These unbelievably sexist ads from decades past and present reveal both how far society has come and how much further we need to go.
As trite as it is true, sex sells. But sometimes — from our Mad Men past to our Snapchat and smartphone-filled present — advertisers take this truism a little too far, and turn shameless sex into abject sexism. Case in point? These sexist ads:
Stacked: a trait microwaves and attractive women apparently have in common “Stacked” women can’t resist Thermidor microwaves, or dickey-clad men.Flickr/Ten Grain
Women love appliances too, Home Depot promises In this relatively recent Canadian ad, Home Depot demonstrates the fact that not even time can kill sexism.Flickr/Frankenmedia
Hertz assures us their female attendants have brains Hertz has come a long way in its advertising, but like a lot of older companies, they’ve got a bit of a sexist past in terms of advertising choices. For example: this advertisement promoting the fact that Hertz service women have brains as well as smiles. Flickr/classic_film
Men are better than women… … or so Drummond Sweaters would have us believe. P.S. Don’t miss the woman at the bottom of the frame for bonus sexist points.Flickr/lobstar28
Blow In Her Face And She’ll Follow You Anywhere
Are you losing your man? That’s the question posed in this 1950s ad.
And unless you buy their product you very well might be losing yours.Instagram/jessica.maree.x
Outrageous bigotry In this ad, we can see that women do all the work in the house. Of course, they don’t do so to keep the house clean, just to look cute for their husbands!Instagram/lablankafoto
Perverse sexualization from American Apparel American Apparel has been in and out of the news over the last decade for a variety of scandals, including lawsuits against the CEO for sexual harassment, accusations of using underage models, and having ads regularly banned by advertising authorities. This ad, however, did see the light of day. For the record, that’s Lauren Phoenix, an adult entertainment actress. Instagram/welcomethechange
Promoting domestic abuse Apparently, the creators of this ad never got the memo that domestic abuse is not something to make light of privately, let alone in mass publication.Instagram/teenalertprogram
The Chef does everything but cook – that’s what wives are for!
“It’s a man’s world” Van Heusen, like many companies before it, would probably like us all to forget this ad.Instagram/fiftieshouse
Horrible patronizing courtesy of Schlitz beer This beer ad may very well be the very first example of mansplaining.Instagram/jessica.maree.x
Built like a product It’s not only consumer goods companies that use abject sexism to sell stuff. Here, a construction company compares construction equipment’s durability to that of a woman’s body.Instagram/virginiarose7
Is it always illegal to kill a woman?
Women are not pears, according to ad This ad originally ran back in the day but sadly had a bit of a resurgence recently when an Egyptian gym company ran virtually the same ad earlier in 2016.Instagram/ jessica.maree.x
Women love appliances According to Kenwood, all women everywhere love appliances — and nothing but appliances. Instagram/sallyedelstein
Who knew skin cream was so important? Believe it or not, this ad linking smallpox with the inability to find a man is actually only selling hand cream. Apparently, if you’re a woman and have hands that actually do stuff, no man is going to go for you.Flickr/genibee
Soap will make sure your husband comes home at night Enough said, really.Flickr/The Green Parent
What’s even happening here? It’s unclear whether this ad is selling rugs or slaves. Instagram/the_real_f_word_feminism
Anti-sexists hit back! Finally, someone hits back! Sure, the billboard went up in the first place, but still. Progress!Pinterest
Another winner from American Apparel There are no words.Pinterest
Where women belong This early 1940s ad has probably the least appealing copy of all items appearing here. Who wants to eat “sloppy and hastily prepared” food?Instagram/sexistads
Simple enough for a woman There’s a recurring theme in all these ads: machines are complicated, and women are too dumb to operate them.Instagram/sexistads
The secret to finding a man Apparently, “even Plain Janes” can find a man so long as they have a pin.Flickr/Amber Karnes
Women being helpless once more In the battle of woman vs. bottle, the loser is…the sexist creator(s) of this ad.Instagram/sexistads
Wartime propaganda WWII saw women entering male-dominated workplaces such as factories at an unprecedented rate. You might assume that this balanced the scales in the ad world a bit, but you’d be giving advertisers too much credit. As this ad makes clear, advertisers instead sought to sell to women at work and continue to be offensive.Instagram/sexistads
For more, check out our other posts on vintage ads that are totally offensive and vintage Christmas ads.
Stacked: a trait microwaves and attractive women apparently have in common
“Stacked” women can’t resist Thermidor microwaves, or dickey-clad men.Flickr/Ten Grain
Women love appliances too, Home Depot promises
In this relatively recent Canadian ad, Home Depot demonstrates the fact that not even time can kill sexism.Flickr/Frankenmedia
Hertz assures us their female attendants have brains
Hertz has come a long way in its advertising, but like a lot of older companies, they’ve got a bit of a sexist past in terms of advertising choices. For example: this advertisement promoting the fact that Hertz service women have brains as well as smiles. Flickr/classic_film
Men are better than women…
… or so Drummond Sweaters would have us believe. P.S. Don’t miss the woman at the bottom of the frame for bonus sexist points.Flickr/lobstar28
Blow In Her Face And She’ll Follow You Anywhere
Are you losing your man?
That’s the question posed in this 1950s ad.
And unless you buy their product you very well might be losing yours.Instagram/jessica.maree.x
Outrageous bigotry
In this ad, we can see that women do all the work in the house. Of course, they don’t do so to keep the house clean, just to look cute for their husbands!Instagram/lablankafoto
Perverse sexualization from American Apparel
American Apparel has been in and out of the news over the last decade for a variety of scandals, including lawsuits against the CEO for sexual harassment, accusations of using underage models, and having ads regularly banned by advertising authorities. This ad, however, did see the light of day. For the record, that’s Lauren Phoenix, an adult entertainment actress. Instagram/welcomethechange
Promoting domestic abuse
Apparently, the creators of this ad never got the memo that domestic abuse is not something to make light of privately, let alone in mass publication.Instagram/teenalertprogram
The Chef does everything but cook – that’s what wives are for!
“It’s a man’s world”
Van Heusen, like many companies before it, would probably like us all to forget this ad.Instagram/fiftieshouse
Horrible patronizing courtesy of Schlitz beer
This beer ad may very well be the very first example of mansplaining.Instagram/jessica.maree.x
Built like a product
It’s not only consumer goods companies that use abject sexism to sell stuff. Here, a construction company compares construction equipment’s durability to that of a woman’s body.Instagram/virginiarose7
Is it always illegal to kill a woman?
Women are not pears, according to ad
This ad originally ran back in the day but sadly had a bit of a resurgence recently when an Egyptian gym company ran virtually the same ad earlier in 2016.Instagram/ jessica.maree.x
Women love appliances
According to Kenwood, all women everywhere love appliances — and nothing but appliances. Instagram/sallyedelstein
Who knew skin cream was so important?
Believe it or not, this ad linking smallpox with the inability to find a man is actually only selling hand cream. Apparently, if you’re a woman and have hands that actually do stuff, no man is going to go for you.Flickr/genibee
Soap will make sure your husband comes home at night
Enough said, really.Flickr/The Green Parent
What’s even happening here?
It’s unclear whether this ad is selling rugs or slaves. Instagram/the_real_f_word_feminism
Anti-sexists hit back!
Finally, someone hits back! Sure, the billboard went up in the first place, but still. Progress!Pinterest
Another winner from American Apparel
There are no words.Pinterest
Where women belong
This early 1940s ad has probably the least appealing copy of all items appearing here. Who wants to eat “sloppy and hastily prepared” food?Instagram/sexistads
Simple enough for a woman
There’s a recurring theme in all these ads: machines are complicated, and women are too dumb to operate them.Instagram/sexistads
The secret to finding a man
Apparently, “even Plain Janes” can find a man so long as they have a pin.Flickr/Amber Karnes
Women being helpless once more
In the battle of woman vs. bottle, the loser is…the sexist creator(s) of this ad.Instagram/sexistads
Wartime propaganda
WWII saw women entering male-dominated workplaces such as factories at an unprecedented rate. You might assume that this balanced the scales in the ad world a bit, but you’d be giving advertisers too much credit. As this ad makes clear, advertisers instead sought to sell to women at work and continue to be offensive.Instagram/sexistads
