# Shocking Ads **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 29, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637 "2022-01-29T17:37:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/1 "2022-01-29T17:37:13Z")
I was reading a book of old advertisements from the 60s. One of them showed an attractive woman with a big smile and a bigger shiner around one eye. Probably some people here are more familiar with the ad then I am, Tarryton cigarettes with the slogan “I’d rather fight than switch”. The ad seemed pretty shocking in light of modern sensibilities. Two questions: 1. Was the campaign particularly shocking at the time, or just a little controversial or attention seeking? 2. Are there similar old ads you have seen recently which made you wonder what the shill they were thinking? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/2 "2022-01-29T17:42:39Z")
[![](https://cbsnews3.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2011/06/02/3043410d-a643-11e2-a3f0-029118418759/thumbnail/640x567/cb3166e6618f3838eacdb6b2fe637e2c/if-your-husband-ever-finds-.jpg) ](https://cbsnews3.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2011/06/02/3043410d-a643-11e2-a3f0-029118418759/thumbnail/640x567/cb3166e6618f3838eacdb6b2fe637e2c/if-your-husband-ever-finds-.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/3 "2022-01-29T17:43:58Z")
As I recall, those cigarette advertisements usually featured men with a black eye. And I don’t recall it being particularly taken as offensive. How ironic, in the past few days I’ve gotten a lot of pop-up clickbaits for _advertising that would not fly today_. Mostly sexist. For item 2 - there was an advertisement for some car, albeit a few years ago, that emphasized its heated seats. They did this by having the mom pick up her high-school daughter from school. Said daughter must had a hard day at gym class,She nestled into the heated passenger seat with a “cat that swallowed the canary” smile. Then moved around - **I swear that she was doing a lap-dance on the seat.** I only saw the ad once or twice - so perhaps someone quickly pulled it. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/4 "2022-01-29T18:03:02Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I was reading a book of old advertisements from the 60s. One of them showed an attractive woman with a big smile and a bigger shiner around one eye. Probably some people here are more familiar with the ad then I am, Tarryton cigarettes with the slogan “I’d rather fight than switch”. > > The ad seemed pretty shocking in light of modern sensibilities. Two questions: > > 1. Was the campaign particularly shocking at the time, or just a little controversial or attention seeking? > > 2. Are there similar old ads you have seen recently which made you wonder what the shill they were thinking? The Tareyton cigarette ads had both men and women with black eyes. [![](https://www.vintage-adventures.com/3929-large_default/1964-tareyton-cigarettes-ad-would-rather-fight.jpg) ](https://www.vintage-adventures.com/3929-large_default/1964-tareyton-cigarettes-ad-would-rather-fight.jpg) They were controversial at the time, though. Due to the bad grammar of “Us Tareyton smokers.” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/5 "2022-01-29T18:31:01Z")
Tareyton was undoubtedly playing off the “Winston Tastes Good Like a Cigarette Should” slogan, which also got idiots into a fury over the “slovenly grammar.” There are pages all over the internet that collect shocking old ads, like [this page in which every one is worse than the last](https://canyouactually.com/vintage-ads/). This missed [this one](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1003/7610/files/4-out-of-5-men.jpg?13309672949311570306), though, which is utterly gobsmacking. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/6 "2022-01-29T19:05:31Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Tareyton was undoubtedly playing off the “Winston Tastes Good Like a Cigarette Should” slogan, which also got idiots into a fury over the “slovenly grammar.” When I was a kid in school, we used to sing “Winston tastes bad Like the one I just had. No filter, no flavor, Just used-up toilet paper.” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/7 "2022-01-29T19:10:28Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The Tareyton cigarette ads had both men and women with black eyes. And, it was a long-running campaign for them, as well; Wikipedia indicates that they used it from 1963 until 1981. I imagine that a campaign featuring black eyes, and implied fighting, wouldn’t fly today, regardless of if it depicted men or women (though I agree that it would be even more problematic featuring women). ---
**Author:** ![journeyman\_southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5e9695/32.png) [@journeyman\_southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/journeyman_southpaw)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/8 "2022-01-29T19:24:15Z")
There was a Club cocktails ad campaign in 1980 that had some trouble over its slogan (as with Taretyon, both men and women were depicted). The third ad shows the replacement slogan. [![](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/JgEAAOSw7K9gZH2k/s-l1600.jpg) ](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/JgEAAOSw7K9gZH2k/s-l1600.jpg) [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5f/62/81/5f62810a4bd8bb51a163a5251df6b346.png) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5f/62/81/5f62810a4bd8bb51a163a5251df6b346.png) [![](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Ot8AAOSwX1pfjia1/s-l1600.jpg) ](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Ot8AAOSwX1pfjia1/s-l1600.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/9 "2022-01-29T19:43:34Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > There are pages all over the internet that collect shocking old ads, like [this page in which every one is worse than the last](https://canyouactually.com/vintage-ads/). At least one of those is an obvious fake (the Hardee’s one, which uses the chain’s modern logo and flat-out calls Hardee’s food “sloppy and poorly prepared”). Who knows how many of the others aren’t authentic, as well (although, yeah - I’m sure a bunch of them are!). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/10 "2022-01-29T19:52:15Z")
Sorry I didn’t look closely at every ad. The majority of them are real, though. I’m old enough to remember many of the ad campaigns. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/11 "2022-01-29T19:59:54Z")
One of these was prominently displayed on Harvard Ave., Brighton, Mass., right down the street from where I worked at the time. [![](http://cf.collectorsweekly.com/uploads/2015/03/stones-bilb-1024x712.jpg) ](http://cf.collectorsweekly.com/uploads/2015/03/stones-bilb-1024x712.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/12 "2022-01-29T20:57:38Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Tareyton was undoubtedly playing off the “Winston Tastes Good Like a Cigarette Should” slogan, which also got idiots into a fury over the “slovenly grammar.” “Tiny Tims roast hot, like a chestnut ought.” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/13 "2022-01-30T02:07:30Z")
One company. responding to these complaints about grammar, ran an ad that said “what do you want, good grammar or good taste?” The comedian Robert Klein a special parodied this ad and asked “why can’t we have both?” Hey, for the time Tareyton was advanced, saying that women equally deserved the right to fight to get lung cancer. Much worse were the airline aids saying I’m Cheryl, Fly Me.An article about this. > **[Sexy stewardesses were exploited by airlines to sell more tickets — until...](https://timeline.com/sexy-stewardesses-were-exploited-by-airlines-8dd8f3d297b1)** > > Welcome to mid-century air travel, where marriage, pregnancy, and being over thirty could get you fired There was also a campaign featuring wives begging their hubbies to take them along on a trip. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/14 "2022-01-30T02:54:08Z")
That was Winston. It was their final TV ad campaign before cigarette ads were banned and they wanted to go out in memorable fashion. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/15 "2022-01-30T03:18:00Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > There was also a campaign featuring wives begging their hubbies to take them along on a trip. That was a promotion by TWA. Supposedly it backfired because a lot of business travelers told the airline it was no one’s damn business who they traveled with. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/16 "2022-01-30T04:22:29Z")
There was the Folger’s Coffee commercial in which a man complains about the lousy coffee his wife used to make until she discovered Folger’s and now he loves her coffee. He ends by saying: “My wife – I think I’ll keep her!” ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/17 "2022-01-30T04:28:13Z")
Old Lysol ads (circa 1950s or so?) subtly (or not-quite-so-subtly) pushed Lysol douches as a contraceptive, in the days when contraception was illegal. They euphemistically referred to the usage as “feminine hygiene” but their ads made the meaning clear. Lysol is not a healthy thing to use for a douche, and the older formula used in those days was even worse. On top of which, this article says it isn’t even very effective. Article in Smithsonian from 2013 about it, including images of several ads: > **[Lysol’s Vintage Ads Subtly Pushed Women to Use Its Disinfectant as Birth Control](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/lysols-vintage-ads-subtly-pushed-women-to-use-its-disinfectant-as-birth-control-218734/)** > > As if that wasn't bad enough, Lysol isn't even an effective contraceptive ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/18 "2022-01-30T04:34:56Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > He ends by saying: “My wife – I think I’ll keep her!” [Geritol ad.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lNfpQ_8tEw) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/19 "2022-01-30T06:29:46Z")
There is a Folger’s ad where the husband clearly implies his wife is essentially a failure because of her subpar coffee. This ad is a favorite of my feminist sister since it is fairly extreme by modern standards. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637/20 "2022-01-30T07:12:01Z")
Google “More Doctors Smoke Camels” and prepare yourself for a corresponding eyeful. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-ads/958637.md?page=2)