19 Real Ads That Prove America's Past — Believe It Or Not — Was More Messed Up Than Today
WARNING: This post contains disturbing historical racist imagery.
1.Our gun control/safety laws may be lacking in 2024, but they've been worse — a hundred or so years ago anyone could send away for a gun by mail, no questions asked!
2.And this gun manufacturer seriously put out an ad saying that children should use a revolver (instead of a toy pistol) as a noise maker on the 4th of July.
3.You know what else is messed up? Before the Federal Food and Drugs Act of 1906, people could put absolutely anything in their products, which led to things like "Cocaine Toothache Drops," which claimed to be an "instantaneous cure." I bet!
4.And here's an ad for cough drops with quite the active ingredient. As the copy says, "The problem has been solved by the pharmaceutical compound known as glyco-heroin!" It will also "suit the palette of...the most capricious child." Heroin! It's good for kids, too!
5.Also, before the Federal Trade Commissions Act of 1914, advertisers could lie about their products with no repercussions...and boy did they! This "Health Jolting Chair" was little more than a rocking chair with springs, but it called itself "the most important health mechanism ever produced" and promised to strengthen the heart, lungs, and other major organs, cause weight loss, improve muscle gain, and even cure diseases!
6.This 1904 ad for Schlitz Beer shamelessly presented as "fact" that beer was healthy for people of all ages, and that "your doctor will tell you that pure beer — Schlitz beer — is good for you."
7.I mean, the bullshit truly knew no bounds. This electric hair brush (which wasn't electric at all but instead used magnets) claimed to be able to cure everything from baldness to headaches! Thank you, magic brush!
8.This 1920s-era ad for "reducing soap" claimed to have the power to make you lose weight and look younger! "No diet or exercising. Be as slim as you wish. Acts like magic...!" (Yes, they were saying soap would do all that. Soap.)
9.And, as you likely picked up from the previous ad, they enjoyed pairing their bald-faced lies with a side of body-shaming!
10.Speaking of telling a big ol' whopper while spreading negative body images, this cigarette ad from 1929 said it's healthy to have a cigarette instead of a treat, and all the beautiful women are doing it!
11.Let me tell you...cigarette ads were really something else. This one says this cigarette brand protects your throat "and expels certain natural impurities harsh to the delicate tissues of your throat." Wowza! What an amazing product!
12.As you're likely gathering from these (and, you know, your knowledge of American history), women were treated like they had one purpose in life — to serve men! Cooking, cleaning, looking pretty, you name it. Sure, things aren't perfect in this regard today, but it was really something back in the day. I mean, look at this ad for "her Christmas present."
13.Here's a 1955 ad about a teenager who proved she's "his kind of girl" by demonstrating she's capable of washing his shirts.
14.Then there's this 1901 ad for soap touting the endorsement of a majority of senators' wives. As the copy says, "Can YOU doubt that it's the best?" FYI, there'd yet to be a woman member of Congress at that time. Heck, women couldn't even vote for another 19 years. (And look at all those white women in the photos...not exactly a paragon of diversity.)
15.This ad happily presented men as helpless around the house when their wives weren't around (you know, because cooking is women's work and below a man, I guess):
16.And, of course, many ads from the past were shockingly racist. This 1880 ad for boots, for example, featured crude depictions of the Irish and Native Americans:
17.This 1893 ad for doll patterns boasted of having a wide variety of selections to choose from, including Little Red Riding Hood, a dog, a cat, and...a pickaninny (a pickaninny was a racist caricature of black children, often featuring bulging eyes, unkempt hair, red lips, and wide mouths depicted eating watermelon or fried chicken).
18.Images of pickaninnies were often used as "humor" in ads, like this one for panty hose from 1904:
19.Lastly, this 1853 ad offering to pay $1,200–$1,250 dollars to purchase Black people is a horrific reminder of our nation's racist history and slavery:
