I found this beauty of an ad recently. It is for a Pitney Bowes postage meter. Apparently the copy " Is it always illegal to KILL a woman?" was not considered offensive back in the day. Had it been released today the outcry would be heard from coast to coast, and rightfully so.
The advertising mentality back in the 40s, 50s, and even early 60s portrayed women mostly as housewives, excited over their new Betty Crocker Cookbook or Hoover Vacuum Cleaner for Christmas. Drooling over a new washer or mop. Pathetic as it seems today, it was the norm and in the vintage ads from this period saturated the print and magazine industry.
What I find interesting from a designer's perspective is the emphasis on the word "KILL" rather than "always". Pretty extreme. Since when was it legal to kill a woman in the United States back in 1953? Is he upset because she does not know how to use the innovative machine? Is she refusing to use the newfangled invention? Or is he upset because she made an unauthorized purchase for new office equipment? The ad for me is not clear. What is clear, is that this man wants to kill the redhead for some ambiguous offense regarding the postage machine. Was this ad an "office" send up of our favorite redhead, Lucy (Ball) and her easily frustrated husband Ricky (Arnez)?Note the women in the background laughing--a telephone operator and at least one secretary (both females).
Another interesting observation from another designer friend of mine, is the size of the people to the size of the product. Are they selling men's ties, women's suits...oh no...it's that thing that looks like a toaster with a crank!
By 1962 the ads just got wordier, but the message was the same. Me Tarzan. You Jane.
I just do not know what to say about the ad below, except that it is creepy. But as you can see, PB has gone back to being minimalists when it comes to copy.
Let me know what you think about these ads. You may have seen them before, or this is your first time.
Next time: "I dreamed I was...."
