Count your calories

Who would have thought? 

According to this piece, sugar has less calories than tomatoes. The difference in measurements used in the ad is just a mere technicality.

"Which is less fattening?", 1953
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If you're interested in the oh-so-boring-details, you would find that sugar actually has 378 calories and tomatoes only have 18 calories, per 100 gram (3.5 ounce) portion. Bon appetit.

You think you're a gadget freak? (part 2)

This is one of the oldest personal computer advertisements I have found so far;

"Minivac", 1961
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It was offered as an educational tool, for learning the principles of binary logic; just like in the big computers. And it was designed by *the* Claude Shannon to boot. 

If you're a geek, you know you want one of these.

You think you're a gadget freak?

The lastest in technolgy for your car, van or rolling palace - in glorious googie retro-future advertisements.

Driving is more fun when you don't get lost. Move away Garmin, here's a bad boy that uses no power sources whatsoever.

"Driving is more fun", 1959
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And since you'll take ages to drive there, why not relax with some music?

The only catch I see is negotiating potholes, bumps and uneven roads. Oh, and the seven minute playtime really sucks.

"45 Autochanger", 1959
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You better shave every day

Millions lost their jobs in the Great Depression of the 1930's. Unemployment, poverty and long lines for a bowl of soup became part of the American psyche.

Why? Because they did not shave, according to this ludicrous ad. 

"Keep clean shaven", 1934
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In this new Great Depression of the XXI century, please remember to shave before going to work.

Baby defends with gun

Is this for real? This baby is protecting his cotton buds with a gun. And he looks angry as well.

"Warning to grownups", 1957
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It's really hard to think of a positive message with this ad -shooting people for using your toiletries is just not nice. Especially when they're close family.

Are you sure this is safe?

So there you go. YOU can become a qualified scuba diver, in the comfort and safety of your own home.

"Fortunes in diving", 1959
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They will even send you some "Maps of Sunken Treasure" to get you started.

Here kids, look at the birdie.

Is he really using a bottle of soda to draw the children's attention? They feed them soda? How old are those kids, anyway?

"Always in the picture", 1948
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"You like it, It likes you". Creepy.

A celebration of the mad

I've always had a strange fascination for old advertisements in print media - ever since I was a skinny child, living somewhere in South America- I used to love poring over old stacks of National Geographic and Reader's Digest - and spent hours at a time wondering about the meaning of those funny ads.

"Smoking for good digestion", 1936
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Ads selling cigarettes, soda pop, unhealthy foods and useless trinkets. Ads selling products on exaggerated claims of "wonder", "amazement" and "peerless". Ads appealing to the scares and biases, to push the reader into "conforming with the majority". Ads selling obsolete, dangerous medical treatments, like toothpaste with uranium.

And there's also chauvinistic ads. Racist ads. Jingoistic ads. Ads offensive to almost every single minority you could think of. All sorts of ads that will make you think "wtf? what were they thinking when they printed that?" 

 

Printed ads are also moments in time - they are a time-capsule of pop-culture.

Do you want to dress-up like a 1932 Don Juan for a costume party? Are you into design and need inspiration for an Art Deco piece? Look no further than a printed advertisement in a glossy magazine. They are a true reflection of their times.

This blog is a celebration of the bad, the obsolete, the funny and the dodgy. All in amazing detail. Even when there's good stuff around, I will show you the bad stuff: the kind of things that Mad Ad Men do if left without supervision.

Caveat Emptor: My comments and stories are solely for entertainment purposes. Please be nice -or at least, amusing- when you post a comment. Most of the ads in this blog are in the public domain - if you think that your intellectual property has been breached, please let me know.