Click, click, click

According to this ad in a well-know American music magazine, in the early sixties Australia is still a land of... sheep-rearing people.

"Click go the shears" is a traditional Australian folk song. Not surprisingly, it is about men shearing sheep. Surprisingly enough, someone used this concept to draw the reader's attention into the growth and popularity of American music in the Australian market.

Talk about stereotypes. And gotta love the photo of the factory -near Sydney- at the bottom of the piece.

"Click go the shears", 1963
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More uranium riches

Reading our stack of old magazines we learn that the uranium prospecting madness peaked around 1955 and died out over the next year. Maybe after hundreds of eager prospectors threw their money away and got nothing in return.

Like in many other boom and bust scenarios, word spreads quickly when things don't turn out as advertised.

Here's one advertisement promising riches on the uranium bonanza. Yeah, right.

"Find uranium", 1955
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And here's another one -located in the opposite page of the same magazine. At least this ad promises the reader a money saving kit.

"Uranium geiger kit", 1955
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Are you sure this is safe? (2)

Using the Government as endorsement does not guarantee the safety of your product.

Here's an example. Would you use this contraption for exploring and spearfishing ?

"Diving apparatus", 1955
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The ad ends with the words "completely safe". Sure. Provided the operator does not get tired of pumping.

Forgiving women

Old advertisements are an incredible tool for understanding the cultural norms and rules accepted by society.

Back in 1946, you could get away with an ad, in a nation-wide magazine, with the tagline:

"Forgive Her, she's only a woman."

The rest of the ad is just as "balanced" -women are portrayed as finicky fumbling creatures that can't be trusted.

From our perspective, it seems like the world before the sixties was not as fun or attractive. Sanforised or not.

"Forgive her", 1946
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Mind your posture

With thousands of remarkable cases, the Philo-Burt Appliance has healing properties that border on the miraculous.

Fifty thousand cases treated over twenty years -that's a mere seven cures a day. Helpless people, crippled by their "deformed spines" have seen themselves riding horseback or playing tennis, within a year.

The address of the firm, at "Odd Fellows Temple" is not that inspiring either.

"Deformities of the back", 1924
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Simple is better

Somehow the message of fun and simplicity is lost on the following piece.

The ad talks a lot about the "stainless steel trim", the "new appealing bowling colors" and there's even a mention about the "nylon rail guard". And it's easy to service too.

Only at the very end of the copy it says something about the user experience. "Six profit-proven games-in-one". Wtf?

But it does not say squat about them, either.

It's a coin-op amusement machine, for crying out loud. It's supposed to be fun. And simple.

"Strike ball", 1963
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