Vintage Ads
Advertisers know that sex sells. So, they sometimes feature nude or nearly nude models or artwork in their ads. As in every other aspect of life, nude women have been featured far more often than men, presumably because men were designing the ads. But some advertisers were canny enough to realize that the primary targets of their ads were women, and to design the ads accordingly. We start with some vintage examples.
This 1917 ad for Ivory Soap presents just a misty, teasing view of some guys taking showers.
In this 1918 Ivory Soap ad in National Geographic, the nude guy is clear and prominent, but in a non-revealing pose. This is a patriotic World War I ad about how Ivory Soap is helping"our boys" at the front.
Another 1918 patriotic World War I ad in National Geographic tells how Hercules Powder Company is helping to win the war.
A patriotic ad from World War II. This 1943 ad tells how the soldiers are using Cannon towels. And the art manages to show a little bare butt.
This is a 1947 ad In Walkabout, a magazine that was the Australian equivalent of National Geographic. Apparently the Victorian Government Tourist Bureau thought that people could be enticed to visit Central and Northern Australia in order to see naked Aborigines.
We close with this 1948 ad for Seagram's 7 Crown whiskey, published in LIFE magazine. It doesn't feature any nude bodies, but the rock formations are noteworthy. The "7 crown" rock formation is fake, of course, but the arch on the left is real – Delicate Arch in Arches National Park (in 1948, it was Arches National Monument). Delicate Arch is actually not on flat ground like this picture. It's only reachable by a cliffside trail (I've been there). That's OK; this scene is an "artist's conception."
Now notice the rock formation to the right of the "7" rock. It's clearly a giant penis. Is there such a rock in Arches National Park? Yes, there is. It's 100 feet tall, called the Phallus. But, like Delicate Arch, it's not located near any of the other rock formations shown. Again, this is an artist's conception, not a real landscape.
The artist, given the task of producing the painting for this ad, decided to include the well-known Delicate Arch, and then he (I'm guessing it was a male artist) snuck in the giant penis, possibly as a joke. Well, he was asked to illustrate a "natural wonder."
I have many more nude ads that I'll show you in future posts.
4 comments:
Delicate Arch... A couple of years ago, a coach took some of his team to the park and they deliberately busted one of the natural arches. Took video of themselves doing it. Disgusting the way some people treat nature. Can't remember what charges/punishment they received.
I tried to find it online. There was a viral video in 2018 that showed an arch being exploded, as if by dynamite, but experts have since concluded that, although it looked very real, it was a digital fake, using a real scene from Arches National Park as the background. The exploding arch did not resemble any known arch in the park (or anywhere else), and the park confirmed that no park features were destroyed.
Very interesting.
Shower is my favorite ad
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