Hilarious,
Funny and Amazing Adverts From Bygone Times
Following an interesting and fascinating article by Hermione Hoby in
the Observer newspaper in August 2010 where she looked at advertising in
the "olden days". Will and Guy decided to search the internet to provide
a barrel load of laughs for our readers and viewers.
The following adverts need little or no explanation to encourage you to
smile or perhaps even guffaw out loud. We categorise these bygone
times adverts as
dangerous, sexist, ageist and generally totally out of touch with the values
in the 21st Century.
Guy thinks that Stephen Leacock's view on adverting is a sound and
amusing one: 'Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the
human intelligence long enough to get money from it.'
Will, on the other hand, prefers Jef Richards take: 'Creative without
strategy is called "art." Creative with strategy is called "advertising."'
In 1965, President L.B. Johnson enacted a law in the USA requiring
cigarette manufacturers to put health warnings on their packets.
Here are examples of why he took this strong action.
Preamble: Guy says these advertising quotes are
dynamite, I had to read some of these authors sage words twice to get the
full significance. Will points out that while bygone adverts are
completely out-of-touch with the 21st century, these remarks are still
poignant today.
What is the difference between unethical and ethical advertising? Unethical advertising uses falsehoods to deceive the public; ethical
advertising uses truth to deceive the public. Vilhjalmur Stefansson.
Let advertisers spend the same amount of money improving their product
that they do on advertising and they wouldn't have to advertise it. Will
Rogers
The trouble with us in America isn't that the poetry of life has turned
to prose, but that it has turned to advertising copy. Louis Kronenberger
It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both incisive
and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by twelve dancing
rabbits singing about toilet paper. R. Serling
Advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket. George
Orwell
Advertising may be described as the science of arresting human
intelligence long enough to get money from it. Stephen Leacock
Advertising is 85% confusion and 15% commission. Fred Allen
Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl
in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does. Stuart H.
Britt
Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't
know which half. John Wanamaker
Because advertising has to be so direct, it makes the sexism all the more
obvious. These examples of outrageous stereotyping make Will angry, and Guy
cry with laughter.
It is our job to make women unhappy with what they have. B. Earl
Puckett
WIVES
Look
this ad over carefully. (See right) Circle the items that you want for Christmas.
Show it to your husband. If he does not go to the store immediately,
cry a little. Not a lot, just a little. He'll go. He'll go
A Funny Advert From Bygone Times
‡
Old Advertising Tricks
When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the
same packaging as in the USA with the baby on the label. Later
they found out that in Africa companies routinely put pictures on the
label of what's inside since most people can't read.
Even The Aged Are Not Spared
Guy says 'what is this drug to control senility?' Will says, 'just give him another
whisky instead.'
Could we see history repeat itself? Could it be that cocaine and heroin
will be
legalized once more? After all eventually the authorities realized alcohol prohibition
would only create gangsters, whereas if they taxed booze they could
simultaneouly rid of
bootleggers and fill the public exchequer.
The American Dairy Association was so successful with its "Got Milk?"
campaign, that it was decided to extend the ads to Mexico. Unfortunately,
the Spanish translation was "Are you lactating?""
Electrolux, a Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer, used this advert in the
USA: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux."
When Braniff Airlines translated a slogan touting its upholstery, "Fly in
leather," it came out in Spanish as "Fly naked."
Coors beer put its slogan, "Turn it loose," into Spanish, where it was
read as "Suffer from diarrhoea."
Bacardi concocted a fruity drink with the name "Pavian" to suggest French
chic...but "pavian" translates as "baboon" in German.
A hair products company, Clairol, introduced the "Mist Stick", a curling
iron, into Germany only to find out that mist is slang for manure. Not too
many people had use for the manure stick.
When Pepsi started marketing its products in China a few years back, they
translated their slogan, "Pepsi Brings You Back to Life" literally. The
slogan in Chinese really meant, "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the
Grave."
In Italy, a campaign for "Schweppes Tonic Water" translated the name into
the much less thirst quenching "Schweppes Toilet Water."
The Chevrolet Nova car never sold well in Spanish speaking countries. "No
va" means "it doesn't go" in Spanish.
In the French part of Canada, Hunt-Wesson introduced its "Big John"
products as "Gros Jos." It later found out that the phrase is slang
for "big
breasts."
¤¤
Footnote: Please send us your adverts from bygone times.
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