Companies and brands spend millions every year on advertising. The global spending on advertising in 2020 was 674 billion U.S. dollars. In fact, statistics show that in America, a dollar is spent on advertising per person each day. Sometimes, we might be so used to seeing ads we don't even realize we're being sold something.
Nowadays, there are a lot of rules about what's appropriate in an ad and what's not. Back in the day, almost everything was fair game. That's why there were loads of sexist, racist, tobacco, asbestos, and lead-praising ads. We've compiled the most absurd vintage ads for you here. Enjoy and wonder: "How could this have been a thing?"
#1 An Eerily Accurate Ad From 1996 I Found In An Advertising Book
Image credits: Stormageadon
#2 This Has Aged Like Milk Because Google Is A Search Engine With Weather, News Feeds, Links To Sponsors, Ads, And Distractions
Image credits: mitthrawnuruodo86
#3 An Ad From The 1950s Gives Tips On How To Dispose Of Batteries
The ad advises getting rid of batteries by tossing them in the fireplace, but we know now that doing that is extremely dangerous.
Image credits: beerbellybegone
Many products advertised in these vintage ads seem questionable today. However, people did many questionable things back in the day: advised pregnant women to smoke to relieve stress, gave babies alcohol to make them sleep better, and many others.
But the ads praising harmful materials like lead and asbestos probably take the crown of absurdity. How is it possible that marketers advertised them as "amazing" and people thought it was okay?
Back in the late '70s, people used asbestos in many common household and construction items: hair dryers, kitchen appliances, plumbing, floors, and, of course, roofs.
Today, it's still used for occupational gear and clothing, but most countries have banned many different forms of asbestos. The U.S. banned the last type, chrysotile asbestos, in 2024.
#4 Mad Magazine From 2002. Covid Flashbacks
Image credits: Tony-Pepproni
#5 Nowadays, Kids Will Never Understand The Struggle Of People Trying To Connect To The Internet Using A Phone Line And The Bothering Sounds Of The Whole Process
Image credits: cz_binance
#6 Photography Ad In My Dad’s Old Yearbook
This was from the year 1982, when the photography company said "We shoot school kids" in an ad before the number of school shootings in the US increased.
Image credits: ethanlgraham
The material was (and still is in some countries) popular due to its durability and fire resistance. It's also pretty affordable. However, microscopic asbestos fibers are incredibly dangerous to our lungs.
They cause healthy lung tissue to scar or mutate asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer. In fact, it's classified as a known human carcinogen by The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
But why were the ads for asbestos so popular back in the second half of the 20th century? Apparently, industry leaders did their best to suppress any medical evidence linking asbestos to all the above-mentioned horrible diseases.
Advertisers positioned the toxic material as something futuristic and affordable for home makeover projects. And the flashy, fun commercials and ads got to people -- they really believed this was the natural mineral of the future.
#7 A Sexist Vintage Ad Advertising Men's Slacks Called Mr. Legs. "He Didn't Have To Shoot To Floor Her. One Look At His Pants, And She Was Happy To Have Him Walk All Over Her"
Image credits: ozzyetomi
#8 This Ad From Esso. Now We Have A Global Warming
Image credits: Raider440
#9 The Addis Wedding Set, "Every Bride's Coming Home Outfit" 1980s
Image credits: FNaXQ
Similarly, people once saw lead as a miracle metal as well. Most of us probably know about the dangers of lead in paint. In the 20th century, white lead paint was incredibly popular. Because it absorbs 12 to 15 times less water than zinc oxide, it is very durable. Back in the 1910s, the authorities advised people to wash their walls regularly because of the Spanish Influenza. So, lead paint was particularly handy in that regard.
#10 Vintage Chlorinol Bleaching Advertisement. Very Racist, And Unacceptable
Image credits: vedatozankoku
#11 People Inventing Plastic Bags Were Trying To Claim Consumers By Advertising The "Cute" Use Of Plastic Bags For Delivering Children, Which Are Now Known To Be Suffocants
Image credits: reddit.com
#12 Betty White Became A Hugely Famous, Beloved And Iconic Actress
Image credits: Str33twise84
Even the numerous state and federal agencies urged people to use lead paint. What changed their tune was the growing number of lead poisoning cases in children in the 1930s. The authorities advised parents not to use the paint on toys, baby carriages, and cribs.
#13 Lola (1970) Would Never Be Made Today For Many Reasons
Image credits: Sinfestival
#14 Imagine Seeing An Ad Like This Today
Image credits: andrewblakechan
#15 Sadly, Everything Is Worse Now
Image credits: kennethcolereal
However, children would still get poisoned from the paint on the walls. The government only took serious action in the 1970s, though. Lobbyists and advertisers did their best to mislead people and make them believe it was not as toxic. Today, we use lead in batteries; three-quarters are actually found in all types of vehicles.
#16 Creepy Advertisement For Love's Baby Soft (1975)
Image credits: Reddit__PI
#17 Iranian Advertising Before The Islamic Revolution, 1979
Image credits: Tunel Zaman
#18 This 1994 Advertisement For Lighter Skis
The ad compares buying lighter ski equipment to "Losing the Twin Towers," which eventually happened on 9/11, about 7 years after this was published.
Image credits: 22FlyingTurtles
Interestingly, the Romans used lead in more ways than the modern 20th-century society. They lined aqueducts and water pipes with lead and also put it in makeup, cookware, and even contraceptives. Perhaps the most surprising use of lead in Ancient Rome was as a sweetener for food and drinks but also to control fermentation in wine. That's actually why kids sometimes chewed on lead paint chips: it can taste sweet.
#19 Promoting Sugar As A Healthy Thing In 1971
Image credits: JohnSherlockHolmes
#20 "He Used To Duck Me, Now He Dates Me" Nadinola Bleaching Cream, Ebony Magazine, May 1963
Image credits: reddit.com
#21 An Electric Spanker For Unruly Children
Image credits: Historical Society of Rockland County
Today, we're way more careful about the way we handle lead. The batteries get assembled in sequestered plants, with employees wearing face masks. The majority of the work is also done by robots.
Steven Jones, plant manager at EnerSys, told NPR that the manufacturing process is a technological ballet. "Through this level of automation, we're providing a cleaner environment for our operators and again, providing a safer environment."
#22 Ironized Yeast Ad For Weight Gain In The 1930s
Image credits: stoopididiotface
#23 1950s Cigarette Ad Claiming No Throat Irritation Comes From Camel Cigarettes. Now It's Proven That It Causes Throat And Lung Cancer
Image credits: pickleloverchomp
#24 An Ad From An American Magazine, 1939. Lead Was Banned In Most European Countries By The 1940s, But Not Until 1978 In The US Because Of Lobbying
Image credits: ka_beene
Cigarette companies also don't have a good track record when it comes to advertising. A 1946 Camel ad, for example, claimed that doctors, according to an "independent survey," recommend smoking.
An even more crazy 1890 advertisement claimed that cigarettes can help treat asthma and other respiratory ailments. They even recommended giving them to kids older than six. Many similar ads touted the benefits of smoking: less irritation, child-friendly, and one even claimed cigarettes were "pure as the water you drink."
#25 Union Carbide Advertisement From 1962 "Science Helps Us Build A New India"
The 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is considered one of the world's worst industrial disasters. The parent company had to sell its entire stake in UCIL and leave India.
Image credits: JStevinik
#26 Advertisement For United Airlines (About 15 Years Ago)
Image credits: bxnxne
#27 This Ad In 1936
Image credits: jhoang0730
Olympic Athlete Jesse Owens was the face of White Owl cigars in 1960. Sadly but ironically, he passed away from lung cancer in 1980. The first serious report warning the public about the dangers of smoking came out in 1962.
In 1964, the U.S. Surgeon General did the same. The U.S. government first took action in 1965, requiring manufacturers to include information for consumers about the dangers of smoking on the label.
#28 "Successful Marriages Start In The Kitchen"
Image credits: nootnoot_pingu_noot
#29 Ad On The Back Of An Old Comic. Nowadays, This Would Not Go Well
This is an advertisement for a child to purchase a toy rifle, touting its realistic look and sound. A child carrying this toy today would be very poorly received.
Image credits: Taitenger
#30 In The Top Right Corner, It Says "The Largest And Safest Steamer In The World," Only For It To Hit An Iceberg Later. Clearly, It Wasn't Safe
Image credits: IcelandicButDeadly
All these examples from the past can make one wonder: weren't there any policies against false advertising back in the day? Not really, at least until the 1970s. People's mistrust of advertising was rising by then.
That's when the FTC also started a regulation revolution -- at last, they were asking marketers to prove the validity of their claims. They also cracked down on advertising toward children. Whereas advertisers enjoyed their unchecked privilege before, now they have more responsibility.
#31 USHA Sewing Machine Ad From The 1970s: "Train Her To Be An Ideal Housewife. Buy Her An USHA Sewing Machine"
Image credits: wordswithmagic
#32 "I Suffered From Menstrual Cramps." - When Men "Suffered" As Much As Women (1968, Femicin Ad)
Image credits: FNaXQ
#33 Well, She Was Very Wrong
Image credits: mattpilz
#34 Twin Towers World Trade Center Brochure Circa 1975
Image credits: Vince
#35 Lead Was Used Extensively Before Being Banned In The US. This Ad Captures How Lead Was Extremely Frequent In Everyday Life
Image credits: gwenckatz
#36 In 1913, Someone Predicted That Birth Rates Would Have Declined All The Way To Zero By Now, And We'd Look Like Aliens Because Of Baby Formula
Image credits: backwards_river
#37 Vintage Cigarette Print Ad Touting It Is Popular Among Doctors, Which Is Supposedly A Good Thing And Somehow Probably Helps Health
Image credits: 4reddityo
#38 Creepy Old Lysol Advertisement
Lysol used to be used as a means of birth control before the pill was legalized in the 1960s. That's what they mean by "dainty feminine allure," having the energy to be a loving wife without the babies.
Image credits: nacreous
#39 This Oil-Disposal Tip
Terrible advice on how to dig a hole in your garden to dispose of engine oil and let it be absorbed into the soil.
Image credits: reddit.com
#40 Lorillard's Chewing Tobacco, 1893
Image credits: Star_Ship_55
#41 This Ad From Time Magazine In 1997 Promotes Plastic. Meanwhile, People Are Trying To Replace Plastic Because It’s Harmful To The Environment
Image credits: yayforyaya
#42 An Ad For Drummond Sweaters From 1959. Oh, How Advertising Has Changed
Image credits: bigpromotions
#43 6 Kids At 22? The Astonishing Mrs. Highfield For Rinso's Soap. Australia, 1953
Image credits: SoozeeQew
#44 Secret Anti-Perspirant Ad In 1965. It Implies That Women’s Body Odor Is A Result Of Emotions
Image credits: FNaXQ
#45 "They'll Be Wild About You In Van Heusen Venturous Print Sport Shirts" (1951)
Image credits: rosettacoin
#46 "Are You Making Your Children Pay For Your Weight Problem?" - Sugar Information, Inc. Ad (1966)
Image credits: FNaXQ
#47 Probably The Most Sexist Vintage Ad On The Internet
Image credits: ViralTalkTime
#48 This 1968 Frigidaire Ad Is Special
Image credits: acidmine
#49 Wash Away Fat And Years Of Age With La-Mar Reducing Soap. Woman's Companion, 1923
Image credits: 510th8u8
#50 The Message Is Perfectly Simple: Just Stop Being Fat
Image credits: nautical1776
