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We're Sweet on Vintage Valentine's Day Ads

Tara Sharp — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:41:40 PST

This Valentine's Day, take a trip back in time with these funny, cute, romantic, and sometimes sexist vintage V-Day ads. According to these ads, it seems the best way to impress a woman (and get some lovin') on Feb. 14 is with a box of chocolates, and for men it's cake. Alluding to sexual favors in exchange for Valentine's Day gifts may seem retro, but the concept hasn't gone away in advertising, as we saw in Teleflora's "give and receive" Super Bowl ad over the weekend. See some of the good, bad, and most bizarre vintage V-Day ads now!

Sexism, Stereotypes, and the Super Bowl: Recent Ads That Sexualize Women

Anna Monette Roberts — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:05:00 PST

Sex sells - especially for Super Bowl ads - and year after year, major companies try to get away with the raciest, steamiest ads possible, often at the expense of women. Cars, food, technology - it doesn't matter what the product is; these ads throw in a hot, skin-baring woman for distraction and buzz. Ahead of the big game tomorrow, let's look back at some of the most scandalous ads in the last few years. And maybe one day we'll see more Super Bowl ads that show women some respect.

Skechers: "Kim Kardashian For Shape-Ups"

Kim teases her trainer by telling him he's "the best she's ever had, but it's not working out," and she prefers her Shape-Up Skechers over him. This 2011 ad is confusing and mismarketed, because it's eye candy for men, yet targeting women. Plus, no woman in her right mind would pass up that smokin' trainer for a pair of sneakers.

Click here to check out more sexualized Super Bowl ads.

A Look at PETA's Seriously Sexualized Stunts

Annie Scudder — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:06:22 PST

Whether or not you wear or eat meat, PETA's overtly sexualized publicity campaigns might leave a bad taste in your mouth. In addition to billboards featuring stars like Pamela Anderson and Olivia Munn going naked for the cause, the animal rights group often holds live spectacles in public places featuring attractive young women, models, or minor celebrities wearing little. For example, UK reality star Chantelle Houghton dressed up like a caged tiger in her underwear, black pumps, and body paint to protest the government's decision not to ban wild animals on cruises. She addressed a serious issue in what looked like an ambitious sexy Halloween costume.

Whether it's a nude girl-on-girl bath for World Water Day or a sexy pilgrim outfit for Thanksgiving, PETA has mastered the sexualized-woman-as-activism genre. Take a look at some of the most recent public displays and tell me if you think potentially objectifying women is worth the attention it brings to animals.

Toast the New Year With the Women of Vintage Champagne Ads

Tara Sharp — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 05:00:01 PST

It's time to break out the bubbly! Even if you don't have any extravagant plans for New Year's Eve, there's no better way to ring in 2012 than with a Champagne toast. So this NYE, take an uber-glam cue from the ladies who've graced Champagne ads over the years. See the evolution of women in Champagne ads, from the vintage to the modern, and cling some glasses to the New Year!

20 Bad Vintage Christmas Ads

TresSugar — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 12:58:56 PST

Vintage ads are often terrible, but these holiday ads take terrible to a new low. Whether it's Santa as a sex object or a cigarette carton for a sleigh, these ads are festive, fun, and totally inappropriate.

The 10 Most Controversial Ads of 2011

Miriam Lacey — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 03:05:53 PST

Advertising is all around us, and it's particularly ubiquitous in the realm of beauty. Makeup, skin care, and fragrance get shilled to us constantly, and many of us are only passingly aware of the messages we're receiving. Which is why the 10 ads here are such a big deal. For better or for worse, these spots made a big impression - sometimes on consumers, sometimes on regulatory committees, and sometimes on censors. Whether you're wondering why Dakota Fanning's Marc Jacobs ads came under fire or just heard about those "talking vagina" commercials, all the most incendiary spots from the glossies, the web, and television are here.

How to Have a Happy Thanksgiving According to Vintage Ads

Tara Sharp — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 11:29:29 PST

If vintage Halloween ads showed us that the key to a good All Hallows' Eve is booze, cigarettes, and pantyhose, then what do vintage Thanksgiving ads have to say about the feasting holiday? Well, mostly it revolves around questionably edible dishes, killin' turkeys, and having a glamorous kitchen! Also, ciggys that taste as good a turkey dinner. See the Thanksgiving vintage ads and their lessons now!

Sexy Vintage Lingerie Ads

Tara Sharp — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:25:00 PST

Curvaceous models are prepping to bare it all at the Victoria's Secret fashion show, as the lingerie company's annual show hits the runway today. And just as the show has evolved a lot since its inauguration in the '90s, lingerie itself has changed by leaps and bounds (thankfully) since it was first introduced in the late 19th century.

We have some groundbreaking women to thank for where lingerie is nowadays. British fashion designer Lady Duff-Gordon, "Lucy," was one of the first pioneers of lingerie, creating underwear that was more about being beautiful than practical and constricted in corsets. And Mary Phelps Jacob patented the first brassiere in 1914 (conveniently two days before Valentine's Day). But it was Frederick's of Hollywood, founded in 1947 by the inventor of the push-up bra, Frederick Mellinger, that really put the sex in lingerie.

See how the sultry little things we wear under our clothes have been targeted to women over the years with a look back at vintage lingerie ads!

Dakota Fanning's Perfume Ad Banned For Sexualizing Children

Tara Sharp — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:12:21 PST

Dakota Fanning's Oh, Lola! perfume ad has been banned in the UK for "sexualizing children." The Marc Jacobs perfume ad features 17-year-old Dakota holding an oversize bottle of the fragrance in her lap, and even though she's not dressed provocatively or doing anything sexual, the British Advertising Standards Authority believes the ad is portraying a minor as a sex object, saying:

"We noted that the model was holding up the perfume bottle which rested in her lap between her legs and we considered that its position was sexually provocative. We understood the model was 17 years old but we considered she looked under the age of 16. We considered that the length of her dress, her leg and position of the perfume bottle drew attention to her sexuality. Because of that, along with her appearance, we considered the ad could be seen to sexualise a child."

While I think there are a ton of much more overtly sexual ads out there, I do think the purpose of this perfume ad is to be provocative. Even Marc Jacobs describes Oh, Lola! as "sensual" and calls Dakota a "contemporary Lolita, seductive yet sweet." Maybe I'm just desensitized by worse examples like Toddlers & Tiaras, but would you really consider this ad featuring a 17-year-old the sexualization of a child?

Bewitching Vintage Halloween Ads For Women

Tara Sharp — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:23:09 PDT

If you were a woman living 40, 50, or 60 years ago, what would you need for a happy Halloween? Well, if you believe these vintage advertisements targeting the fairer sex, it's mostly booze, cigarettes, pantyhose . . . and candy for the kids, of course! From sexy witches shilling shoe shine to lipstick that'll "make him mad under the moon," look back with us at these retro Halloween ads for and featuring women now.