S'more Really Old Ads

I just love the ads of yesterday. Features that were promoted as the latest and greatest are, by today's standards, obsolete or insignificant. Trends in society that are seen as distasteful today were prominent subject matter. Old ads featured technology that was "the wave of the future." In reality, most of the "tech" never really caught on. Although it is still happening today, (HD-DVD) it's nice to look back and see where we came from in the world of advertising.

I received the ads below in an email from my brother. I want to make sure I give credit where credit is due. As you can see, most of them are marked with www.strangecosmos.com, so I can only assume that they come from that site.


How nice, a carton of Chesterfields for Christmas. The perfect gift. Today, if you received a carton of smokes for Christmas, they probably wouldn't be wrapped, they would probably be Marlboro Lights and you probably had them stashed by the wheel chocks of your double wide.



Lard = Happy. I know this because I eat a can a week. Is this why they were so healthy back then?



I really had to study this ad to understand what was going on. It wasn't long after this before someone invented the pull top. You know the one where you pulled it completely off, threw it in the can and choked on it as you were slamming the beer?



Yep, tapeworms. Normally they are a bad thing to get. However, when they are "sanitized," THEN they are OK. This ad brings back memories. My mom actually had an original copy of this ad framed and hanging above the vanity in the bathroom. I almost had it memorized as a kid. I had completely forgotten about it until I saw it in the email. "Jar Packed - Easy to swallow - No danger - No ill effects."



I really debated including this one because of the nature of the ad, but I think it is a prime example of how the "AD Men" marketed products to women. I mean are you kidding me? Lysol as a personal hygiene product. I would be curious to find out what magazine this was featured in. I have seen many similar ads featuring a wide variety of products and advice come from magazines like The Ladies Home Journal.

So there you have it. Another look back at some ads featuring out-of-date values, ideology, technology and gender rolls.

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