Funny Ads From The Past You Won't Ever Find In Modern Times

By | July 19, 2018

The chef does everything but cook 

You won’t believe what they used to claim in advertisements of the past! From outrageous claims to total falsehoods to blatant sexism and racism, it seems the Mad Men of days gone by could get away with being insensitive, inaccurate, and politically incorrect all in the name of advertising. 

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Source: Pinterest

Even though women were advocating for an equal share of the workforce, societal norms still dictated that women be dutiful housewives. The sixties and seventies were filled with cultural references sharing the belief that women should stay at home, keeping house and raising the children, and advertising played into this old-fashioned notion with ads like this one that states that women are supposed to cook for their husbands. It seemed as though advertising companies were doing their part to reverse any progress that women’s lib made by continuing with sexist ads like this one.  

Doctors used to promote cigarettes back then.

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Source: Reddit

Before reports linked smoking to all sorts of nasty diseases, like cancer and heart disease, cigarette companies used real doctors to promote the health benefits of smoking. They claimed that smoking helped to reduce stress and curb appetite, which may be true. But we now know that the risks far out-weigh the benefits. And by using doctors in their ads, the marketing companies were relying on the public's faith in the medical profession and belief that doctors were the smartest people around. Doctors are pretty smart...smart enough to make money on the side by being a cigarette spokesperson.