Over the past few decades, humanity has evolved quite a lot. Just over a century ago, man believed the atom to be the smallest part of matter but today, we know all about the subatomic particles that make up the atoms as well. Over 50 years ago, women did not have the same rights as they do now and parenting was very different a couple of decades ago. As humans have evolved and improved in these matters, so has our advertising.
There were a lot of ads in the past that were discriminative, false, insensitive, politically incorrect, and downright offensive. Even so, these ads ran on television, radio, on flyers, and on billboards without anyone protesting against them. There were commercials on television that were filled with absurd claims, sexism, racism, and all forms of bigotry. However, human perception has changed a lot over the years and this is reflected in the advertisement of various products that we see in the market today. Here are some ads from the past that would definitely never be allowed to run in this day and age.
Dormeyer Christmas Ad For Wives
Just one look at this ad by Dormeyer and you will notice the sexism that existed back then. The items mentioned in the ad are not at all romantic and should not be considered as ideal Christmas presents for wives. They do not speak about love, instead they just say that the woman’s place is in the kitchen.
The ad shows how the gender roles were defined in a marriage and the wives were considered to be feeble-minded, emotional, and manipulative. The word ‘wives’ at the top was to grab the attention of women and the instructions were then laid out for them as if they were mere children who needed to follow them thoroughly. It also guaranteed that the husbands would buy the domestic products for their wives and that there was no thought involved in the gift.
Sadly, the atrocity does not end there. The husbands were instructed to go buy the items before their wives started to cry. This suggested that the husbands were the sole breadwinners and that the wives were nothing but people who worked in the kitchen.