have changed in mere ~60 years. I blame the Cathedra, unofficial policy setters from academic circles, who constantly strive to liberalism, no matter what.

ddrluna · 2014-03-07T05:38:30+00:00

I think the responses are overly sensitive. Not to mention I think this is a really good example of the solipsism topic that regularly gets brought up. Whoever wrote this seems to have taken an obnoxious level of personal offense to these ads without even thinking about the social context in which they were made. Yes, back then men and women generally had pretty linear family "roles", and generally most people didn't have problems with it. I'd hardly be surprised if people of that time found these ads to be cheeky and humorous. It's like looking at an old cartoon that featured blackface, when that sort of thing wasn't considered a problem, and looking at it now and thinking "THIS IS SO OFFENSIVE OMG HOW COULD THIS POSSIBLY EXIST IT IS HORRIBLE". Really? You mean people once held views that are now considered taboo? You don't say.

Italianweddingcake · 2014-03-07T04:03:56+00:00

I really don't care for vintage anything. The pics are a distraction.

meowfacenator · 2014-03-07T06:03:51+00:00

Haha love number 7

Title	50's Ads: Overthinking Things
Author	[deleted]
Upvotes	19
Comments	40
Date	March 7, 2014 3:56 AM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/RedPillWomen
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/RedPillWomen/comments/1zs5qs/50s_ads_overthinking_things/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/RedPillWomen/50s-ads-overthinking-things.84308 https://theredarchive.com/post/84308

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